Detection and characterization of the spatial inhibition potential in electroperforated sheet materials

The spatial distribution of tiny holes in sheet materials generated by means of electrical discharges is investigated using spatial statistics techniques. It is shown that whereas the holes appear to be randomly distributed according to a Poisson point pattern, there is in fact a small region around each hole in which the generation of a new one is statistically inhibited as a consequence of the lower impedance path offered by the already made hole. The resulting pattern is known in spatial statistics as a point process with a soft-core inhibition potential, which can be characterized using the pair correlation function.