Computation of inception voltage and inception time

of positive impulse corona in rod plane gaps

M. Abdel-Salam, N.L. Allen and I. Cotton
Abstract: A method is proposed for computing the inception voltage and time of the corona in air
in rod plane gaps under a positive switching impulse and ramp-shaped voltages. The method is
based on the rate of natural production of free electrons in the atmosphere as a result of cosmic
ray activity, local radioactivity or ultraviolet radiation from the sun. The computed inception
voltages agree reasonably with those measured experimentally for different values of the steepness
of the applied switching impulse and ramp-shaped voltages and also with those measured experimentally for a rod gap stressed by a switching impulse voltage. The method is applied to different
rod-plane gaps with varying rod radius and gap spacing.

Nomenclature
A
c
d
n
Ne
R
S
T0

Ti

T
t0.1Vcr
t0.9Vcr
v
vw
(Vo)dc
Vi
Vcr
V(t)

constant to determine the crest value of the

applied impulse voltage, kV
concentration of free electrons in air, cm23
gap spacing, m
rate of free electron production in air, cm23 s21
number of free electrons available to start the
primary avalanche
rod radius m
steepness of the applied impulse or ramp voltages, kV/ms
time on the applied impulse or ramp voltages corresponding to the onset voltage of steady corona,
ms
time on the applied switching impulse or rampshaped voltages corresponding to the inception
voltage of impulse corona, ms
time, ms
time on the applied impulse voltage corresponding to a voltage equal to 0.1 of the crest value, ms
time on the applied impulse voltage corresponding to a voltage equal to 0.9 of the crest value, ms
excess volume, m3
weighted excess volume, m3
onset voltage of steady corona, kV
inception voltage of impulse corona, kV
crest value of the applied impulse voltage, kV
voltage of the applied switching impulse or rampshaped voltages as function of time t

# The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2007

doi:10.1049/iet-smt:20050088
Paper first received 21st November 2005 and in revised form 19th September
2006
M. Abdel-Salam is with the Department of Electrical Engineering, Assiut
University, Assiut, Egypt
N.L. Allen and I. Cotton are with the School of Electrical Engineering and
Electronics, University of Manchester, PO Box 88, Manchester M60 1QD, UK
E-mail: norman.allen@metronet.co.uk
IET Sci. Meas. Technol., 2007, 1, (4), pp. 179 184

w
Zi
Zt
1
10

a
h
1/b1
1/b2
DV

weighting function
z-coordinate defining the starting point of the
primary avalanche in steady corona, m
z-coordinate defining the starting point of the
primary avalanche in impulse corona, m
length of the primary avalanche in steady corona,
m
length of the primary avalanche in impulse
corona, m
ionisation coefficient, m21
attachment coefficient, m21
front time constant of the applied impulse
voltage, ms
tail time constant of the applied impulse voltage,
ms
overvoltage above the onset value of steady
corona

Introduction

Air breakdown in non-uniform field gaps under switching

impulse is preceded by corona, so it is useful to assess the
inception voltage of the corona under such impulses and
how it is influenced by the geometry and the steepness of
the applied impulse. Mathematical modelling of a corona
is complicated. However, an expression has been developed
[1] for calculating the inception field (Eo)i in kV/cm of the
impulse corona as influenced by the steepness dV/dt of the
ramp voltage applied to rod plane gaps in air
h
pi
p
(E0 )i 22:8 1 1= 3 R (A=R) dV =dt
(1)
with dV//dt in kV/ms. R is the rod radius in cm. The
constant A was chosen equal to 0.07 to fit the experimental
results [1] for 0.1
R
2 cm at standard air density.
Expression (1) was developed as an extension to that used
for calculating the onset field (Eo)dc of a steady corona [1]
in rod plane gaps in air
h
pi
(E0 )dc 2:28 1 1= 3 R
(2)
179

Similar relationships were developed [2] for the inception

fields of the corona in rod plane gaps in air, under both
steady and impulse voltage conditions. These have been
related to the inception voltages and in the impulse case
to the rate of rise or the steepness of the applied voltage.
This paper is a first attempt at computing the inception
voltage and time of the impulse corona in atmospheric air
in hemispherically capped rod plane gaps under a positive
switching impulse or ramp-shaped voltages. The computed
inception voltages and times are compared with those
published in the literature.
2

