Simulated avalanche formation around streamers in an overvolted air gap

TL;DR

This paper presents the first simulation of avalanche formation around streamers in an overvolted air gap using a hybrid 3D model that combines particle tracing and fluid modeling.

Contribution

It introduces a novel 3D hybrid simulation approach for modeling streamer and avalanche formation in overvolted air gaps.

Findings

Successful simulation of streamer and avalanche formation

Use of Monte Carlo photon tracking in the model

First results demonstrating the model's capabilities

Abstract

We simulate streamers in air at standard temperature and pressure in a short overvolted gap. The simulation is performed with a 3D hybrid model that traces the single electrons and photons in the low density region, while modeling the streamer interior as a fluid. The photons are followed by a Monte-Carlo procedure, just like the electrons. The first simulation result is present here.