A simplified model of corona discharge development on an ice surface [outdoor insulation applications]

In this paper, a simplified model of a corona discharge propagating on an ice surface is presented. The model is based on the ice surface properties and a set of empirical and scaling laws describing approximately the basic physical processes involved in the discharge. This model, which takes into account some macroscopic parameters, such as freezing water conductivity and gap geometry, reproduces the streamer propagation through a series of successive equivalent avalanches that develop in front of the streamer channel tip. A number of macroscopic measurable parameters, such as the propagation velocity, are obtained by the model. A preliminary comparison between experimental and computed results reveals satisfactory agreement.