Plasma Discharge in Liquids: Understanding the Initiation and Formation Mechanisms of Non-Thermal Plasma in Dense Medium

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The focus of the project is to determine how a plasma - a mix of free interacting charged and neutral particles - is formed in liquid media such as water or oil. Plasmas in liquids is one of the most exciting, challenging and important intellectual frontiers in modern plasma science. This project is aimed towards filling in the gap in the present understanding and mathematical modeling of plasma discharges in liquids. A study of the fundamental mechanisms of complex and inter-related processes by which a plasma discharge initiates, interacts and sustains in the liquid medium will also have substantial benefits outside the field of plasma science. Unique and critical technologies envisioned to have the greatest impact are biomedical - wound healing and sterilization, electronics - nano-particle synthesis, and energy efficiency - high-efficiency combustion from liquid fuel reforming.This project will computationally investigate plasma discharges in liquids using advanced numerical methods in conjunction with high-performance computing resources. The primary hypothesis of the research is that formation of a low-density medium (gas phase) through complex electric field-plasma-liquid interactions is the key initiation process for plasma discharges in a dense (liquid) medium. A multi-dimensional, multi-physics model will be developed and employed to determine the role and importance of low-density region/bubble for plasma discharge in non-polar and polar liquids, production and spatiotemporal evolution of reactive species in a multi-phase medium, and phase change due to coupled ponderomotive forces and ohmic heating effects. The main outcomes of this effort are expected to be a major leap in the predictive modeling capability for non-thermal plasma discharges in liquid/dense medium, new course material on multi-physics modeling to increase the education impact for engineering students, "YouTube"-based introductory short modules on plasma science, and outreach activities to inspire under-represented students and the general public towards STEM.