Burst pulses for positive corona discharges in atmospheric air: the collective movement of charged species

Abstract Positive corona burst pulses are an unstable pulse mode. They appear in a small range of the onset stage, and their current pulses result from the collective movement of charged species. This paper focused on the connections between these pulses and the collective movement of charged species. The movement of species is divided into four parts with respect to time: the (1) initial growth of species, (2) formation and development of the streamer region and negative ion sheath, (3) dead time (the time interval between the pulses), and (4) rapid re-growth of species. The movement of the species in the four parts and the correspondence with the current pulse were analyzed. The numerical results indicated the following: the rapid rising of the species matched the rising edge of the pulses, the streamer region, and negative ion sheath appeared in the falling edge of the primary pulse, and the rapid re-growth of species matched the re-ignition of the pulses. The results were in qualitative agreement with deductions and experimental observations in the literature.