Numerical Simulations of Trichel Pulses
in a Negative Corona in Air

Yu. S. Akishev, I. V. Kochetov, A. I. Loboko, and A. P. Napartovich

Troitsk Institute for Innovation and Fusion Research, State Scientific Center of the Russian Federation,
Troitsk, Moscow oblast, 142190 Russia

Received May 30, 2002

Abstract—Numerical simulations of a negative corona in air demonstrate that the experimentally observed
regime of self-oscillations, known as Trichel pulses, is well described by a three-dimensional axisymmetric
model that is based on the standard transport equations and in which only the ion-induced secondary electron
emission at the cathode is taken into account. The quantitative difference between the measured and calculated
values of the mean current and the pulse repetition rate most likely stems from the insufficiently large dimen-
sions of the computation region and from the fact that the point shape adopted in simulations somewhat inex-
actly conforms to that used in experiments. It was found that the transverse discharge structure near the cathode
radically changes during the pulse. Specifically, as the current grows, a cathode sheath forms at the discharge
axis and expands over the cathode surface. When the current falls off, the cathode sheath is rapidly destroyed;
as a result, the characteristic field structure is well defined only near the discharge axis and becomes virtually
indistinguishable as the current decreases by an order of magnitude. © 2002 MAIK “Nauka/Interperiodica”.

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