The inception of pulsed discharges in air: simulations in background fields above and below breakdown

We investigate discharge inception in air, in uniform background electric fields above and below the breakdown threshold. We perform 3D particle simulations that include a natural level of background ionization in the form of positive and ions. In background fields below breakdown, we use a strongly...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of physics. D, Applied physics Applied physics, 2014-11, Vol.47 (44), p.445205-9
Main Authors: Sun, Anbang, Teunissen, Jannis, Ebert, Ute
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Avalanches
background ionization
Breakdown
breakdown field
discharge
Electric discharges
electrical breakdown
Fluid flow
Fluids
Ionization
overvolted
Simulation
streamer
Thresholds
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Summary:We investigate discharge inception in air, in uniform background electric fields above and below the breakdown threshold. We perform 3D particle simulations that include a natural level of background ionization in the form of positive and ions. In background fields below breakdown, we use a strongly ionized seed of electrons and positive ions to enhance the field locally. In the region of enhanced field, we observe the growth of positive streamers, as in previous simulations with 2D plasma fluid models. The inclusion of background ionization has little effect in this case. When the background field is above the breakdown threshold, the situation is very different. Electrons can then detach from and start ionization avalanches in the whole volume. These avalanches together create one extended discharge, in contrast to the 'double-headed' streamers found in many fluid simulations.
ISSN:0022-3727
1361-6463
DOI:10.1088/0022-3727/47/44/445205