Effect of streamer shape and dimensions on local electric field conditions

Electrooptical studies of the streamer initiation process using high magnification are performed to determine streamer shapes and dimensions. Using this information, the local electrical field is computed by means of a sophisticated computer code, named COMPELL. A detailed description of several plausible primary streamer models and the numerical results obtained from the local field computations are reported. The results obtained show that the electric field in the immediate vicinity of the streamer tip is much higher than has been calculated or estimated earlier. The influence of the different shapes and dimensions of the modeled streamers on the electric field are shown and discussed.