Home Search Collections Journals About Contact us My IOPscience

Trichel pulse characteristics—negative corona discharge in air

This article has been downloaded from IOPscience. Please scroll down to see the full text article.

2011 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 44 155502

(http://iopscience.iop.org/0022-3727/44/15/155502)

View the table of contents for this issue, or go to the journal homepage for more

Download details:
IP Address: 146.201.208.22
The article was downloaded on 17/02/2013 at 23:13

Please note that terms and conditions apply.

IOP PUBLISHING JOURNAL OF PHYSICS D: APPLIED PHYSICS
J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 44 (2011) 155502 (11pp) doi:10.1088/0022-3727/44/15/155502

Trichel pulse characteristics—negative

corona discharge in air
P Sattari1 , C F Gallo2 , G S P Castle1 and K Adamiak1
1
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering University of Western Ontario London, ON,
Canada
2
Superconix Inc, 2440 Lisbon Ave, Lake Elmo, MN 55042, USA
E-mail: psattari@uwo.ca, chuckgallo@comcast.net, pcastle@eng.uwo.ca and kadamiak@eng.uwo.ca

Received 17 October 2010, in final form 10 February 2011

Published 28 March 2011
Online at stacks.iop.org/JPhysD/44/155502

Abstract
In this paper a three-species two-dimensional model is used for the simulation of the Trichel
pulse regime of corona discharge in air for a point-plane configuration. Effects of different
parameters of the model on Trichel pulse characteristics (Trichel pulse period and the average
corona current) are studied. The parameters of interest are external resistance of the circuit,
secondary electron emission coefficient and negative and positive ion mobilities. Moreover,
the numerical simulation was performed for the configuration used in the experimental
analysis reported in the literature and the results proved to be very compatible.
(Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version)

1. Introduction the negative space-charge formation and subsequent clearing

Investigations on the formation of Trichel pulse corona started
in 1934 when Trichel observed a pulsating current mode in the
negative corona discharge. These pulses were later named
the Trichel pulses and are characterized by very short rise
times and short durations separated by much longer inter-
pulse periods. The Trichel pulses only occur in electronegative
gases. In oxygen and air, these pulses are very regular while
in some other gases, such as SF6 , they are more irregular.
It was believed that in a non-electronegative (nonattaching)
gas such as nitrogen, current is continuous without pulses [1].
However, Akishev et al [2, 3] performed an experiment on a
negative corona in a point-plane configuration with nitrogen
as the ambient gas and could reproduce a pulsating current
similar to Trichel pulse regime under very specific conditions.
They discovered that since in nitrogen, unlike in air,
the onset voltage of the negative corona is larger than its
steady-state value, if the voltage is not decreased after the
onset of corona, low-current Trichel pulse regime will not
occur and corona immediately goes to high-current regime
without Trichel pulses. To prevent this from happening, they
diminished the applied voltage after the inception of the corona
discharge.
Several researchers have tried to explain the periodic
character of the discharge. Trichel [4] himself predicted that
of the gap is the cause of the periodic character of the
discharge. A negative cloud of space charge is formed far
from the discharge electrode and a positive cloud is formed
near this electrode. The presence of positive ions increases the
electric field near the discharge electrode and decreases the
electric field between the positive and the negative ion clouds.
Therefore, no ionization can take place beyond the positive
ion cloud. Subsequently, the positive ions move towards the
corona electrode under the effect of the electric field: this
narrows the region of the enhanced electric field and, finally,
the ionization process stops.
Loeb’s [5] experimental results showed that these regular
pulses exist only in electronegative gases. He presented a
theory which involved successive electron avalanches, each
giving rise to three successors near the end of its development
to explain this phenomenon. However, this theory could not
explain the fast rise time of 1.5 ns observed in air at atmospheric
pressure. Zentner [6] did some measurements on the current
rise time and found out that it can be as short as 1.3 ns.
Lama and Gallo [7] carried out a series of carefully
designed experiments and determined the dependence of pulse
frequency, charge per pulse and time-averaged corona current
with the applied voltage, needle-tip radius, and needle-to-
plane spacing. They embellished the physical mechanism
proposed by Trichel and Loeb. That is, there is a very

