Characteristic of nanosecond-pulsed corona discharge at 120 kV in atmospheric-pressure air

With an excitation of negative repetitive pulses of 15 ns rise time and 30 to 40 ns duration, corona discharge in nanosecond-pulse regime at 120 kV in atmospheric-pressure air is experimentally investigated, and the characteristic of nanosecond-pulsed corona discharge is analyzed by the measurement of electrical discharge parameters, images and X-ray emission. The results show that X-ray emission occurs in nanosecond-pulsed corona discharge, but the intensity is weak. The counts of X rays decrease with the air gap spacing but increase with the pulse repetition frequency. In addition, owing to the fact that the residual particles in the gap enhance the local electric field when the next pulse is applied, separated corona channels are easily obtained at high pulse repetition frequency.