On the reliability of the fluid model of a glow discharge incorporating the calculation of the EEDF: The case of a positive column

The reliability of a model that incorporates the calculation of the electron energy distribution function into a fluid model of a gas discharge is considered. This modeling approach is available in the Plasma Module of the popular COMSOL Multiphysics computational package, where it is named “Space-Dependent Electron Energy Distribution Function Modeling.” The analysis is carried out for a positive column of a DC glow discharge in argon. This work completes our previous study, which dealt with a short (without a positive column) glow discharge. As in the previous study, the analysis, supported by relevant data from the kinetic simulations, revealed fundamental inconsistencies and internal contradictions in the model under study.