Discharge Inception in Hydrocarbon Liquids: Effect of Electrode Surface Roughness

The effect of microprotrusions at electrode surfaces on the discharge inception in hydrocarbon liquids in corona-like gap configurations is considered. The inception field is estimated for cylindrical protrusions of various lengths and radii. Agreement of evaluated inception fields with experimental data for rods with radii of about a centimeter is achieved for protrusions with lengths and radii of 20-50 mu m and 1-2 mu m, respectively. These protrusion parameters are close to those obtained previously by analysis of discharge inception in compressed gases.

Automated summary

This study investigates the effect of microprotrusions at electrode surfaces on the discharge inception in hydrocarbon liquids in corona-like gap configurations. The inception field is estimated for cylindrical protrusions of various lengths and radii. The calculated inception fields agree well with experimental data for rods with radii of about a centimeter when the protrusions have lengths and radii of 20-50 μm and 1-2 μm, respectively. These protrusion parameters are similar to those obtained in previous analysis of discharge inception in compressed gases.