Ces dernières années un nouveau type de décharges hors équilibre thermodynamique, aptes à générer des micro jets de plasma se propageant en atmosphère libre, a suscité beaucoup d'intérêt dans la communauté scientifique. Ces micro jets, produits dans des structures type décharge à barrière diélectrique, ont des propriétés particulièrement intéressantes, tant sur le plan de la physique des plasmas que sur celui des applications, en particulier pour des applications biomédicales ou de traitement de surface.Dans ce travail de thèse il est démontré que ces jets de plasma correspondent à la propagation à grande vitesse d'un front d'ionisation sans déplacement de matière. Une caractérisation des propriétés des jets (vitesse et distance de propagation) a été effectuée en fonction de la tension appliquée, du débit, de la composition du gaz, et de la géométrie de la décharge. La distribution spatio-temporelle des espèces réactives produites par le jet a été mesurée, et en particulier celle de l'état métastable He (2³S) mesuré par absorption laser. Des densités comprises entre 1.10¹² et 5.10¹³ cm-³ ont été obtenues pour l'état He (2³S). Sa distribution est annulaire à la sortie de la structure de la décharge et se referme le long du jet. La densité maximale est obtenue à une distance correspondant à la moitié de la zone où les atomes métastables sont présents, ce qui est en contradiction avec les modèles actuels. De plus, afin de mieux comprendre la physique des jets de plasma, nous avons fait interagir deux jets placés l'un en face de l'autre. L'étude de la contre propagation de deux jets révèle qu'il existe une distance minimale d'approche laissant entre eux une zone exempte de plasma. Après l'extinction des deux plasmas, une seconde décharge s'amorce exactement dans cette zone. Une étude détaillée couplant diagnostics électrique, imagerie ultra-rapide et spectroscopie d'émission nous a permis de montrer que cette décharge secondaire est due à une inversion de polarité conduisant à la création transitoire d'un piège à électrons.Dans le but d'aborder l'étude des applications des jets de plasma au domaine biologique, nous avons également étudié la dégradation de l'ADN plasmidique par un jet de plasma. Nous avons mis en évidence que ce type de plasma induit majoritairement des cassures simples et doubles brins, alors que très peu d'oxydations de base ou de sites abasiques sont observés, ceci même avec l'ajout de quelques pourcents d'oxygène dans le gaz.

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No. of bitstreams: 1 laraia_ab_me_guara.pdf: 2144718 bytes, checksum: eef37a1c04c8a387ddbff2e31f67db35 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-07-31 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Este trabalho apresenta o desenvolvimento de um processo de tratamento com plasma para melhorar ametalização química de placas de circuito impresso (PCI). A pluma de plasma é gerada em argônio a partir da descarga de barreira dielétrica (DBD) promovida entre uma agulha cirúrgica e um cilindro usando capilar de borosilicato como dielétrico. A tensão picoa-pico aplicada foi de 5 kV, com forma de onda senoidal na frequência de 37 kHz e potência de descarga em torno de 765 mW. O substrato é um composto de fibra de vidro e resina epóxi. Com incidência perpendicular da pluma de plasma na superfície, o diâmetro da área tratada circular é de 10 mm. Desta forma, o ângulo de contato reduz de 75 ° a 45 ° com 3 s de interação entre superfície da amostra e a ponta do plasma e o ângulo atinge o mínimo de 33 ° após 180 s de tempo de tratamento. A metalização química foi feita com banhos seqüenciais de solução de paládio e finalizada com banho de solução aquosa de cobre. Testes de adesão padrão mostraram uma forte adesão das camadas de metal nas superfícies previamente tratadas com as plumas de plasma. Esta adesão melhora com o tempo de tratamento. A melhoria na metalização foi observada em superfície plana e também em furos usados para conectar diferentes camadas em PCIs. A área metalizada na superfície dos buracos é maior nos orifícios tratados. Quanto maior o tempo de tratamento, maior é essa área. Todos os resultados indicaram que a técnica de tratamento por plasma de placas de fibra de vidro melhora a sua metalização química pelo cobre, levando a uma adesão mais uniforme e eficaz do metal à superfície com um método ambientalmente amigável / This work reports the development of a plasma treatment process to improve the chemical metallization of printed circuit boards (PCB). The plasma plume is generated in argon from a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) promoted between a surgical needle and a cylinder using a borosilicate capillary as dielectric. The applied peak-to-peak voltage was 5 kV, with sinusoidal waveform at 37 kHz frequency and power in the discharge around 765 mW. The substrate was a composite of fiberglass and epoxy resin. With perpendicular incidence of the plasma plume on the surface the diameter of the circular treated area was 10 mm. In this area the contact angle reduces from 75° to 45° with 3 s of the plasma-surface interaction and the angle reaches the minimum of 33° after 180 s of treatment