0022-3727/11/155502+11$33.00 1 © 2011 IOP Publishing Ltd Printed in the UK & the USA
J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 44 (2011) 155502
rapid electron Townsend avalanche from the tip, followed by
electron attachment to electronegative molecules to form a
slow moving negative ion cloud that reduces the electric field
below threshold and thus chokes the discharge. The corona
discharge then remains off until the negative ion cloud drifts
sufficiently far from the tip that the electric field rises above
threshold and the discharge re-ignites. This is repeated in
successive stages leading to Trichel current pulses. Lama
and Gallo analysed the electric field and presented equations
for several parameters (as functions of applied voltage, gap
spacing and tip radius) utilizing their data as follows:
• ‘transit time’: the time for a negative ion cloud to
transverse the gap.
• ‘clearing length’: the distance the choking negative ion
cloud must move before the electric field regains its
breakdown value and the corona discharge re-ignites.
• the number of negative ion charge clouds in the gap at any
given time, particularly as a function of applied voltage.
• the total negative ion charge in the gap at any given time,
particularly as a function of applied voltage.
By incorporating actual data into the expressions for
the space-charge-free electric field, Lama and Gallo were
able to obtain equations for the complex space-charge
perturbed situation. These equations remain to be verified by
independent analyses. Depending upon applied voltage, their
major conclusion is that there are many negative ion charge
clouds simultaneously in transit across the gap.
Lama and Gallo extended their studies to the interaction
of two interacting negative Trichel coronas as a function
of spacing as the main new interesting variable. They
analysed their experimental results with equivalent circuit
models describing the energy of the interacting coronas. Their
results are of interest for future studies [8].
Aleksandrov [9] presented the theory of parallel
development of several avalanches rather than successive
avalanches. He therefore succeeded in predicting much faster
rise times for the main pulse. Kekez et al [10] used an
equivalent circuit for the point-to-plane corona discharge and
described the succession of pulses. However, his model could
not explain the detailed mechanism of the pulse formation.
In 1985, Morrow [11, 12] proposed a one-dimensional
model for the development of Trichel pulses by applying the
combined finite-difference and flux-corrected transport (FCT)
technique to solve the set of continuity equations along with
Poisson’s equation. He could only model the first Trichel
pulse and offered a theoretical explanation for the different
stages of the pulse. His work was the best-known among
all the attempts for theoretical explanation of the corona
discharge phenomenon. The results agreed well with the
experimental data on the current–voltage dependence and also
on the dynamics of the pulse initiation. However, the extension
of the calculations to longer times showed only continuing
decay of the current without subsequent pulses. Although
Morrow did explain the different stages of the pulse, he ignored
the ion secondary emission.
Atten co-workers [13] investigated the process of corona
discharge in air as a function of gas pressure and point
2
P Sattari et al
radius. Their observations showed that corona discharge
characteristics in air can be calculated in the pressure range of
0.12–7 MPa using the Townsend criterion. They showed that
the Paschen law is still valid in high pressure air (up to 7 MPa)
provided that a very small point electrode is used. Some of
their findings are as follows:
• the relation between corona onset level and pressure is
Vs = P n with n = 0.6 ± 0.1,
• corona onset level is proportional to point radii for a given
pressure,
• the pulse frequency is proportional to average corona
current at a constant pressure and for a specific
configuration,
• the mean charge per pulse is proportional to radius,
• pulse duration has an inverse relation with pressure,
• at P > 1 MPa, regular and highly stable Trichel pulses
are obtained,
• the ratio of apparent charge per pulse (Qi ) and mean
charge per pulse (Q) is always smaller than 0.5,
• the pulse period is only a small fraction of the ion transit
time except at just above the onset voltage.
Castellanos et al [14] proposed a three-species model
to study corona discharge in oxygen at reduced pressure
(50 Torr). They solved the problem in 1D using a particle-
in-cell technique. They even compared their results with
experimental data but the model they were using was in oxygen
and was working at a reduced pressure while the experimental
data were reported for air and at atmospheric pressure [7].
Moreover, their used geometry was different from that of
experiment. Therefore, they did not expect a quantitative
agreement between experimental and numerical results. Still
their model and technique had some advantages: it was fast
and they could obtain a reasonable agreement between the
characteristics of Trichel pulse in simulation and experiment.
Napartovich et al [15] proposed a 1.5D numerical model
for the analysis of Trichel pulses. They could model the
sequence of Trichel pulses in dry air for short gaps (<1 cm).
The same authors later presented a two-dimensional model
for negative corona discharge in air and successfully showed
the presence of a sequence of Trichel pulses [16]. This
paper, however, did not contain any details on the technique
and the used model. Some other authors used similar
simplified models in order to reproduce chains of Trichel
pulses [10, 17, 18].
Georghiou et al [19] presented a two-dimensional
model for Trichel pulse simulation in air. They used
COMSOL-Multiphysics (a finite-element-method (FEM)-
based commercial solver) for solving the corresponding
equations. Their results, however, were not compatible with
experimental expectations. The period of the Trichel pulses
they calculated was approximately 20 times smaller than the
experimental predictions for the same configuration.
In this paper, a two-dimensional numerical model,
incorporating three species (electron, positive oxygen ion and
negative oxygen ion), is used for simulating the negative corona
discharge in air. Effects of different parameters (i.e. external
resistance, secondary electron emission coefficient, negative
J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 44 (2011) 155502
Figure 1. Circuit model of the needle-plane configuration.
and positive ion mobilities) on the Trichel pulse characteristics
are investigated. The numerical results are compared with the
experimental data reported by Lama and Gallo [7] for a specific
configuration of electrodes (needle radius and gap distance).
A rather satisfactory agreement between numerical results and
experimental data is observed.
2. Mathematical model and numerical algorithm
The corona discharge is modelled in a point-plane
configuration. A conducting needle is hyperbolic with a tip
radius curvature of r and length L. It is placed at a distance d
from the infinitely large conducting plate, which is grounded.
A negative potential Vc is applied to the needle. An external
(ballast) resistance Rext is connected in series between the
needle and the voltage source. Cd is the capacitance of the air
