Numerical study of the self-pulsing of DC discharge: from corona to parallel-plate configurations

We present here an investigation of the self-pulsing phenomenon of negative corona and parallel-plate discharge in argon within one frame of a one-dimensional fluid model in cylinder–cylinder electrode geometry. The transition from corona to parallel-plate discharge is obtained by changing the inner and outer radii of the electrodes. The model reproduces the self-pulsing waveform well and provides the spatiotemporal behaviors of the charged particles and electric field during the pulse. The self-pulsing shows a common feature that occurs in various configurations and that does not depend on a specific electrode structure. The self-pulsing is the transformation between a weak-current Townsend mode and a large-current normal glow mode. The behavior of the positive ions is the dominant factor in the formation of the pulse.