Numerical Simulation of Trichel Pulses in a Negative Corona Discharge in Air

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In this paper, a new 2-D model is presented for numerical simulation of Trichel pulses in a point-plane configuration. Both radial and axial components of the electric field are considered and it is assumed that three ionic species exist in the air gap: electrons, and positive and negative oxygen ions. The Poisson equation is solved for electric field calculations and three continuity equations for modeling the transport of charge densities in the air gap. The finite element method (FEM) is used for solving the Poisson equation and a combined Flux Corrected Transport-FEM is used for the charge transport equations. Trichel pulses for different applied voltages are shown and the characteristics of these pulses at different voltages are compared with experimental results reported in the literature. The time variation of the electric field on the corona electrode at different stages of one Trichel pulse is also presented. Moreover, the distributions of electron, positive ion and negative ion densities at different stages of the Trichel pulse are discussed.