Properties of Flammable Gaseous Mixtures Optimized by Corona Tests

There are important applications of discharges occurring in gaseous hydrocarbons. This paper focuses on experimental work on corona discharges aimed at optimizing the electronegative properties of hydrocarbon binary media. Discharges were studied in a needle-plane system with a small electrode gap under controlled pressure, temperature, and homogeneity of the sample. Various highly flammable hydrocarbon mixtures of cyclopentane, 1-pentene, and pentane were analyzed. Experiments show particular patterns of discharges common to the studied hydrocarbons. The concentration of the sample determines the electronegative character of the hydrocarbon mixtures and is reflected in the discharge patterns observed. The results were reproducible on different concentrations of the used mixtures. The present analysis provides data for other studies; the techniques can be employed for engineering the properties of electronegative binary mixtures and for optimizing the characteristics of corona discharges in hydrocarbon media.