Modelling of multi-channel streamers propagation in liquid dielectrics using the computation electrical network

Abstract

International audienceThis work is devoted to the modelling of branching streamers, propagating in liquid dielectrics using an equivalent electrical network, physical laws and energetic considerations. This model enables the prediction of the characteristics of the streamer such as the current, the electrical charge, the energy and the power injected in the liquid medium, the local electric field, the streamer pattern and its velocity. The shape and amplitude of the different characteristics so simulated are in quite good accordance with those reported in the literature. It appears from our modelling that the shape and the propagation mode of the streamer depend not only on the test conditions but also on the local electric field. The values of the mobility of charge carriers within the streamer channels, the local viscosity and temperature deduced from this model indicate that both electronic and gaseous mechanisms are implicated in the streamer development