time. Chemical metallization was made with sequential baths of solution of palladium and finished with bath of aqueous solution of copper. Standard adhesion tests showed a strong adhesion of the metal layer on surfaces previously treated with the plasma plumes. This adhesion improves with the treatment time. The improvement in the metallization was observed on flat surface and also in holes used to connect different layers in PCB’s. The metallized area on the surface of the holes is larger in treated holes. The longer the treatment time the larger is this area. All these results indicated that the technique of plasma treatment of fiberglass boards improves its chemical metallization by copper leading to a more uniform and effective adhesion of the metal to the surface with an environmental friendly method

Fluidos em uma descarga brilhante à pressão atmosférica usando uma barreira de dielétrico DBD atraiu o interesse das comunidades de termo-dinâmica, fluido-dinâmica, e comunidades de controle. Este trabalho investiga os efeitos de um atuador de plasma operando numa voltagem e frequência de 8 kV e 4.4 kHz sobre a curva do Cp de um cilindro de PVC em baixa velocidade de escoamento. O experimento foi repetido com o atuador em vários ângulos no cilindro. Os resultados mostram uma aceleração do escoamento junto com um atraso da separação. Esses efeitos são maiores quando o atuador é posicionado num ângulo mais próximo da região da separação. / Fluids in a dielectric barrier DBD glow discharge at atmospheric pressure attracted the interest of the communities of thermo and fluid dynamics as well as control. This dissertation investigates the effects of a plasma actuator operating at 8 kV and 4.4 kHz, on the Cp curve of a PVC cylinder in a low velocity airflow. The experiment was repeated with the actuator at various angles. The results show an acceleration of the flow accompanied with a delay of the flow separation. These effects were shown to be larger when the actuator was positioned at an angle closer to the region of separation.

L’utilisation de plasmas, qu’ils soient thermiques ou basse pression, dans le domaine biomédical remonte aux années 1970. Au cours de ces dernières années, les développements concernant des jets de plasma froid à pression atmosphérique, ont permis un élargissement des domaines d’applications biomédicales des plasmas. Au sein du GREMI, un type de jet de plasma a été développé : le Plasma Gun. Le plasma généré par le Plasma Gun se propage sur de longues distances à l’intérieur de capillaires. L’optimisation des traitements visés nécessite une étude approfondie des décharges créées par le Plasma Gun. La caractérisation du Plasma Gun a mis en évidence la génération de Pulsed Atmospheric pressure Plasma Streams ou PAPS, ces derniers se propageant du réacteur jusque dans l’air ambiant où ils génèrent une plume plasma. Ces PAPS présentent deux modes de propagation, au cours desquels une connexion entre le front d’ionisation et le réacteur est présente en permanence. Ces deux modes nommés respectivement Wall-hugging et Homogène, diffèrent principalement par la morphologie et la vitesse de propagation des PAPS qui leur sont associés. Chacun de ces modes présentent donc des caractéristiques qui leur sont propres mais certaines propriétés de propagation leur sont communes, telles que la possibilité de division ou de réunion de PAPS, ainsi que du transfert de PAPS à travers une barrière diélectrique ou via un capillaire métallique creux. L’étude de la plume plasma, propagation des PAPS dans l’air ambiant, a souligné l’importance de la longueur des capillaires sur la longueur du jet plasma. De plus, la génération du plasma a une très forte influence sur l’écoulement du gaz et la structuration du jet lors de son expansion dans l’air. / The use of plasmas, thermic or low pressure, in biomedical goes back up to 1970s. During these last years, atmospheric pressure cold plasma jets have been developed, allowed an increase of biomedical applications of plasmas. In GREMI, a plasma jet was developed : the Plasma Gun (PG). The plasma generated by the PG propagates on long distances inside capillaries. The optimization of the aimed treatments requires a detailed study of the discharges created by the PG. The characterization of the PG highlights the generation of Pulsed Atmospheric pressure Plasma Streams or PAPS, these last ones propagating from the reactor to the capillary outlet (ambient air) where they generate a plasma plume. These PAPS present two propagation modes, during which a connection between the ionization front and the reactor is present permanently. These two modes named respectively Wall-hugging and Homogeneous, differ mainly by the morphology and their propagation velocity. These modes have common characteristics, such as the possibility of division or meeting of PAPS, as well as the transfer of PAPS through a dielectric barrier or via a hollow metal capillary. The study of the plasma plume underlined the importance of the length of capillaries on the length of the plasma jet. Furthermore, the generation of the plasma has a very strong influence on the gas flow and the jet structuration during air expansion.