gap and it was calculated numerically to be equal to 0.055 pF.
The stray capacitance of the external resistor is disregarded.
The ambient gas is air at room temperature and atmospheric
pressure. Figure 1 shows the circuit model of the needle-plane
configuration.
This system is assumed to be axisymmetric, which means
that the equations should be solved in two dimensions using
variables x and r, where x is the axial distance and r indicates
the radial distance.
For the simulation of corona discharge, both the electric
field and charge density distributions need to be calculated.
The electric field is governed by the Poisson equation, while
the charge density distribution can be determined by solving
three charge transport equations for the three ionic species
considered [20]. These four equations are combined with the
Kirchhoff voltage equation for the electric circuit, where the
total current in the circuit is obtained using Sato’s formula [21].
The boundary conditions for positive, Np , and negative,
Nn , ions are Np = 0 on the ground plane Nn = 0 on the corona
electrode.
For electrons, the value of electron charge density at
different points of the corona electrode is obtained using the
secondary electron emission coefficient [20].
Since the electric field variations are very steep in both
space and time, the problem should be discretized very
carefully. To capture the steep variations of electric field near
the corona electrode, a non-uniform grid has to be used. This
grid was made very fine near the corona electrode. In the
remaining region, the electric field variation is more uniform;
3
P Sattari et al
therefore, a coarser mesh was selected. The distance between
the nodes varies from 5 µm close to the corona electrode to
2 mm far from the electrode.
For the charge continuity equations, FEM creates
oscillatory results, which lead to the algorithm divergence.
Therefore, another technique needed to be implemented to
remove the oscillations. A combination of FEM and FCT
proved to be a feasible solution. In this technique, artificial
oscillations in the calculated results, which occur when a
classical FEM approach for the charge transport equations
is used, are removed using a three-step procedure [22].
The detailed description of the model and the technique are
published in a previous paper [20].
3. Results
In this section, a series of Trichel pulses for a specific condition
is presented first. Moreover, the effects of different parameters,
external resistance, Rext , secondary electron emission, γ , and
ion mobilities on the electrical properties of Trichel pulses
(T , Iaverage ), are shown. There are two different sets of r
and d reported in this paper. In section 4.3, r = 10 µm and
d = 6 mm, which represents the same configuration used in
obtaining the experimental data reported by Lama and Gallo
[7]. All the other results are obtained using r = 100 µm and
d = 10 mm.
The simulation process of Trichel pulses in two
dimensions is very time and memory consuming. Therefore,
to make the process of studying the effect of different
parameters on the Trichel pulse characteristics possible, only
the first six Trichel pulses are simulated for each case and the
characteristics of Trichel pulses are obtained based on these
six pulses.
3.1. Trichel pulses for V = −8 kV, γ = 0.01, Rext = 100 k
A voltage of −8 kV was applied to the needle-plane system
and the corona current, displacement current and total current
versus time is plotted in figures 2(a)–(c), with six sequential
pulses shown. The time differences between subsequent
pulses are 14.35, 8.75, 9.61, 10.4 and 10.88 µs. Therefore,
it is clear that after some initial variations the Trichel pulses
become almost regular. The peak currents of the pulses are
approximately 15, 1.8, 2.04, 1.72, 1.71 and 1.73 mA.
The first pulse in the series of Trichel pulses always has
a different behaviour. Its amplitude is much larger than the
rest of the pulses and the time interval between the first and
second pulse is usually longer than the period between pulses
in steady state. This is due to the fact that the first pulse is
always produced in a charge-free space. There is no significant
negative charge in the space to suppress the electric field in the
ionization region. As a result, the maximum value of electric
field for the first pulse is larger than its value for the rest of
the pulses. Therefore, the avalanche ionization is stronger and
the total charge of electrons and positive ions, created due to
the avalanche ionization, is larger, resulting in the much larger
corona current for the first pulse.
J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 44 (2011) 155502
Figure 2. (a) Corona current for V = −8 kV, (b) Displacement current for V = −8 kV, (c) total current for V = −8 kV (the amplitude of
the total current at the first pulse is approximately equal to the amplitude of the displacement current at t = 0).
Moreover, since the total charge of negative ions created
due to attachment during the first pulse is larger than the total
charge of negative ions created during the subsequent pulses,
these negative ions need more time to drift towards the ground
plate. Therefore, more time is needed for the electric field to
increase above the value required for avalanche ionization and
for the appearance of the next Trichel pulse.
3.2. Effect of external resistance
A ballast resistor usually exists between the voltage source and
the corona electrode and it is intended to
• protect the elements of the circuit in the case of spark
discharge or short-circuit,
• limit the amount of current in the electric circuit. In
the corona discharge when the total current increases, the
voltage drop on the ballast resistor increases reducing the
voltage applied to the corona electrode and thus reducing
the applied field and gas ionization.
In this section, the Trichel pulse characteristics, average
pulse periods, standard deviation of the periods and average
corona current, were investigated for three different values of
the external resistance in the circuit. The results are presented
4
P Sattari et al
in tables 1–3 and figures 3 and 4. Figure 3 shows Trichel
pulse period versus applied voltage for three different external
resistances. The standard deviation of the period at each
applied voltage is also shown in this figure. Figure 4 shows
the average corona current versus applied voltage for the three
external resistances.
From the numerical simulation data, it can be observed that
• as the external resistance decreases, the time between
the first pulse and the second pulse increases (figures 11
and 12),
• as the external resistance decreases, the period of the
pulses increases (with the exception of V = −8 kV case)
(figure 3),
• as the external resistance decreases, the value of the
maximum current increases, (figures 11 and 12).
To explain the reasons for these observations, figures 5–12
are presented. These figures show the total charge of positive
ions, electrons and negative ions and the corona current for
two different values of the external resistance. By comparing
the corresponding figures for Rext = 10 k and Rext =
100 k, it is clear that total charge of positive ions and
electrons created in the case of smaller resistance is much larger
than the total charge of positive ions and electrons created
J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 44 (2011) 155502 P Sattari et al