Simplifying assumptions

1. At steady corona onset, a primary streamer is followed

by successor avalanches growing in the ionisation-zone surrounding the stressed rod.
2. Photo-ionisation of the air is the main ionising process
for creating the initiatory electrons of the successor
avalanches.
3. The primary avalanche grows under the resultant of both
the applied field and the field due to its own positive space
charge.
4. The successor avalanches grow under the resultant of the
applied field, the field due to the positive space charge of the
primary avalanche and the field due to the positive space
charge of the successor avalanches.
5. The onset criterion of the corona in rod plane gaps
under positive impulse voltages is assumed to be the same
as that under steady voltage. This is pending the presence
of an initiatory electron in the proper place in the ionisationzone around the stressed rod and the growth of electrons in a
time-increasing field under impulse.
3

Method of analysis

The onset voltage of a steady corona was computed [3]

according to an algorithm based on the ionisation and deionisation processes in the ionisation zone around the stressed
rod of radius R, (see Fig. 1a). Here, in the electric field, the
ionisation coefficient a everywhere exceeds the attachment
coefficient h. The first (primary) avalanche starts at the
boundary z zi where a h. At z zd , the number of
pairs at its head (see Fig.1b, is the exponent of
ion
zd
zzi (a  h) dz, where d is the gap spacing. The avalanche
length 1 is equal to d 2 zi . Successor avalanches start
where photoelectrons are produced within the ionisationzone. At the onset voltage of the steady corona (Vo)dc ,
the number of electrons in the primary (critical) avalanche
by the end of its growth is assumed to equal the total
number of electrons produced by the successor avalanches
for a self-sustained ionisation [4 6].
With a transient voltage, time is required for an initiatory
electron to appear in the ionisation zone, so that an
increased voltage, well above the steady value for onset
(Vo)dc , is required for this condition to occur. Thus, the
rod gap has to be stressed at a higher voltage V with an overvoltage DV above (Vo)dc , (see Fig. 1c), determined by the
applied positive impulse voltage
V (t) A[ exp (  t=t1 )  exp (  t=t2 )]

a Rod plane gap stressed by V (Vo)dc with the ionisation zone

shown around the rod
b Growth of the primary avalanche inside the ionisation zone at
V (Vo)dc
c Impulse voltage waveform showing the voltage (Vo)dc and the corresponding time T0 as well as the overvoltage DV
d Development of the excess volume

ionisation zone around the rod, which is required for the

primary avalanche to yield sustained ionisation. It moves
towards the rod with increase of the applied voltage V.
The outer boundary extends down to z zt and encloses
the volume where a  h. This contour moves away from
the rod with increase of the applied voltage V, (see Fig. 1d).
Two conditions must simultaneously be satisfied for a
corona to occur under impulse voltage of V higher by DV
than (Vo)dc . First, there must be at least one suitably
located free electron inside the excess volume. Secondly,
the electric field must be sufficiently strong to ensure that
this electron produces a primary avalanche, followed by
successors that yield sustained ionisation. This condition
can be satisfied since the gap is stressed by a voltage V
higher than (Vo)dc .
The free electrons are detached from naturally occurring
negative ions in the electric field near the rod. The rate of
production n of the negative ions (or electrons) is quite
small [7] of the order of 10 cm23 s21 with an equilibrium
concentration c of 100 300 cm23. It has been suggested
[4] that the rate n is around 20 electron-ion pairs per centimetre3 per second at normal atmospheric conditions.
To check the first condition, the number of free electrons
Ne available to start the primary avalanche with the gap
stressed by the impulse voltage at V corresponding to time
t, (Fig. 1c), is determined as

(3)

where 1/t1 and 1/t2 are the front and tail time constants
respectively, of the applied impulse wave. A is a constant
determining the crest value Vcr of the impulse.
Consequently, the ionisation-zone expands with an
excess volume (see Fig. 1d), bounded by two contours.
The inner contour defines the minimum volume of the
180

Fig. 1 Ionisation zone

t V
Ne n

dV dt
T0

(4)

where T0 is the time on the applied impulse corresponding

to the steady onset voltage (Vo)dc , (Fig. 1c). The excess
volume v is calculated at time t greater than T0 , (Fig. 1c).
IET Sci. Meas. Technol., Vol. 1, No. 4, July 2007