Orientador: Rogério Pinto Mota / Resumo: Esta tese teve como o intuito o estudo e caracterização de jatos de plasma com diferentes diâmetros no tratamento do polímero Politereftalato de Etileno (PET), visando estudar a uniformidade e a área de alcance dos tratamentos. Posteriormente, um desses jatos foi utilizado para o tratamento de sementes de girassol, com o objetivo de investigar as modificações superficiais, físico-químicas e o comportamento biológico das sementes após os tratamentos a plasma, buscando compreender os mecanismos de interação do plasma com as sementes. A caracterização superficial do PET foi realizada através de medições de ângulo de contato, rugosidade e análise das mudanças químicas com a Espectroscopia de Fotoelétrons Excitados por Raios X (XPS). Enquanto que, as caracterizações realizadas nas sementes foram medidas de ângulo de contato, absorção de água e corante, perda de massa, Espectroscopia no Infravermelho com Transformada de Fourier por Refletância Total Atenuada (FTIR-ATR) e Microscopia Eletrônica de Varredura (MEV). Para avaliação da parte biológica foram realizados ensaios de taxa de germinação e de taxa de crescimento. Os tratamentos no PET com os três jatos de plasma utilizados demonstraram uma diminuição considerável nos valores de ângulo de contato e a área de tratamento alcançada por cada jato foi devidamente calculada. Através do aumento dos valores da rugosidade foi possível verificar que o tratamento a plasma estendeu-se para fora do cone do jato. Houve também incorporação de... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The purpose of this thesis was to study and characterize plasma jets with different diameters in the treatment of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in order to study the treatment range and uniformity. Subsequently, one of these jets was used for the treatment of sunflower seeds, with the objective to investigate the seeds surface, physicochemical changes and the biological behavior of the seeds after the plasma treatments, seeking to understand the mechanisms of the interaction of the plasma with the seeds. The superficial characterization of the PET was performed through measurements of water contact angle, roughness and analysis of chemical changes with X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). While, the characterizations performed on sunflower seeds were water contact angle, water and dye absorption, mass loss, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy by Total Attenuated Reflectance (FTIR-ATR) and Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM). For the biological evaluation germination rate and growth rate tests were performed. The treatments on PET with the three plasma jets showed a considerable decrease in water contact angle values and the treatment area obtained by each jet was calculated. By increased roughness values it was possible to verify that the plasma treatment extended outside the cone of the jet. There was also incorporation of functional groups of O, increase of small amounts of N and removal of contaminants in the plasma treated PET samples confirmed by the XPS analy... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

The doctoral thesis deals with an experimental study of several diagnostic techniques intended for plasma diagnostics and diagnostics of thin films during reactive sputter deposition. A relatively novel probe diagnostic technique called Floating harmonic probe for measurement of the ion density and electron tem- perature in technological low-temperature plasma is studied. A Langmuir probe is commonly used, however, its application in conditions where non-conducting films are being deposited can be problematic or unreliable. The floating harmonic probe measurement technique deals with this inherent problem of the Langmuir probe. The Floating harmonic probe results are compared to those obtained by a classical Langmuir probe in non-reactive DC continuously driven discharge, and its applicability in reactive regime during deposition of iron oxide thin films is proved. The work deals also with a modification of the Floating harmonic probe called Phase Delay Harmonic Analysis Method which is intended for diagnostics of pulsed driven discharges. The second part of the thesis is devoted to a new proposed method for in-situ diagnostics of thin films. This method monitors the capacitance and resistance of a thin film during deposition up to the frequencies in the kHz range. This new method could be used for...

