Electric wind characterisation in negative point-to-plane corona discharges in air

Laboratoire d'Acoustique de l'Université du Maine, UMR – CNRS 6613, Université du Maine, avenue Olivier Messiaen, 72085 Le Mans Cedex 9, France

Corresponding author: philippe.bequin@univ-lemans.fr

Received: 4 January 2002
Revised: 28 October 2002
Accepted: 10 December 2002
Published online: 25 February 2003

Abstract

In point-to-plane corona discharges in air, the collisions of charged particles with neutral particles induce a gas movement between the point to the plane called electric wind. A one-dimensional model of the neutral particle velocity along the discharge axis and between the electrodes is first developed. Laser Doppler Anemometry is used to measure the axial velocity profile of the gas between the electrodes. Discrepancies between experimental results and predictions of the on-axis velocity are discussed. Finally, the measured velocity profile compares quite well with a cos⁵θ distribution. Significant differences between measured and cos⁵θ profiles are observed near the discharge axis which could be attributed to the presence of seeding particles.