Estimations of the energy available to a breakdown channel as it propagates through a dielectric medium

Values for the changes in the electrostatic energy stored in a dielectric as a conducting discharge channel propagates through a dielectric have been calculated using a basic charge simulation model. This approach is based on: first deriving the distribution of discrete charges required to generate an equipotential surface closely approximating the surface of the discharge channel; followed by calculating the potential energy associated with this charge distribution. This approach is computationally straightforward. The changes in potential energy have been calculated for three different radii of discharge channel. It has been assumed that the tip of the channel is initially 5 mm from the ground plane and that the channel has an initial length of 3 mm. The results obtained and some weaknesses in this approach are discussed in this paper.