Cette thèse examine une nouvelle méthode de diagnostic, appelée Polarimètrie de Mueller, pour l’étude des interactions plasma-surface. Cette technique d’imagerie permet la caractérisation optique résolue en temps des cibles exposées au plasma. Les matrices de Mueller mesurées sont analysées en utilisant la décomposition logarithmique donnant des informations polarimétriques sur la diattenuation, la dépolarisation et la biréfringence. Cette dernière est exploitée en examinant des matériaux optiquement actifs afin d’identifier des aspects spécifiques de l’interaction avec le plasma, tels que les champs électriques ou la température de surface.Ce travail se concentre sur les cibles électro-optiques, qui permettent principalement la détection de champs électriques induits par la charge de surface déposée lors de l’interaction. La biréfringence est couplée analytiquement au champ électrique, en rapportant le retard de phase du faisceau sonde de lumière polarisée, à l’ellipsoïde d’index perturbé suivant l’effet Pockels. Grâce à cette approche analytique, les matériaux ayant des propriétés électrooptiques spécifiques peuvent être choisis de telle manière que toutes les composantes individuelles de champ électrique (axiales et radiales) induites à l’intérieur de l’échantillon soient imagées séparément. Pour la première fois les composantes du champ électriques peuvent être découplées permettant de mieux comprendre la dynamique du plasma proche d’une surface diélectrique.Cette technique est utilisée pour étudier l’impact d’ondes d’ionisation sur des surfaces. Ces décharges, générées par un jet de plasma à pression atmosphérique dans la gamme kHz, sont des plasmas froids filamentaires généralement utilisés pour des applications diverses telles que la fonctionnalisation de surface de polymères ou des traitements biomédicaux, mais les méthodes de diagnostic disponibles pour étudier les effets induits sur les surfaces sont limités. L’imagerie de polarimètrie Mueller appliquée aux cibles électro-optiques permet d’examiner les champs axiaux et radiaux en termes d’amplitude (3-6 kV/cm), d’échelles spatiales (<1mm axiales and <1cm radiales) et d’échelles temporelles (< 1μs pulsée and < 10μs CA) pour divers paramètres de fonctionnement du jet, e.g. amplitude de tension et gaz environnant.Simultanément à la biréfringence transitoire induite par le champ électrique, un signal de fond constant est également observé. Il est induit par la contrainte résultante du gradient de température induit à l’intérieur du matériau ciblé. Une relation analytique est obtenue en utilisant l’effet photo-élastique, permettant de développer une procédure de fitting pour retrouver la distribution de température. Cette procédure est utilisée, après calibration, pour montrer que la température de l’échantillon peut varier jusqu’`a 25 degrés par rapport aux conditions ambiantes – tandis que les changements dans le champ électrique sont également mesurés – et dépend de la fréquence de la tension d’alimentation AC du jet de plasma. La détermination précise de la température induite dans les cibles est importante car la plupart des applications visent des échantillons thermosensibles.Enfin, ce travail montre comment des échantillons complexes (aussi bien en terme d’état de surface que de composition chimique) peuvent être examinés lors d’une interaction plasma-surface, en les combinant avec une cible électrooptique. En raison de l’ajout d’un échantillon complexe, une composante de dépolarisation est ajoutée due à la diffusion du faisceau lumineux polarisé. Les changements de dépolarisation sont liés à l’évolution de l’échantillon complexe au cours du traitement par plasma. Ceux-ci, couplés aux champs électriques mesurés simultanément, fournissent un outil de diagnostic unique pour examiner les interactions plasma-surface. Cela a été appliqué à un cas test où une seule couche de cellules d’oignon est exposée aux ondes d’ionisation générées par le jet de plasma froid. / In this thesis, a new diagnostic method called Mueller Polarimetry is examined for the investigation of plasma-surface interactions. This imaging technique allows the time-resolved optical characterization of targets under plasma exposure. The measured Mueller matrices are analyzed by using the logarithmic decomposition providing polarimetric data on diattenuation, depolarization, and birefringence. The latter is used by examining materials that possess optically active behavior to identify specific aspects of the plasma interaction, e.g. electric fields or temperature.This work focusses on electro-optic targets, which primarily enables the detection of electric fields induced by surface charge deposited during the interaction. The birefringence is coupled to the externally induced electric field by analytically relating the phase retardance for the probing polarized light beam to the perturbed index ellipsoid, according to the Pockels effect. Through this analytical approach, materials with specific electro-optic properties can be