Corona Discharge Characteristics in Airflow Containing Siloxane Vapor

The stability of a corona discharge is important in electrophotography and other applications. Siloxane is known to influence corona discharge stability. In this paper, the voltage for maintaining a constant corona discharge current in an atmosphere containing siloxane vapor is monitored as a function of time. During the period when siloxane vapor is being sent to a corona discharge area, an increase of the voltage is observed, and a decrease of the voltage is observed just after stopping siloxane vapor containment. Based on this voltage increase and decrease, the main mechanisms of the voltage change are considered as wire degradation and discharge restraint by the siloxane vapor itself in the corona discharge area.