PIC-MC SIMULATION-MODEL FOR MICROPLASMA-PROPAGATION AT ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE IN CAVITIES

摘要

It is planned to use porous materials instead of solid materials as insulations to reduce the weight of high-voltage applications. Inside the insulation material, inner cavities lead to discharges, which can degrade the insulation. These discharges are called partial discharges or microplasmas. Even for simple cavities the analytic approximation of the discharge process can be very complex. For simplification, numerical simulations with slight adjustments can be an adequate solution. A three dimensional plasma simulation tool is used, in which Particle-in-Cell and Monte-Carlo methods (PIC-MC, developed by Fraunhofer-Institute IST) are combined to simulate charged particle movement and also molecular interactions. Normally, PIC-MC simulations are only feasible in low pressure and vacuum applications. The limiting factor is the high number of particles at atmospheric pressure. However, simulations in microcavities are possible because of small dimensions, which lead to reduced number of particles in the simulation model. PIC-MC simulations at atmospheric pressure are presented to demonstrate the applicability of this simulation method in microcavities. The discharge processes in the inner cavities at atmospheric conditions from the simulation tool are shown stepwise and the results are verified by literature.