Table 1. Trichel pulse characteristics for different applied voltages, 20

Rext = 100 k. R
ext
=100MΩ
R =50MΩ
Voltage 7 kV 8 kV 9 kV 10 kV ext
∗ Rext=10MΩ
Taverage 13.5 µs 9.9 µs 6.6 µs 6.2 µs

Trichel pulse period (µs)

Iaverage 13.6 µA 19.0 µA 28.1 µA 33.3 µA
∗
St. D. of Taverage 2.09 0.81 0.61 0.80 15
Gallo’s T 11.3 µs 8.1 µs 6.1 µs 4.8 µs
Gallo’s Iaverage 17.1 µA 23.7 µA 31.4 µA 40.0 µA

Table 2. Trichel pulse characteristics for different applied voltages,

10
Rext = 50 k.
Voltage 7 kV 9 kV
∗
Taverage 13.8 µs 6.7 µs
Iaverage 12.4 µA 27.8 µA
∗
St. D. of Taverage 1.64 0.86
5
6.5 7 7.5 8 8.5 9 9.5 10 10.5
Applied voltage (kV)
Table 3. Trichel pulse characteristics for different applied voltages,
Rext = 10 k. Figure 3. Trichel pulse period versus applied voltage for different
external resistances.
Voltage 7 kV 8 kV 9 kV 10 kV
∗
Taverage 17.1 µs 9.2 µs 9.1 µs 7.7 µs
Iaverage 11.7 µA 19.8 µA 25.8 µA 32.9 µA 35
∗
St. D. of Taverage 1.34 0.88 0.35 1.62
Average corona current (µA)

