Investigation of MHD power generation with supersonic non-equilibrium RF discharge

Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) power generation with supersonic non-equilibrium plasma is demonstrated. Capacitively coupled radio frequency (RF) discharge (6 MHz, maximum continual power output of 200 W) was adopted to ionize the Mach number 3.5 (650 m/s), 0.023 kg/m3 airflow. In a MHD channel of 16 mm × 10 mm × 20 mm, MHD open voltage of 10 V is realized in the magnetic field of 1.25 T, and power of 0.12 mW is extracted steadily and continuously in the magnetic field of 1 T. The reasons for limited power generation are proposed as: low conductivity of RF discharge; large touch resistance between MHD electrode and plasma; strong current eddies due to flow boundary layer. In addition, the cathode voltage fall is too low to have obvious effects on MHD power generation.