Maharaj, AvinashKazak, OlegLimone, AngeloD'Angola, AntonioColonna, GianpieroCressault, YannIwarere, Samuel Ayodele2023-11-012023-11-012022-09Maharaj, A., Kazak, O., Limone, A. et al. 2022, 'Numerical simulation of helium arc at high pressure and low current', IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science, vol. 50, no. 9, pp. 3178-3190, doi : 10.1109/TPS.2022.3193348.0093-3813 (print)1939-9375 (online)10.1109/TPS.2022.3193348http://hdl.handle.net/2263/93135A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model has been developed to investigate the time evolution of a helium plasma discharge at high pressures (from 2 to 8 MPa) and low electric current (0.35 A), including the interaction between the plasma and the electromagnetic fields, under local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) assumption. To account for pressure dependence, novel thermodynamic and transport properties have been calculated in a wide pressure and temperature range. The model has been further improved by considering the effect of plasma–electrode interactions and the formation of the plasma sheath. High-performance computing (HPC) was used to solve the CFD simulation, focusing on reference cases at 8 MPa and 0.35 A. Numerical results have shown that the sheath model and updated transport and thermodynamic properties have a significant impact on the electric potential, resulting in very good agreement between the simulation and experimental values.en© 2022 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission. This article has been accepted for publication in IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science. This is the author's version which has not been fully edited and content may change prior to final publication.ThermodynamicsComputational modelingPlasma temperatureInductorsHeliumPlasmasMathematical modelsPlasma transport processesPlasma thermodynamicsPlasma temperaturePlasma simulationPlasma sheathsNumerical analysisDischarges (electric)Computational fluid dynamics (CFD)Arcs (electric)ReactorSimulationPostprint Article