Finite element solution of monopolar corona as influenced by ion life time

This paper presents an iterative finite element technique for the analysis of monopolar ionized field in transmission line conductor to plane configurations. One of the main underlying assumptions adopted in the literature, namely, the constant ion mobility, is waived in a simple way. The impact of waiving this assumption on the computed corona current and ground plane current density profile is investigated. A laboratory model was built to check the accuracy of the calculated corona current and the ground plane current density characteristics. It has been found that the present calculated corona current and the ground plane current density, which assumed variable ion mobility, agreed well with those measured experimentally for laboratory and full scale models and are less than those obtained when assuming constant ion mobility.