Improvement of Corona Discharge Model and Its Application on Simulating Corona Discharge in the Presence of Wind

Abstract

To evaluate the effect of wind on corona discharges occurring on the tip of a grounded rod during a negative charging process of thundercloud, a two-dimensional numerical model has been improved by considering the wind velocity as a driving force for the movement of the corona charges. It was found that not only wind speed but also wind direction have a significant effect on the distribution of corona charges, the local electric field around the rod, and the corona current. (1) Under the same wind speed, a larger horizontal wind can result in less accumulation of corona charges, a larger electric field, and a larger corona current. However, when the speed is less than 5 m s−1, the effect of wind direction on the corona current was weak. (2) Under the same wind direction, a larger wind speed can cause a larger corona current. However, when the horizontal wind component is smaller than the vertical, the larger wind speed would cause a smaller electric field. Thus, it is necessary to take the effects of the wind direction into consideration, rather than to consider its speed only, when studying the corona discharge and its effects on the upward leader.