Charge and voltage characteristics of corona discharges in a coaxial geometry

An engineering model is proposed to evaluate the variation of corona charge and corona current as a function of applied voltage for coaxial geometry (q-v curves). The two main assumptions of the model are the following: for streamer discharges to propagate continuously, the background field must be at, or just above, a critical level; and the streamers maintain a constant voltage gradient in the corona sheath. The model simulations are compared with the experimental q-v curves and a reasonable agreement is obtained between them.