A Simulation Model for Understanding Propagating Brush Discharges: Comparison of Theory and Experiments

Propagating brush discharges can release large amounts of energy. From the point of view of safety, this feature makes them among the most destructive electrical discharges. This paper provides a survey of recent work in the modeling of propagating brush discharges. Experimental data from various authors are compared with a discharge model in which areas of a charged surface are modeled as capacitive cells, and bridges between cells are modeled as spark gaps driven by the tangential electric field between cells. A theory that explains the physics of this particular type of discharge is presented. Charge transfer and post-discharge charge distributions are compared between the theory and the experimental data of several authors.