chosen in such a way – together with the orientation of the Mueller polarimeter itself – that all the individual electric field components (axial and radial) induced inside the sample are imaged separately. This has never been done before and allows to better understand the plasma dynamics in the vicinity of a dielectric surface.It is used to investigate the surface impact by guided ionization waves generated by a kHz-driven atmospheric pressure plasma jet. These non-thermal filamentary discharges are generally applied to various samples for e.g. surface functionalization of polymers or biomedical treatment of organic tissues. However, available diagnostic tools are limited to study these interactions. Imaging Mueller polarimetry applied to electro-optic targets examines the axial and radial field patterns in terms of amplitude (3-6 kV/cm), spatial scales (< 1mm axial and <1cm radial), and timescales (<1μs pulsed and <10μs AC) for various operating parameters of the jet, for example voltage amplitude and surrounding gas.Simultaneous with the transient birefringence induced by the electric field, a constant background pattern is also observed. This results from strain induced by temperature gradients inside the targeted material. An analytical relation is obtained following the photo-elastic effect, which allowed a fitting procedure to be designed to retrieve the temperature pattern. This procedure is used after calibration to show that the temperature of the sample can vary up to 25 degrees relative to room conditions – while changes in the electric field are seen as well – depending on the operating frequency of the AC driven plasma jet. The accurate determination of the temperature is important since most applications involve temperature sensitive samples.Lastly, this work shows how complex samples (in terms of surface geometry and/or chemical composition) can be examined during a plasma-surface interaction. This is done by combining them with the electro-optic targets. Due to the addition of a (thin) complex sample, depolarization is added to the system through scattering of the polarized light beam. In-situ observed changes of depolarization relate to the evolution of the complex sample during the plasma treatment. This, coupled with the simultaneously monitored electric field patterns, provides a unique diagnostic tool to examine the plasma-surface interactions. This has been applied for a test case where a single layer of onion cells is exposed to the ionization waves generated by the non-thermal plasma jet.

Dans cette thèse, les applications des plasmas à basse température à la pression atmosphérique sont discutées. En particulier, la bio-décontamination des bactéries planctoniques et biofilms bactériens sur des surfaces planes et complexe sont réalisées par des décharges corona de l'air et de plasma d'argon. Dans ce travail, nous caractérisons trois sources de plasma qui sont utilisées pour la décontamination d'Escherichia coli. CC corona décharges dans l'air - corona streamer positive et négative des impulsions Trichel ont été utilisés pour la décontamination des bactéries planctoniques et biofilms bactériens. Dans certaines expériences de l'eau a été électro-pulvérisée sur des échantillons de haute tension électrode. Bio-décontamination des biofilms bactériens a été réalisée sur des lames en verre, pendant 15 min le traitement de plasma a été rendu majorités des bactéries incultivables. Selon la microscopie confocale à balayage laser de biofilms colorées par kit de la viabilité, une partie de ces bactéries incultivables restait viables, seulement les couches les plus supérieures du biofilm ont été tuées. La deuxième source de plasma est corona décharge pulsée propagé à l'intérieur du tube de quartz longue et étroite où l'argon sec ou l'argon avec de la vapeur d'eau coulait à la pression atmosphérique. Ce type de décharge et a une application potentielle dans la décontamination des surfaces intérieures des cathéters ou d'autres dispositifs longs et tubulaires ou pourrait fournir un plasma à basse température sur des distances longues à l'intérieur du corps humain. Tout d'abord, cette source de plasma à basse température a été caractérisée par ses paramètres électriques, et ensuite, une spectroscopie d'émission optique identifiés l'émission de plasma UV-B de radical hydroxyle excité en particulier avec l'argon humide. L'effet de cette UV-B a été testé sur des bactéries planctoniques et a été découvert pour causer jusqu'à un dommage substantiel encore plus loin en aval du tube. La source de plasma d'argon dernière doit aller qui utilise l'argon saturé sec, humide ou de l'eau en tant que gaz de travail. Cette décharge a été principalement utilisée pour la décontamination biofilm, et nous avons reçu des résultats similaires comme décharges corona CC. / In this PhD thesis, applications of lowtemperature plasmas at atmospheric pressure are discussed. In particular, bio-decontamination of planktonic bacteria and bacterial biofilms on flat and complex