V-I characteristics of corona gas gap for annular electrode

A gas spark gap for LTD (linear transformer driver) switch is studied. The gap has a configuration of an annular gap and a corona needle in parallel. The V-I characteristics of corona discharge in the gap are tested. The effects of different factors including gas types, gas pressures, corona polarity and configuration of the electrode on the V-I characteristics are investigated. The experimental results show that negative corona in electronegative gas has good stability. An effective way to meet the needs of the switch is adjusting the length of the corona needle or the configuration of the electrode.