AC discharge performance of short ball-ball and rod-plate air gaps under water mist conditions

This study explores the influence of water mist droplet diameter and the spacing between the droplets on the alternating current breakdown characteristics of a water mist-air mixture (WAM) between short ball-ball and rod-plate gaps. The experimental results show that the diameter of the water mist droplets and the electrode structure influence the breakdown while the spacing between the water droplets shows a slight affect. Computations are carried out on various droplet sizes and spacings between the droplets between ball-ball and rod-plate electrodes and it is observed that the maximum electric field in the gap increases with increasing diameter of the water mist droplets. Comparatively, the spacing between the droplets of water mist shows a small influence on the electrostatic field distortion in the gaps. In addition, the effect of water mist droplets on the electrostatic field of the ball-ball electrodes is greater than that of the rod-plate electrodes.