Influence of humidity on the characteristics of negative corona discharge in air

Detailed negative corona discharge characteristics, such as the pulse amplitude, repetition frequency, average corona current, rise time, and half-wave time, are systematically studied under various air humidities with a single artificial defect electrode. The experimental result reveals that the pulse amplitude increases with the increase of air humidity; meanwhile, the repetition frequency deceases as the air humidity increases. Empirical formulae are first established for the pulse amplitude and repetition frequency with the humidity factor taken into consideration. The effective ionization integral is calculated and a positive correlation is found between the integral and the pulse amplitude. Furthermore, a simplified negative-ion cloud model is built up to investigate the mechanism of the humidity's influence on negative corona discharge. Based on the theoretical analyses, the correlation between pulse amplitude, repetition frequency, and air humidity is well explained. (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.