Effects of corona discharge in gas switch

Summary form only given. Corona discharge can improve the distribution of voltage between the switch gaps as well as provide initial electrons which benefit the discharging process when the switch is fired1´Icirc1. To investigate the effects of the corona discharge, a single gap switch with toroidal electrodes is designed. Corona discharge occurs on the tips of the needles when the gap is charged approximately to the self breakdown voltage. The dependence of the leakage current on the number and the dimension of the needles are studied. The primary experimental result indicates that the self breakdown voltage of the gap in atmosphere air is nearly 2kV higher with one needle in the midpoint of the negative electrode. The leakage current is lOuA to50uA with different charge voltage and gas pressure. Also, some advices about the corona needle are given in the switch design.