Because the primary critical avalanche length 2

1 , being
equal to (d 2 zt) under impulse stress
zd is larger than the 1
atzdsteady voltage, so that zzt (a  h) dz exceeds
zzi (a  h) dz which corresponds to the steady applied
voltage with sustained ionisation. This increase in the integral value has to be expressed by an increase of the excess
volume from which the initiatory electron starts to trigger
the primary avalanche for sustained ionisation under an
impulse. This is why the excess volume in (4) is weighted
by a weighting function w equal to this percentage increase.
Therefore, (4) takes the form for the impulse voltage
t vw
Ne n
w dvw dt
(5)
T0

where vw is the weighted excess volume, that is, the excess

volume shown in Fig. 1d after being weighted to accommodate the increased growth of the primary avalanche started
in the excess volume under impulse voltage when compared
with that started at z zi under steady voltage.
The inception voltage Vi of the impulse corona is the
voltage value at which the number Ne of (5) reaches 1
Ne  1

(6)

The inception voltage Vi does not appear explicitly in

(6). However, the applied voltage value V on the positive
impulse wave affects a, h, zi , and zt . The inception voltage
Vi is the critical value, which fulfils the equality (6).
4

Numerical data and computational steps

The Appendix (Section 9.1) describes how the values of a

and h are determined by the applied electric field as well
as the air pressure, which is kept constant at atmospheric
value.
The applied electric field is computed by the accurate
charge simulation technique [8, 9] as detailed in the
Appendix (section 9.2).
The computational steps for computing the inception
voltage Vi and inception time Ti are outlined in the flow
chart of Fig. 2. The computational time to determine the
inception voltage Vi and inception time Ti is in the range
40 60 s on a Pentium IV personal computer, depending
on how close the estimated value of V is to the requested
value which satisfies (6) as shown in Fig. 2.
5

Fig. 2 Flow chart describing the steps of computing the corona

inception voltage and inception time

increase of time t above T0 for weighted and non-weighted

excess volumes. Of course, the multiplication of the value
of the double integration by the rate n of free electron
production gives Ne , the number of initiatory electrons
available to start the primary avalanche. The value of V when
Ne 1 is the inception voltage Vi of the impulse corona.

Results and discussion

Fig. 3 shows how the outer contour of the excess volume, as

measured radially from the rod surface, changes around the
rod at the inception voltage Vi of the impulse corona and at a
voltage midway between Vi and (Vo)dc , the onset voltage
of a steady corona. It shows how the radius of the contour
increases after weighting. It is quite clear that this radius
increases significantly with increase of the applied positive
impulse voltage V above (Vo)dc as shown in Fig. 2. This is
simply explained by the increase of the field in the rod
vicinity with a subsequent shift of the outer contour from
the rod surface.
The weighted and non-weighted excess volumes increase
with the applied positive impulse voltage, V, that is, with the
increase of V and the time t above T0 , which is the time on
the impulse wave corresponding to the steady onset voltage
(Vo)dc of corona. The increase of the excess volume after
being weighted above that before weighting becomes
noticeable at higher voltages.
The values of the double integration of (4) and (5)
increase with applied impulse voltage V, that is, with the
IET Sci. Meas. Technol., Vol. 1, No. 4, July 2007

Fig. 3 Ratio of the excess voltage after being weighted to that

before weighting as a function of the applied impulse voltage
referred to the onset voltage of steady corona
Radius of rod 5 mm, gap spacing 10 cm
181

Table 1: Calculated inception voltage and inception

time as influenced by the production rate n of free
electrons in air
n (cm23 s21)

20

30

40

50

Vi (kV)

60

59

58.6

58

57.4

Ti (ms)

