Analyzing corona breakdown with a finite element-based electromagnetic solver

This paper demonstrates how an already developed finite element code for solving electromagnetic problems can be manipulated and simply extended so as to investigate complicated corona breakdowns. A safe criterion based on the eigenvalue analysis is used in order to predict the maximum electric field that a structure can withstand without suffering from a corona breakdown. Comparison with other semi-analytical techniques developed by researchers solely focusing on high power phenomena verifies the results of the developed algorithm.