Discharge mode in the repetitive nanosecond-pulse discharge in atmospheric pressure air

With an excitation of one-stage magnetic pulse compressor generator of 100 ns rise time and 150 ns duration, discharge mode of nanosecond-pulse discharges in an inhomogeneous electrical field in repetitive pulsed modes. Characteristics of nanosecond-pulse discharges are experimentally investigated by measuring their electrical parameters, images and taking their discharge photos. Results show that there were three typical discharge modes, i.e. corona, diffuse and spark discharges. The discharge modes were significantly influenced by the applied voltage, as the applied voltage increased the discharges experienced corona-to-diffuse-to-spark transition. With a fixed applied voltage, two discharge modes might simultaneously exist. Furthermore, experimental results on the effect of the pulse repetition frequency (PRF) show that, the excitation voltages of the diffuse discharges were slightly influenced by the PRF, but the excitation voltages of spark discharges decreased with the increase of the PRF. Thus, small PRF was beneficial for obtaining diffuse discharges in atmospheric-pressure air in a broad range of the applied voltage.