137

110

90

70

100

60

R 5 mm, H 10 cm, d 10 cm, 1/t1 3155 ms, 1/t2 62.5 ms

The corresponding time Ti is the inception time. This

depends on the value assigned to the rate n.
Table 1 shows how the computed inception voltage Vi
decreases slightly with the increase of n in the order of
10. It is satisfying that the calculated Vi value of the
impulse corona is close to those measured (45 56 kV)
[10]. Not only the computed inception voltage Vi , but also
the computed inception time Ti values of the impulse
corona in Table 1 agreed reasonably with those measured
(66 145 ms) [10]. The values assigned to the rate n
in Table 1 follow the numbers reported in the literature
[4, 7] for the natural production of free electrons in the
atmosphere by cosmic rays, local radioactivity or ultraviolet
radiation. However, some authors have assumed [11, 12]
that the rate n is equal to N 2/t, where N 2 is the density
of negative ions and t is their mean life time. A value of
1.7  108 cm23 s21 was assigned for N 2/t without justification in a model aimed at studying the flashover characteristics in needle-plane gaps stressed by positive impulse
voltages. This is based on the availability of negative ions
in a field high enough to shorten their lifetime and dissociate
them for high production of free electrons.
The ratio of the excess volume after weighting to that
before weighting against the applied impulse voltage V
referred to the steady corona onset voltage (Vo)dc increases
not only with voltage V but also with the steepness of the
impulse wave. The steepness s of the impulse wave
described by (3) is expressed as
s (0:9Vcr  0:1Vcr )=(t0:9 vcr  t0:1 vcr )

(7)

Fig. 4 Calculated and measured [1] inception voltage against

the steepness of the applied ramp-shaped voltages for different
values of the rod radius spacing is constant at 1 m

the impulse front is reflected in the increase of the calculated inception voltage Vi of impulse corona in conformity
with previous findings [1, 2].
Table 2 shows how the computed inception voltage Vi of
impulse corona increases with the steepness of the applied
positive impulse for the same rod plane gap. The computed
values of Vi agree better with those measured experimentally [2] when compared with those estimated before [2]
using (1). The Table dictates a decrease of the inception
time Ti of the impulse corona with the increase of the steepness s as does the time T0 corresponding to the steady
corona onset voltage (Vo)dc .
Fig. 4 shows how the computed inception voltage Vi
increases with the increase of the steepness of the applied
positive impulse as well as with the increase of the radius
R of the stressed rod for the same gap spacing d. Here,
the applied impulse voltage is a ramp function with a
slope equal to the steepness s and is expressed as
V (t) st

where t0.9Vcr and t0.1Vcr are the times on the applied impulse
voltage corresponding to voltages equal to 0.9 and 0.1 of the
crest value, respectively.
The increase of the weighted excess volume with the
steepness and the corresponding limited time available on

(8)

The increase of Vi with the increase of R is self-explanatory

because of the corresponding decrease of the field in the rod

Table 2: Calculated and measured [2] inception

voltages as well as calculated inception time for different
steepness values of the applied switching impulse
Steepness, kV/ms
inception voltage, (kV) Vi ,

17

34

102.5115 104 125 103 130

measured [2]
inception voltage, (kV)Vi,

92

95

99

100

110

118

216

61

25.5

85

85

85

100

41

17

measured [2]
inception voltage (kV) Vi, present
calculation
inception voltage, (ms) Ti ,
present calculation
onset voltage kV (Vo)dc , present
calculation
time T0 corresponding to (V0)dc
on impulse wave
R 1.416 cm, d 60 cm, 1/t1 4545.45 ms, 1/t2 3.838 ms
182

Fig. 5 Calculated inception time against the steepness of the

applied ramp-shaped voltages for different values of the rod radius
Gap spacing is constant at 1 m
IET Sci. Meas. Technol., Vol. 1, No. 4, July 2007

vicinity. The computed values of Vi agree satisfactorily with

those measured experimentally [1, 2] under applied ramp
voltages as shown in Fig. 4.
Fig. 5 shows how the computed inception time Ti
increases with the decrease of the steepness of the applied
positive ramp impulse as well as with the increase of the
radius R of the stressed rod for the same gap spacing d. As
the steepness of the applied ramp voltage decreases, the
greater is the time available to counterbalance the slow
rising voltage and the associated decrease of the excess
volume to meet the inception criterion of impulse corona,
given in (6). As the radius R of the rod increases, the
excess volume decreases because of the field in the vicinity
of the rod. Subsequently, the inception time increases to
counterbalance the decrease of the excess volume to meet
the inception criterion, (6). This is why the inception time
Ti increases with the decrease of the steepness s for the
same rod radius R and decreases with the decrease of the
rod radius for the same steepness s of the applied impulse.
6

