Dielectric barrier discharge in needle-to-plane configuration: Model of surface charge relaxation

∙The phenomenological model of the surface charge relaxation is proposed.∙The adequacy of the model is confirmed numerically and experimentally.∙A contactless method for surface and volume resistivity determination is provided.

Relaxation process of surface charge owing to dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) in “needle – air gap – polyethylene terephthalate film – plane” configuration is considered. Experimental data of the surface charge relaxation (SCR) are obtained by means of the rotating capacitive probe. Taking into account Gaussian radial distribution of accumulated charge density, effective surface and volume electrical conductivities of a barrier dielectric, phenomenological model of SCR for any dielectric thickness is proposed and exact solutions are obtained. The adequacy of the model is confirmed by the numerical computation. There is a good agreement between the experimental results and the model calculations.