Two-dimensional modeling of the cathode sheath formation during the streamer-cathode interaction

In this paper, a computational simulation of the sheath formation during the streamer-surface interaction at atmospheric pressure is presented. A two-dimensional fluid model of a point-to-plane configuration is applied to investigate the evolution of the discharge in the vicinity of cathode plane. The effects of the surfaces on the properties of streamer have been studied for three cases, i.e., conductive surface with secondary electron emission (SEE), conductive surface without SEE, and dielectric surface. In all cases, we found that the axial propagation velocity of the streamer front decreases as the streamer arrives at the boundary of the cathode sheath. And the simulation results showed that the properties of the surface have a significant effect on the streamer. Besides the influences, the secondary emission coefficient and the relative permittivity on the streamer-surface interactions are also studied.