Electrical field modified by injected space charge in blade-plate configuration

Abstract

This paper presents the numerical resolution of the problem defined by corona discharge in a gas at the edge of a blade facing a plate. We use the finite element method to solve the Poisson equation and the method of characteristics to determine the distribution of charge density (charge conservation equation). The main point is the use of a structured mesh which is redefined at each iteration step to avoid artificial numerical diffusion when solving the charge conservation equation. This algorithm is applied using an injection law giving the charge density at the injector as a function of the local electric field