Numerical calculations with time dependant one-dimensional fluid model are performed at various discharge conditions in nitrogen atmospheric pressure plasmas to calculate electrical characteristics and plasma parameters such as charged and metastable molecules densities. The amplitude and frequency of external driving voltages are used as control parameters to change the discharge behavior of nitrogen plasmas. The simulation results show that the discharge structure of nitrogen atmospheric pressure DBD plasma similar to the Townsend discharge. The increase of the amplitude and frequency of external voltage lead to the increase of plasma density. Oxygen gases added to nitrogen plasmas are confirmed to act as a N-2(A(3)Sigma(+)(u)) quencher by observing the decrease of metastable molecule and charged particle densities. Dielectric constants of the barrier materials have also shown a strong influence on the discharge structure. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.