Simulation of Corona Discharges and Time Domain Examination of their Emitted Electromagnetic Signals

The goal of this paper is to present the time domain behavior of the emitted electromagnetic signals of corona discharges, and to show the design process of the measured partial discharge (PD) source. After the introduction of the used physical model, finite element simulations were used to determine the optimal needle-plane electrode distance of the sample. Using the chosen distances, an air insulated needle- plane corona discharge source was created. After this, the emitted electromagnetic signals of the chosen arrangements were measured and recorded in a noise-free environment. To test the proper operation of the discharge source, the time domain behavior of the measured signals were examined by visualizing the activity of the emitted corona discharge signals as the function of the phase angle of the AC testing voltage. These created characteristic patterns successfully showed the effect of electrode distance on the physical processes of corona discharges. The results of the emitted measurements were also consistent with theoretical expectations and properly showed the complex physical processes of the AC corona discharge.