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Updated: May 16, 2026

Non-equilibrium Microwave Plasma for Efficient High Temperature Chemistry
Published on: August 1, 2017
Observation of temperature peaks due to strong viscous heating in a dusty plasma flow
1Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, USA. yanfengui@gmail.com
Abstract:
Profound temperature peaks are observed in regions of high velocity shear in a 2D dusty plasma experiment with laser-driven flow. These are attributed to viscous heating, which occurs due to collisional scattering in a shear flow. Using measurements of viscosity, thermal conductivity, and spatial profiles of flow velocity and temperature, we determine three dimensionless numbers: Brinkman, Br = 0.5; Prandtl, Pr = 0.09; and Eckert, Ec = 5.7. The large value of Br indicates significant viscous heating that is consistent with the observed temperature peaks.
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