surfaces by air corona discharges and argon plasma. In this work, we characterize three plasma sources which are used for decontamination of Escherichia coli. DC corona discharges in air - positive streamer corona and negative Trichel pulses were used for decontamination of planktonic bacteria and bacterial biofilms. In some experiments water was electrosprayed onto samples from high voltage electrode. Bio-decontamination of bacterial biofilms was carried out on glass cover slides, within 15 min plasma treatment most of the bacteria were rendered uncultivable. Part from these uncultivable bacteria remained viable only top layers of the biofilm were killed, according to confocal laser scanning microscopy of biofilms stained by live/dead viability kit. The secondplasma source was pulsed corona discharge propagated inside the long narrow quartz tube in which dry argon or argon with water vapor was flowing at atmospheric pressure. This type of discharge has a potential application in decontamination of inner surfaces of catheters or other long tubular devices or could able to deliver low-temperature plasma on longer distances inside the human body. Firstly, this low-temperature plasma source was characterized by its electrical parameters, then, an optical emission spectroscopy of plasma identified UV B emission form excited hydroxyl radical especially with humid argon working gas. The effect of this UV B was tested on planktonic bacteria and was found out to cause up to a substantial damage even further downstream the tube. The last plasma source has argon jet which used dry, humid or water saturated argon as a working gas. This discharge was predominantly used for biofilm decontamination, where we received similar results as with DC corona discharges.

No description available.

One of the major technological innovations that are necessary for faster and cheaper access-to-space will be the commercial realization of supersonic combustion jet engines (SCRAMJET). The establishment of the flow through the inlet is one the prime requirement for the success of a SCRAMJET engine. The flow through a SCRAMJET inlet is dominated by inviscid /viscous coupling, transition, shock-shock interaction, shock boundary layer interaction, blunt leading edge effects and flow profile effects. Although the literature is exhaustive on various aspects of flow features associated with SCRAMJET engines, very little is known on the fundamental gasdynamic features dictating the flow establishment in the SCRAMJET inlet. On one hand we need the reduction of flight Mach number to manageable supersonic values inside the SCRAMJET combustor, but on the other hand we have to achieve this with minimum total pressure loss. Hence the dynamics of ramp/cowl shock interaction process ahead of the inlet has a direct bearing on the quality and type of flow inside the SCRAMJET engine. There is virtually no data base in the open literature focusing specifically on the cowl/ramp shock interactions at hypersonic Mach numbers. Hence in this backdrop, the main aim of the present investigation is to systematically understand the ramp/cowl shock interaction processes in front of a generic inlet model. Since we are primarily concerned with the shock interaction process ahead of the cowl all the investigations are carried out without any fuel injection. Variable geometry is necessary if we want to operate the inlet for a wide range of Mach numbers in actual flight. The investigation mainly comprises of three variable geometry configurations; namely, variation of contraction ratios at 00 cowl (CR 8.4, 5.0 and 4.3), variation of cowl length for a given chamber height (four lengths of cowls at 10 mm chamber height) and variation of cowl angle (three angles cowl each for two chamber heights). The change in cowl configuration results in different ramp/cowl shock interaction processes affecting the performance of the inlet. Experiments are performed in IISc hypersonic shock tunnel HST 2 (test time ~ 1 ms) at two nominal Mach numbers 8.0 and 5.74 for design and off-design testing conditions. Exhaustive numerical simulations are also performed to compliment the experiments. Further the effect of concentrated energy deposition on forebody /cowl shock interactions has also been investigated. A 2D, planar, single ramp scramjet inlet model has been designed and fabricated along with various cowl geometries and tested in a hypersonic shock tunnel to characterize the forebody/cowl shock interaction process for different inlet configurations. Further a DC plasma power unit and a plasma torch have been designed, developed and fabricated to serve as energy source for conducting flow-alteration experiments in the inlet model. The V-I characteristics of the plasma torch is studied and an estimation of plasma temperature is also performed as a part of characterizing the plasma flame. Initial standardization experiments of blunt body flow field alteration using the plasma torch and hence its drag reduction, are performed to check