30

in the case of larger resistance. Subsequently, these ions

need more time to migrate towards the ground plate. Therefore,
25
the average period of the pulses increases as the external
resistance decreases. Since for smaller external resistances,
the voltage drop is smaller, a larger voltage is applied to the 20
corona electrode. A larger voltage creates a stronger electric
field. Therefore, more charges are needed to reduce the electric
Average corona current for Rext=100kΩ
field below the ionization level. For the same reason, the 15
Average corona current for Rext=50kΩ
time interval between the first two pulses for smaller external
resistances is much larger than the time interval between the Average corona current for R =10kΩ
ext
10
first two pulses for larger resistances. 7 7.5 8 8.5 9 9.5 10
As the average period of pulses increases, the average Applied voltage (kV)
corona current decreases. The reason is that, even though
Figure 4. Average corona current versus applied voltage for
the peak values of current are larger, a longer period means different external resistances.
a greater time interval at which the corona current has very
small values. Therefore, average corona current is smaller.
The effect of external resistance on the system is nonlinear. It is expected that as the mobility of ions increases,
This is why the difference between Trichel pulse characteristics they move faster and the period of the pulses will
for Rext = 100 k and Rext = 50 k is not as dramatic decrease and, therefore, the average corona current will also
as the differences between these two cases and the case of increase. This is confirmed by numerical results presented in
Rext = 10 k. It seems that there is a critical value for external table 4.
resistance below which its effect on the system becomes
increasingly important. 3.4. Effect of secondary electron emission
Secondary electron emission relates the number of electrons
3.3. Effect of mobility emitted from the corona electrode to the number of positive
The pulsating nature of Trichel pulses are caused by the finite ions impacting this electrode.
time it takes ionic species to drift across the air gap. This µp
time is directly related to the drift velocity, which depends Nec = γ Npc
µe
on the species mobility. Slightly different values of mobility
are reported in the literature. The effect of various mobility where γ is the secondary emission coefficient.
values of the positive and negative ions on the parameters of In the literature, the value of the secondary electron
the Trichel pulses has been studied in the presented numerical emission is assumed to be approximately 0.01. Investigating
model. the effect of this coefficient on Trichel pulse characteristics

5
J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 44 (2011) 155502 P Sattari et al
–10 –10
x 10 x 10
9

0.9 8

0.8
7
Total positive ion

0.7

Total electron
6
0.6
5
0.5
4
0.4

3
0.3

0.2 2

0.1 1

0 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180
Time (µs) Time (µs)
Figure 5. Total charge of positive ions versus time (Rext = 10 k). Figure 7. Total charge of electrons versus time (Rext = 10 k).
–11
x 10 –10
8 x 10
6

7
5
6
Total positive ion

Total electron

4
5

4
3

3
2
2

1
1

0 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Time (µs) Time (µs)
Figure 6. Total charge of positive ions versus time (Rext = 100 k). Figure 8. Total charge of electrons versus time (Rext = 100 k).

seems to be important. Table 5 shows the effect of increasing
this coefficient. Figure 13 shows Trichel pulse period versus
γ . The standard deviation of the period is also shown with a
bar at each point. Figure 14 shows the average corona current
versus secondary electron emission coefficient. As the table
and figures show, this coefficient does not seem to have any
significant effect on the Trichel pulse characteristics.
4. Comparison with experimental results
In this section, first some of our numerical simulation results
are compared with the experimental data previously reported
in the literature. Secondly, the experimental procedure
used for obtaining uniform and reproducible Trichel pulses
from negative corona discharge in electronegative gases is
presented. Finally, the numerical simulation is performed
for this same configuration used in the experimental analysis
and the Trichel pulse characteristics in both cases are
compared.
4.1. Comparison with experimental data
In our previous publication [22] we compared our numerical
results with some experimental data. These are repeated here
as figure 15 showing the Trichel pulse period for different
applied voltages from the experimental data obtained by Lama
and Gallo [7] alongside the average period of the numerical
results obtained from our numerical technique. The relation
between the experimental Trichel pulse frequency (period)
versus applied voltage, spacing and tip radius, was expressed
analytically by Lama and Gallo as
1 K1 V (V − V0 )
f = ≈ (1)
T rd 2

6
J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 44 (2011) 155502 P Sattari et al

x 10
–9 0.05
1.6
0.045

1.4
0.04

Corona current (A)

1.2 0.035
Total negative ions

0.03
1
0.025
0.8
0.02

0.6 0.015

0.01
0.4
0.005
0.2
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180
0 Time (µs)
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180
Time (µs)
Figure 11. Total corona current versus time (Rext = 10 k).
Figure 9. Total charge of negative ions versus time (Rext = 10 k).
0.014

–9
x 10
1.4 0.012
Corona current (A)

