Lateral motion of wire particles toward decreasing electrode gap regions in atmospheric air

Free wire particle motion in DC electric field between diverging conducting plates was investigated experimentally in atmospheric air. It was found that when corona discharge is maintained at the end of a free wire particle, the particle tends to stand on a negatively charged electrode. In this case, the particle can move laterally toward decreasing electrode gap regions and trigger breakdown at high field regions. Therefore, it is suggested that motion of a corona-discharging particle should be taken into consideration in the design of particle-traps in GIS.