Investigation of peculiarities of discharge formation from the system of artificial charged aerosol clouds of negative polarity

• Artificial charged aerosol clouds could be used for lightning physics studying.
• Upper cloud increases probability of discharge initiation in lower cloud.
• Probability of subsequent stroke increases for multi cloud system.
• Return stroke parameters depend from upper cloud presence in cloud system.
• There is correlation between current amplitudes of first and second stroke.

Using artificial clouds of strongly charged water aerosol gives new possibilities for physical simulation of the possible processes corresponding to lightning formation and lightning attachment to object. Paper presents the results of experimental investigation of the peculiarities of the discharge formation from a system of artificial charged aerosol clouds of negative polarity. It has been found that there is a significant influence of upper cloud on the discharge development from the lower cloud and on its parameters. Presence of the upper charge aerosol cloud can increase the probability of the preliminary discharge initiation near the lower cloud boundaries as well as the subsequent stroke from the non-discharged parts of the lower cloud and change its parameters. It was established that with a system of two vertically separated artificial charged aerosol clouds of negative polarity the current amplitude, the charge and the maximal current steepness of final stage of discharge between artificial cloud and a grounded rod electrode increase significantly. Probably, local regions with a higher volume charge density in thundercloud influence the lightning initiation, the formation of the first and subsequent strokes and their parameters.