From 7 to 11 July 2025, the University of Bologna (Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna) participated in the poster session of the 51st EPS Conference on Plasma Physics, held in Vilnius, Lithuania, and organized by the European Physical Society. Event link
This prestigious annual event is the largest European conference dedicated to plasma physics, and brings together leading researchers and institutions in the fields of:
🔹 Magnetically confined thermonuclear plasmas
🔹 Beam plasma and inertial fusion
🔹 Low-temperature and dusty plasmas
🔹 Space and astrophysical plasma
On this occasion, UNIBO presented the poster: “Numerical and experimental investigation of an atmospheric DC corona discharge”, a result of the fruitful collaboration between the Department of Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering (DEI) at the University of Bologna and the MOX Laboratory of Politecnico di Milano. This contribution highlights ongoing research on Electro-Hydro-Dynamic (EHD) thrusters based on corona discharges, explored as promising technologies for in-atmosphere plasma propulsion. An important contribution highlighting the work on the Eectro- hydro-dynamic (EHD) thrusters based on corona discharges as promising devices for in-atmosphere plasma propulsion. The poster presents a computational model for simulating corona discharges in ionic wind thrusters. The model is first implemented in a 1D concentric wire-cylinder geometry and validated against experimental data at both atmospheric and sub-atmospheric pressures. The study then moves to a more complex 2D grid-based configuration, laying the groundwork for future optimization of plasma thruster designs.
This was an excellent opportunity to share ideas and foster collaborations within the European plasma physics research community.