Simulation of corona discharge in point–plane configuration ☆

A numerical technique is proposed for determining the distributions of electric field and charge density in the case of a positive corona discharge in gas in the point–plane geometry. This technique is based on the boundary and finite elements methods for obtaining the harmonic and space charge components of the electric field, respectively, and on the method of characteristics to determine the charge density distribution. The numerical simulation gives the current density distribution on the ground plate, which compares favorably with the ones measured using a cylinder–cone needle with a tip of spherical shape.