Conclusions

On the basis of the present analysis, the following conclusions may be drawn: first, a method is proposed for computing the inception voltage and the inception time of an
impulse corona in air in rod plane gaps stressed by positive
switching impulse and ramp-shaped voltages. The method
is based on the rate of natural production of free electrons
in the atmosphere as a result of the arrival of cosmic rays
and the presence of local radioactive materials or the
penetration of ultraviolet radiation from the sun.
Secondly, the computed inception voltages of the impulse
corona agree reasonably with those measured experimentally for different steepness of the applied switching
impulse and ramp-shaped voltages. Thirdly, the computed
inception time of the impulse corona agree reasonably
with those measured experimentally for a rod gap stressed
by a switching impulse. Fourthly, the weighted excess
volume increases with both the voltage value and the steepness of the applied positive switching impulse. Fifthly, the
computed inception voltage increases with the increase of
the steepness of the applied positive ramp-shaped impulses
and the increase of the radius of the rod for the same gap
spacing. And finally, the computed inception time decreases
with the increase of the steepness of the applied positive
ramp-shaped impulses and the decrease of the radius of
the rod for the same gap spacing.
7

Acknowledgment

One of the authors (M. A.-S.) wishes to acknowledge the

Engineering Physical Sciences Research Council for the
support he received in 2005 while carrying out this study
at the University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
8

6 Khalifa, M., and Abdel-Salam, M.: Corona Discharges in

Abdel-Salam, M. et al. (Eds.): High Voltage Engineering Theory
and Practice (Marcel Dekker, New York, USA, 2000)
7 Morgan, C.G.: Irradiation and Time Lags in Meek, J.M., and Craggs,
J.D. (Eds.): Electrical Breakdown of Gases (John Wiley & Sons,
New York, USA, 1978)
8 Abou-Seada, M., and Nasser, E.: Digital computer calculation of the
electric potential and field of a rod gap, Proc. IEEE, 1968, 56,
pp. 813 820
9 Singer, H., Steinbigler, H., and Weiss, P.: A charge simulation
method for the calculation of high voltage fields, IEEE Trans.
Power Appar. Sys., 1974, 93, pp. 1660 1668
10 Kong, J.: Corona and breakdown characteristics in air at elevated
temperatures, Ph.D. thesis, University of Manchester Institute of
Science and Technology, 2003
11 Arima, I., and Watanabe, T.: Study of predischarge phenomena in
needle-to-plane electrode geometry. Proc. XIIIth Int. Conf. On
Phenomena in Ionised Gases, 1977, pt. 1, pp. 441442
12 Arima, I., and Watanabe, T.: Study of V-shaped flashover voltage
characteristics in needle-to-plane electrode geometry by a discharge
model. Proc. Gas Discharge Conf, 1980, pt. 2, pp. 198201

Appendices

9.1 Field calculation in hemispherically capped

rod-to-plane gaps
The charge on the stressed rod is simulated by a set of
charges consisting of point, ring and finite-line charges
extending along the axis of the rod. The hemispherical
cap of the rod is simulated by a point charge at the hemisphere centre and nine ring charges equally distributed
along the z-axis as shown in Fig. 6. The radius of each
ring charge is 0.5 times the radius of the rod at the same
z-level. The shank of the rod is simulated by 20 finite line
charges extending along the axis of the rod. These line
charges are increasing in length in the direction away
from the cap. Thus, the total number of simulation
charges is 30. This set of charges must produce an equipotential surface, whose potential value is equal to the applied
impulse voltage, coinciding with the rod boundary.
To assess the values of the simulation charges (Qi , I 1,
2, . . . , 30), a set of 30 boundary points is chosen on the rod
surface, where the calculated potential is equated to the
applied voltage.
The boundary points are chosen as one boundary point at
the rod tip, nine boundary points on the rod cap at the same
z-level as the simulation ring charges and 20 boundary
points on the rod shank corresponding to the simulation
finite line charges. Each boundary point on the shank is
located at the same z-level as the mid-point of the corresponding line charge as shown in Fig. 6.
To account for the ground plane, images of the simulation
charges are considered.