1.2 0.01

0.008
Total negative ions

0.8 0.006

0.6 0.004

0.002
0.4

0
0.2 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Time (µs)
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Figure 12. Total corona current versus time (Rext = 100 k).
Time (µs)
Table 4. Trichel pulse characteristics for V = −7 kV and different
Figure 10. Total charge of negative ions versus time ion mobilities.
(Rext = 100 k).
Ion mobilities kp = 2.24e4 kp = 1.94e4 kp = 1.9e4
kn = 2.16e4 kn = 2.2e4 kn = 2e4
where K1 ≈ 27 kHz mm3 kV−2 . The authors mentioned that ∗
Taverage 13.5 µs 14.3 µs 14.7 µs
K1 is dependent on the condition of the needle-tip surface, Iaverage 13.6 µA 12.7 µA 11.7 µA
ambient conditions, and the shape of the needle shaft and the ∗
St. D. of Taverage 2.09 1.92 1.68
tip. In their experimental set-up the corona onset voltage (V0 )
was equal to −2.3 kV, comparatively independent of tip radius
which is unexpected and unexplained. See figure 17 for some figure 17 for some elucidation.
elucidation.
I ≈ K2 V (V − V0 )/d 2 (2)
Figure 15 shows that the numerical data follow a similar
trend line to the experimental results, but the numerical results where K2 = 52 µA mm2 kV−2 .
considerably overestimate the pulse periods. Figure 16 shows According to equation (1) the Trichel pulse frequency is
the average corona current versus applied voltage both from the inversely proportional to the corona electrode radius and square
experimental investigations and numerical simulations. Both of the gap spacing. This is quite logical because as the distance
of these figures are obtained for r = 100 µm, d = 1 cm. Lama between the electrodes increases, negative ions take more time
and Gallo obtained the following formula to describe their data to travel towards the ground electrode. Therefore, the Trichel
on the corona current dependence on the applied voltage and pulse period increases and its frequency decreases. Moreover,
spacing. The data are again comparatively independent of a sharper corona electrode (with a smaller radius of curvature)
tip radius which is again unexpected and unexplained. See produces a larger electric field close to it. A larger electric

7
J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 44 (2011) 155502 P Sattari et al

Table 5. Trichel pulse characteristics for different secondary 14

emission coefficients, V = −7 kV. Experimental data
13 Numerical simulation results
 0.005 0.01 0.05 0.08 Curve fitted to numerical results

∗ 12
Taverage 13.7 µs 13.5 µs 14.4 µs 12.9 µs

Trichel pulse period (µs)

Iaverage 13.2 µA 13.6 µA 12.3 µA 14.1 µA 11
∗
St. D. of Taverage 1.45 2.09 1.89 1.55
10

9
16
8
14
7
Trichel pulse period (µs)

12
6

10
5

8
7 7.5 8 8.5 9 9.5 10
Applied voltage(kV)
6

Figure 15. Trichel pulse period versus applied voltage:

4
experimental and numerical results.
2 –5
x 10
0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09
5 Experimental data
Secondary electron emission Numerical simulation results
Curve fitted to numerical results
4.5
Average corona current (A)

Figure 13. Trichel pulse period versus secondary electron emission.

4
15

3.5

3
Average corona current (µA)

10 2.5

1.5

5 7 7.5 8 8.5 9 9.5 10 10.5 11

Applied voltage (kV)

Figure 16. Average corona current versus applied voltage:

0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04
Secondary electron emission
Figure 14. Average corona current versus secondary electron
emission.
field moves the ions faster and increases the frequency of the
pulses.
In addition, equation (2) shows the relation between the
average corona current and the gap spacing is also the inverse
squared. Since the Trichel pulse period is larger for larger
gap spacing, therefore, it should be expected that the average
corona current would be smaller.
These figures confirm that increasing the applied voltage
decreases the Trichel pulse period (increases its frequency)
and, therefore, increases the average corona current. The
numerical simulation results are very compatible with
the experimental data, but they underestimate the periods
experimental and numerical results.
0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09
especially at low voltages. This may be due to the difference
in geometry (tip-to-plate spacing) and microscopic issues near
the corona tip. For this reason, the simulation is repeated
later in this section for the same configuration as used in the
experiment.
4.2. Unusual appearance and unexplained physics at the
Trichel pulse needle tip
To try and understand some of the unusual Trichel pulse
behaviour, we report in figure 17 some previously unpublished
details of the experiments and observations as recorded by one
of the authors (Gallo). In order to obtain a uniform series of
Trichel pulses, needles of various sizes and shapes at different
gap lengths were viewed under negative corona conditions with
a tele-microscope, and simultaneously all measurements were
done with electrical meters and an oscilloscope. The voltage

