Procedure for automated generation of fluid-Poisson models for low-temperature plasma modelling

Building a plasma model that takes into account a large number of particle species and reaction kinetic processes can be a tedious and error-prone process. A procedure for automated generation of spatio-temporal fluid-Poisson models suitable for low-temperature plasma modelling is developed and presented here. The proposed procedure automatically defines balance equations for the particle number densities and for the electron energy density, as well as the Poisson equation, based on the input data files. These files contain a list of the plasma species considered, their properties, and plasma-chemical reactions together with rate and transport coefficients. Also, information about modelling geometry and properties of the plasma source is part of the input data. A detailed input data structure and step-by-step instructions for implementing the proposed procedure are presented. The applicability of the procedure is demonstrated for the commercial software COMSOL Multiphysics® and the open-source computing platform FEniCS. Using the example of an abnormal glow discharge in argon at 1 Torr, it is shown that the suggested procedure ensures reproducibility of the modelling procedure using different computing platforms.