Modeling of streamer-to-spark transitions in the first pulse and the post discharge stage

Abstract The streamer-to-spark transition in a point-to-plane configuration in atmospheric pressure air is studied using a 2D–0D combined approach. A validated fluid code is used and improved to model the spark stage. 2D modeling of discharges at three different temperatures, 300, 600 and 800 K, are conducted; the spark transition occurs when the temperature reaches 800 K in the first pulse. A conservative criteria of spark transition temperature is proposed based on analytical solution and compared with experiments. Kinetics modeling of the post discharge stage is conducted with consistent input values extracted from the 2D model. Results show that the streamer-to-spark transition can be initiated at a lower temperature (600 K) and lower field (50–75 Td), and the long-lifetime O-atoms formed in previous pulses play an important role in ‘knocking off’ the electrons from negative charged species and maintaining the electron density in the post discharge stage. The dominating processes for electron production are electron detachment reactions from <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" overflow="scroll"> <mml:msubsup> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">O</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>3</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>−</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> </mml:msubsup> </mml:math> , <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" overflow="scroll"> <mml:msubsup> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">O</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>2</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>−</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> </mml:msubsup> </mml:math> and O − . The ionizations from excited species only accelerate the production of electrons when the plasma is already dense.