8
J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 44 (2011) 155502
Figure 17. Unusual thin ionization channel leading to usual
cone-shaped corona.
ranges started at the onset value (−2.3 kV) up to maximum
of −7 kV for the larger gaps, with lower maximum voltages
for smaller gaps. The data did not continue until sparking in
order to avoid instrument failure. The visual appearance of
the Trichel pulse corona is unusual as shown in figure 17. At
the negative needle tip, the existence of an extremely narrow
bright ionization channel is conspicuous and unusual. Further
from the needle tip, this channel abruptly expands into the
usual corona cone configuration that then seems to follow the
electric field lines into the gap. By contrast, for positive corona,
this ionization channel is absent and the corona glow appears to
follow the electric field lines from the needle tip and throughout
the gap.
Because of this narrow ionization channel, the shape
of the needle tip is critically important for obtaining stable
reproducible Trichel pulses. For a very sharp needle tip, the
ionization channel wobbles around the tip erratically and the
Trichel pulses are irregular and non-reproducible (An analogy
of this instability would be a sharpened pencil standing on its
sharp end.). Loeb, Trichel and others have called these ‘mode
shifts’ in some mysterious context [1]. These observed ‘mode
shifts’ are actually due to wobbles in the physical location of
the ionization channel. To avoid this erratic behaviour, it was
found that tips with slightly blunt or flattened ends yielded the
most stable Trichel pulse behaviour. The ionization channel
was securely located at the centre of the slightly ‘blunt’ needle
tip as shown in figure 17.
This narrow ionization channel is not described by
present theory or simulations and may possibly be confined
magnetically by the high-current density. It is also probably
responsible for the discrepancy between the measured low
threshold voltage of −2.3 kV (approximately independent of
tip radius) compared with calculated estimates of much higher
−4.7 kV. Localized electron field emission may be involved
in the unexpectedly low threshold voltage and its comparative
insensitivity to tip radius. The physics of this narrow ionization
channel as contrasted with the usual corona (which follows the
9
P Sattari et al
Table 6. Rough estimates of dimensions.
Tip radii (r) 3–50 µm
Gap spacing (d) 3–16 µm
Blunted tip portion (BTP) 0.6–10 µm
Ionization channel diameter (D) 0.12–2 µm
Length of the ionization channel (L) 1.2–20 µm
Table 7. Trichel pulse characteristics for V = −4 kV, r = 10 µm,
d = 6 mm.
∗
Taverage 2.3 µs
Gallo’s T 2.0 µs
Iaverage 9.8 µA
Gallo’s Iaverage 9.8 µA
∗
St. D. of Taverage 0.47
expected electric field lines) is an interesting topic for future
research.
4.3. Revised comparison with experimental data
In this section, we revise the calculations and analysis in
section 4.1 to compare with the Trichel pulse data of Lama
and Gallo [7] for several reasons as follows.
(i) From figure 17 and table 6, it is clear that there is an
‘effective tip radius’ at the thin ionization channel that is
much smaller than the actual radius of the needle tip.
(ii) The experimental fact that the threshold voltage is
approximately −2.3 kV and comparatively insensitive
to tip radius is strong evidence that the usual electric
field calculations for threshold voltage are not applicable,
probably because localized microscopic electron field
emission is operative in this case (figure 17).
(iii) Although the functional trends for both the data and
calculations are similar in figure 15 (Trichel pulse period)
and figure 16 (average corona current), the numerical
values are quite different consistent with the discussion
in items 1 and 2 above.
Thus the numerical calculations are repeated for a new
case with the ionization channel approximated by assuming
a needle with ‘effective tip radius’ of 10 µm which is more
appropriate in view of the real microscopic situation displayed
in figure 17 and the distance between the needle and plate of
6 mm. The applied voltage was set at −4 kV and the corona
onset voltage for this configuration is assumed to be −2.3 kV.
According to the experimental results for this configuration
the period of pulses should be 1.96 µs and the average corona
current is expected to be 9.8 µA.
The numerical simulation results are shown in table 7.
As this table shows the average Trichel pulse period is
calculated as 2.3 µs which is very close to experimental
expectations and the average corona current is 12.1 µA. The
agreement is very good as the value of calculated period agrees
within the standard deviation, but both average values tend to
overestimate the experimental expectations by 15% and 23%
respectively. This may be due to the arbitrary nature of the
approximation of the ionization zone (i.e. simplification of
shape) and assumed value of tip radius.
J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 44 (2011) 155502 P Sattari et al
–3
x 10
5

4.5 500

Electron density (C/m )

3
4 400
Corona current (A)

3.5 300

3
200

2.5
100
2
0
1.5 0.02
Ra 0.01
0.02
1 dia 0
l di 0.015
P1 sta –0.01 0.01 )
nce (mm
0.5 (mm –0.02 0.005
ist ance
xial d
0
) A
0
0 2 4 6 8 10
Time (µs) Figure 20. Electron density at point P1.

Figure 18. Trichel pulse sequence for the applied voltage of

V = −4 kV. (P1 shows the half pulse rising of the fifth pulse).

