Initiation and Propagation of Discharge in Liquid Droplets: Effect of Droplet Sizes

Three kinds of water mist with different droplet sizes are applied to understand the effect of droplet sizes on the initiation and propagation of discharges in a nonuniform field at atmospheric pressure. Based on the measurement of droplet sizes in three mists and the volume fraction of water droplets, effect of droplet sizes is demonstrated by directly comparing the percentages of the discharge path in mist at the different positions with those in air. It can be concluded that the mist with smaller μm-droplets has the negative impact on the initiation and propagation of discharges; the mist with larger μm-droplets has the inhibited effect on the starting and growth of positive discharge but has the contrary effects on negative discharge.