Numerical modelling of negative discharges in air with experimental validation

T N Tran (1) , I O Golosnoy (1) , P L Lewin (1) , G E Georghiou (2)

1 School of Electronics and Computer Science
2 Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Axisymmetric finite element models have been developed for the simulation of negative discharges in air without and with presence of dielectrics. The models are based on the hydrodynamic drift-diffusion approximation. A set of continuity equations accounting for the movement, generation and loss of charge carriers (electrons, positive and negative ions) are coupled with Poisson's equation to take into account the effect of space and surface charges on the electric field. The model of a negative corona discharge (without dielectric barriers) in a needle- -plane geometry is analysed first. The results obtained show good agreement with experimental observations for various Trichel pulse characteristics. With dielectric barriers introduced into the discharge system, the surface discharge exhibits some similarities and differences to the corona case. The model studies the dynamics of volume charge generation, electric field variations and charge accumulation over the dielectric surface. The predicted surface charge density is consistent with experimental results obtained from the Pockels experiment in terms of distribution form and magnitude.

Mots clés: needle plane; Trichel pulses.; Trichel pulses; corona discharge; surface discharge; finite element simulation

T N Tran, I O Golosnoy, P L Lewin, G E Georghiou. Numerical modelling of negative discharges in air with experimental validation. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 2011, 44 (1), pp.15203. ⟨10.1088/0022-3727/44/1/015203⟩. ⟨hal-00597849⟩