Impulse Three Phase Power Supply Used for a Gliding Plasma Discharge

Power sources used for generating plasma have different configurations depending on the particular application; the aim here comprises the maximum energy transfer to the plasma discharge reaching. This work shows the performance and versatility of a simple impulse phase power source, applied to gliding arc plasma discharge. It is capable of changing the operating frequency from 5 kHz up to 150 kHz and the duty cycle from 1% to 33% in all three phases, each one connected to three divergent tungsten electrodes. This allows a soft start plasma ignition until the full load is reached. This converter uses a sequential logic circuits composed by flip-flops, gates drivers, IGBT's and high voltage ferrite transformers. These features facilitate the maximum energy transfer to the plasma without using more complex electronic structures. The effect of frequency, duty cycle, voltage and current wave form signals is here described. This power supply has the adaptability to work whit different type of gas such as Argon, Helium, Air and Nitrogen. A Matlab Simulink simulation validates the experimental results. The main features and advantages of this configuration are also defined.