References

1 Boehm, A.: Der Entladungseinsatz einer Stab-Platte- Funkenstrecke

als Funktion des Elektodenradius und der Spannungssteilheit, Arch.
Elektrotehnik, 1976, 58, pp. 225 231
2 Abdel-Salam, M., and Allen, N.L.: Inception of corona and rate of
rise of voltage on diverging electric field, IEE Proc., pt. A, 1990,
137, pp. 217 220
3 Abdel-Salam, M., and Allen, N.L.: Current-voltage characteristics of
corona in rod-plane gaps as influenced by temperature, IEE Proc.,
Sci. Meas. Technol., 2003, 150, pp. 135139
4 Loeb, L.B.: Electrical coronas: their basic physical mechanisms
(California, University Press, Berkeley, CA, USA, 1965)
5 Nasser, E.: Fundamentals of gaseous ionization and plasma
electronics (Wiley, New York, USA, 1971)
IET Sci. Meas. Technol., Vol. 1, No. 4, July 2007

Fig. 6 Simulation charges for field computation in rod plane

gaps and boundary points on rod surface
183

The computed potential fi due to all the simulation charges

and their images at the ith point in space is expressed as

fi

30
X

Qi Pi, j

(9)

i1

where Pi,j is the potential coefficient at the ith space point due
to the jth simulation charge and its image.
For a point charge:
 q
1
Pi,j
1= (ri  rj )2 (zi  zj )2
4p10
(10)
q
2
2
1= (ri  rj ) (zi  zj )
Where (ri , zi) and (rj , zj) are the r- and z- coordinates of the
ith space point due to the jth simulation charge.
For a ring charge:


1 2 K(k1 ) K(k2 )
Pi, j
(11)

b2
4p10 p b1
Where K(k) is the complete elliptic integral of the first
kind.
q
b1 (ri rj )2 (zi  zj )2
q
b2 (ri rj )2 (zi zj )2
q
k1 2 rj ri =b1
q
k2 2 rj ri =b2
Here, rj is the radius of the jth ring charge and zj is the
z-coordinate of the ring charge.
For a finite-line charge
"
#
(zj2  zi g1 )(zj1  zi g2
1
Pi; j
ln
(zj1  zi d1 )(zj2  zi d2 )
4p10 (zj2  zj1 )

whose solution determines the 30 unknown simulation

charges. Once these charges are determined, the electric
field at any point within the volume of the ionisation-zone,
(Fig. 1a), and the excess volume, (Fig. 1d), is computed as
its r- and z- components expressed as
Eri

30
X

Qi fri, j

(13)

Qi fzi, j

(14)

i1

Ezi

30
X
i1

Where fr and fz are the field coefficients along the r- and zdirections calculated at the ith space point due to the jth
simulation charge and its image. The expressions for these
coefficients for point, ring and finite-line charges are
reported elsewhere [8, 9].
9.2

Ionisation and attachment coefficients in air

The natural logarithm of the experimental values of a/P

(cm21 torr21) in dry air was plotted against E/P (Vcm21
torr21). The resulting curve was very closely approximated
by five straight line portions, making it possible to accurately express a/P as an exponential function of E/P over
each of the five ranges of E/P. The resulting formulas are
as follows [3]
(a) 30 ,E/P , 32.5

a=P 9:36  106 exp (0:805E=P  20)

(15a)

(b) 32.5 , E/P , 42.5

a=P 6:09  106 exp (0:2E=P)

(15b)

(c) 42.5 , E/P , 64

a=P 1:59  103 exp (0:07E=P)

(15c)

(12)
where zj1 and zj2 are the z-coordinates of the start and end of
the jth finite line charge.
q
g1 ri2 (zi  zj2 )2
q
g2 ri2 (zi  zj1 )2
q
d1 ri2 (zi  zj1 )2
q
d2 ri2 (zi  zj2 )2
Satisfaction of the equality of the computed potential fi
at the 30-chosen boundary points to the voltage applied to
the rod results in a set of 30 simultaneous equations

184

(d) 64 , E/P , 100

a=P 1:283  103 exp (0:039E=P)

(15d)

(e) 100
E/P

a=P 9:682 exp (  264:2P=E)

(15e)

The experimental value of h/P (cm21torr21) in dry air is

related to E/P in the mathematical form [3]

h=P 0:012983  0:00054E=P 0:87  105 (E=P)2

(16)

IET Sci. Meas. Technol., Vol. 1, No. 4, July 2007