the torch’s suitability to be used as a flow-altering device in a shock tunnel. The plasma torch is integrated successfully with the inlet model in a shock tunnel to perform experiments with plasma jet as the energy source. The above experiments are first of its kind to be conducted in a shock tunnel. They are performed at various pressure ratios and supply currents. Time resolved schlieren flow visualization using Phantom 7.1 (Ms Vision Research USA) high speed camera, surface static pressure measurements inside a generic inlet using miniature kulite transducer and surface convective heat transfer rate measurements inside a generic inlet using platinum thin film sensors deposited on Macor substrate are some of the shock tunnel flow diagnostics that have been used in this study. Some of the important conclusions from the study are: • Experiments performed at different contraction ratios show different shock patterns. At CR 8.4, the SOL condition is satisfied, but the flow gets choked due to over contraction and flow through inlet is not established. For CR 5.0, formation of a small Mach stem before the chamber is observed with the reflection point on the cowl and the weak reflected shock entering inside the chamber. The Mach stem grows with time. For CR 4.3, the forebody/cowl shock interference created an Edney’s Type II shock interaction pattern. However, at off-design conditions, for CR 5 the shock reflection is regular and at CR 4.3, the Edney’s Type II pattern lasts for a short time. • For all lengths of cowl tested, 131mm and 141mm showed Edney’s Type II shock interference where as 151mm showed Edney’s Type I pattern at design condition. In all cases the flow is choked for high contraction ratio. At off-design condition these shock patterns do not last for the entire test time but rather it becomes a lambda pattern with the normal shock before the inlet. • For inlet configurations with cowl angle other than 00, the flow is found to be established for all cases at designed condition and except for 100 cowl at off-design condition. • For CR 8.4 the peak value of pressure (~1.7x104 Pa) occurs at a location of 151mm, where as for CR 5.0 and 4.3 they occur at 188mm and 206mm having values ~1.6x104 Pa and ~1.4x104 Pa respectively. These locations indicate the likely locations of shock impingements inside the chamber. • For cowl angle of 00 for a 10 mm chamber the maximum pressure value recorded is ~1.7x104 Pa whereas for 100 and 200 cowl it is ~1.1x104 Pa and 1.2 x104 Pa respectively. This is because in the first case the inlet is choked because of over contraction whereas in the other two cases the CR is less and flow is established inside the inlet. • The average heat transfer rates of last four heat transfer gauges (180 mm, 190 mm, 200 mm and 210 mm from the forebody tip) for all lengths of cowls tested are found to be almost same (~ 20 W/cm2). This is because the flow is choked in all these cases. The numerical simulation also shows uniform distribution here, consistent with the experimental findings. • The locations of heat transfer peaks for 100 cowl at design condition can be observed to be occurring at 170 mm and 200 mm from the forebody tip having values ~44 W/cm2 and ~39 W/cm2 respectively. For a 200 cowl they seem to be occurring at 170 mm and 180 mm from the forebody tip having values ~50 W/cm2 and ~30 W/cm2. These locations indicate the likely locations of shock impingements inside the chamber. With the evolution of concept of upstream fuel injection in recent times these may the most appropriate locations for fuel injection. • At higher jet pressure ratios the plasma jet/ramp shock interaction results in a lambda shock pattern with the triple point forming vertically above the cowl level. This means the normal shock stands in front of the inlet making a part of the flow entering the inlet subsonic. The reflected shock from the triple point also separates the ramp boundary layer. • At lower jet pressure ratios the triple point is formed below the cowl level and the flow entering inside the inlet is supersonic. The reflected shock interacts with the cowl shock and a weak separation shock is seen. • Experiments are performed with concentrated DC electric discharge as energy source. Even though the amount of energy dumped here is less than 0.25% of the total energy it creates a perceptible disturbance in the flow. • Experiments are also performed to see the effect of electric discharge as energy source on height of Mach stem for a given inlet configuration. Deposition of energy in the present location does not seem to alter the Mach stem height. However more experiments need to be performed by varying the energy location to see its effect. Non-intrusive energy sources like microwave and lasers can be thought of as options for depositing energy to study its effect on Mach stem height. Since they provide more flexibility on varying the location of energy the optimum location of energy can be found out for highest reduction of Mach stem height.