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A dielectric barrier discharge plasma controlled diffusion flame experimental system was built based on the designed coaxial swirling plasma injector. The air plasma was generated within the annulus gap of the injector by alternating current dielectric barrier discharge. The discharge characteristics and power of plasma injector under different actuation intensities and air flowrates were measured. Through the measurement techniques, such as schlieren imaging, broadband chemiluminescence image and CH* chemiluminescence, the effect and mechanism of plasma on ethylene-air normal diffusive jet and flame was explored. The results showed that a large number of filamentary discharge channels are formed in air plasma. The increase of air flowrates weakened the intensity of discharge to a certain extent. The induced jet generated by the plasma can short the laminar length of the ethylene-air jet, accelerate the transition of the flow jet, enhance the turbulence and the mixing of the fuel and the oxidizer. The higher the actuation intensity, the shorter distance of the cold jet transition zone, the higher the jet turbulence. Depending on the aerodynamic and kinetic effects, plasma can improve the stability of ethylene-air diffusive flame and reduce the lift height between the flame root and injector. The plasma can also expand the flammability limit of ethylene-air flame and make the flame ignited under some conditions that could not be. In addition, the CH* chemiluminescence shows that, in a certain range of discharge voltage, the heat release distribution can be changed on both sides of the flame, and its representative length are generally reduced as the voltage rises. On the contrary, the overtop voltage could lead to a decrease of flame heat release.

To study the effects of quasi-direct current discharge plasma on the initiation of a pulse detonation engine at multiple locations, we proposed a double-zones quasi-direct current discharge plasma ignition scheme. Based on the establishment of the plasma-assisted detonation initiation model, the process of detonation wave formation in the mixture of hydrogen and air by single and double ignition zone were studied by numerical method. The wave structure, component evolution history, and Zeldovich–von Neumann–Döring curve after forming a stable detonation wave were all discussed. The simulation results indicate that due to its higher total ignition energy and the synchronous propagation of multiple compression waves, double-zone plasma ignition has a 17.9% shorter deflagration to detonation transition time and 14.2% lower detonation distance compared to the single-zone scheme. The double-zone scheme does not modify the peak flow field temperature and pressure when the stable detonation wave is formed, resulting in smoother pressure and temperature increases.

In order to study the effect of different equivalence ratios on plasma assisted detonation initiation under a rich burn condition, a loosely coupled method was adopted to simulate the detonation formation by alternating current dielectric barrier discharge in a hydrogen–oxygen gas mixture with different equivalence ratios. The spatial and temporal evolution of discharge products were analyzed first. Then, the species distribution, Mach number, thrust wall pressure, and whole history of detonation formation were examined in detail. Results showed that the shapes of the temporal and spatial distribution of discharge products do not change when equivalence ratio varies in one discharge cycle. However, due to the variation of the percentage of fuel and oxidizer, and its impact on the discharge elementary reactions, the number density of every key active particle declines while the decline amplitude decreases when equivalence ratio rises. Although the magnitudes of species concentration are not altered by the plasma, the reacted region extends towards the downstream flow more quickly. The influence of equivalence ratio on plasma assisted detonation initiation becomes remarkable until late in the subsonic stage of the flowfield evolution process in the combustor under a rich burn condition. Furthermore, a larger equivalence ratio leads to a better accelerating effect of the plasma. Through analyzing the dynamic process of thrust wall pressure, it is also found that the DDT process is expedited more notably under a larger equivalence ratio, yet the magnitude of pressure is independent of the plasma. The provision of active particles for the combustion reaction by the plasma and its dilution effect on the fuel are the two intrinsic reasons for the reduction of DDT time and distance and the increase of this reduction degree, when equivalence ratio rises.

A plasma filament is generated upstream of the fuel jet through quasi-dc discharge in a scramjet combustor. The effects of the plasma filament on fuel mixing and combustion are numerically investigated based on the dominant thermal blocking mechanism. Results have shown that temperature distribution of the whole flowfield is changed prominently due to heat release from the plasma filament. Since the shock waves induced by the transverse fuel jet are partly weakened and move upstream by the plasma filament, the separation zone upstream of the fuel orifice can be controlled to provide a better combustion environment. Compared with the no-plasma case, more water appears in higher space above the bottom wall while less near the bottom wall of combustor. Although the stagnation pressure loss increases a little owing to the plasma filament, the combustion efficiency rises obviously with only a little external energy addition.

Band gap adjustment is important for the functional properties of cerium conversion coating (CeCC), including the ultraviolet absorption performance and the catalytic capability. To adjust the band gap of CeCC, the TiO2 sol was added drop wise during the CeCC formation process prepared by the dipping approach. The results showed that the band gap energy (Eg) of the CeCC-TiO2 coatings was adjusted from 3.07 eV to 3.51 eV when the TiO2 sol was added. The main technical parameters, primarily the calcining temperature and the post-treatment time, impacted the band gap of the CeCC-TiO2 coatings. The band gap adjustable was used to explore the functional application of the CeCC-TiO2 coatings through photocatalytic experiments. This showed that the increased Eg valued improved the photocatalysis performance of the CeCC-TiO2 coatings because of the stronger reduction capacity and oxidation ability and more OH radicals produced. The CeCC-TiO2 coatings with adjustable Eg values avoid recycling and show an excellent application prospect within environmental cleaning.