A diffusion model of high voltage breakdown in liquid dielectrics

The paper is devoted to the calculation of the streamer formation rate during the high voltage breakdown in liquid dielectrics. The liquid can be described as ionic crystal in an electric field with high tension (more than kilovolt) and during short periods of time (several nanoseconds) of the streamer formation. The molecules of liquid are not only highly polarized but orientated in the electric field. The streamer formation is explained as an appearance of the outlined boundary between initial liquid and “ions”-charged dissociation products of this liquid in the electric field. The streamer distribution is described by means of the continuity and diffusion equations for “ions” (surface and space) flows in the electric field. The streamer centre transference is explained by means of nonsymmetry of the “anions” and “cations” flows. The correction to the chemical potential in the electric field for charged components (“ions”) of the dissociation products of liquid is estimated. Using noncomplicated transformations the equation for the streamer distribution rate can be calculated