Negative ion density (C/m )

3
0.025

0.02
Positive ion density (C/m3)

400
0.015

300 0.01

0.005
200
0
5
100 Ra
dia 5
l di 0 4
sta 3
)
0 nce 2 (mm
(mm –5 1
ist ance
xial d
0.02 ) 0
Ra 0.01
A
dia 0.02
l di 0 0.015
sta
nce –0.01 0.01 m) Figure 21. Negative ion density at point P1.
(mm –0.02 0.005
tance(m
) 0
Ax ial dis
5. Conclusions
Figure 19. Positive ion density at point P1.
In this paper, effects of different parameters of the corona
discharge model on Trichel pulse characteristics (Trichel pulse
4.4. Multiple negative charge clouds simultaneously in
period and the average corona current) were studied. From the
the gap
numerical simulation results, it was observed that
In order to have a three-dimensional (3D) visualization of (i) as the external resistance decreases, period of pulses
the distribution of charge carriers during a Trichel pulse, the increases,
distributions of electrons and negative and positive oxygen ions (ii) as the external resistance decreases, average corona
at a specific time instant are shown in this section. Figure 18 current decreases,
shows the Trichel pulse sequence for the configuration (iii) as the mobility of ions increases, the period of
discussed in the previous section. Five pulses are generated and pulse decreases and, therefore, average corona current
at the half pulse rising time of the fifth pulse, the 3D distribution increases,
of electron density, negative ion density and positive ion (iv) secondary electron emission coefficient does not seem to
densities is shown in figures 19–21. As these figures show, at have any significant effect on Trichel pulse characteristics,
the half pulse rising time, a very dense cloud of electrons and (v) the numerical and experimental data obtained for Trichel
positive ions exist near the corona electrode. These ions and pulse characteristics for the same configuration agree
electrons are created due to the avalanche ionization process. relatively well.
However, at this point, since the attachment process has not
started yet, the density of negative ions is much smaller than Acknowledgments
other species and negative ions are composed of several clouds
in the air gap. These clouds are created due to the previous The authors would like to acknowledge the helpful discussions
pulses which are not yet deposited on the ground. and advice of Dr P Atten during the course of this

10
J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 44 (2011) 155502
work. This project was in part financially supported by
the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of
Canada (NSERC). This work was made possible by the
facilities of the Shared Hierarchical Academic Research
Computing Network (SHARCNET: www.sharcnet.ca) and
Compute/Calcul Canada.
References
[1] Loeb L P 1965 Electrical Coronas (Berkely, CA: University of
California)
[2] Akishev Y S, Grushin M E, Karal’nik V B and Trushkin N I
2001 Plasma Phys. Rep. 27 520–31
[3] Akishev Y S, Grushin M E, Karal’nik V B and Trushkin N I
2001 Plasma Phys. Rep. 27 532-41
[4] Trichel G W 1938 Phys. Rev. 54 1078–84
[5] Loeb L B, Kip A F and Hudson G G 1941 Phys. Rev.
60 714–22
[6] Zentner R 1970 Z. Angew. Physik 29 294–301
[7] Lama W L and Gallo C F 1974 J. Appl. Phys.
45 103–13
[8] Lama W L and Gallo C F 1973 J. Phys. D:
Appl. Phys. 6 1963–72
[9] Aleksandrov G N 1963 Sov. Phys. Tech. Phys.
8 161–6
11
P Sattari et al
[10] Kekez M M, Savic P and Lougheed G D 1982 J. Phys. D:
Appl. Phys. 15 1963–73
[11] Morrow R 1985 Phys. Rev. A 32 1799–809
[12] Morrow R 1985 Phys. Rev. A 32 3821–4
[13] Haidara M, Denat A and Atten P 1997 J. Electrostat.
40–41 61–6
[14] Soria C, Pontiga F and Castellanous A 2007 J. Phys. D: Appl.
Phys. 40 4552–60
[15] Napartovich A P, Akishev Y S, Deryugin A A, Kochetov I V,
Pan’kin M V and Trushkin N I 1997 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys.
30 2726–36
[16] Akishev Y S, Kochetov I V, Loboiko A I and Napartovich A P
2002 Plasma Phys. Rep. 28 1049–59
[17] MacAlpine J M K and Yim W C 1995 Conf. on Electrical
insulation and Dielectric Phenomena (Virginia Beach, VA)
pp 118–21
[18] Vazqueza P A, Perez A T, Castellanos A and Atten P 2000
Phys. Fluids 12 2809–18
[19] Tran T N, Golosnov I O, Levin P L and Georghiou G E 2009
IEEE Conf. on Electrical Insulation and Dielectric
Phenomena, CEIDP ’09 (Virginia Beach, VA, 18–21
October 2009) pp 592–5
[20] Sattari P, Castle G S P and Adamiak K 2010 IAS Annual
Meeting (Houston, TX, 3–7 October 2010) pp 1–8
[21] Sato N 1980 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 13 L3–5
[22] Sattari P, Castle G S P and Adamiak K 2010 IEEE Trans.
Indust. Appl. 46 1699–706