The impact of atmospheric pressure on AC corona discharge pulse characteristics

Abstract The evolution of more-electric aircraft architectures requires a rigorous description of low-pressure electrical discharge physics to ensure system reliability and safety. Pulse Shape Analysis (PShA) evaluates discharge morphology to provide insight into underlying physical mechanisms and collision kinetics. Despite the known influence of pressure on corona physics, its precise relationship with PShA parameters requires to be fully characterized. The experimental results presented in this paper reveal that pulse parameters are geometry- and pressure-dependent. Notably, several pulse parameters exhibit a non-intuitive, bell-shaped relationship with pressure for which physical interpretations are proposed. This work establishes a framework for discharge interpretation that enables predictive modeling for untested altitudes and geometries. These findings also enable forensic failure analysis, identifying whether failures are due to specific discharge types or secondary collision kinetics.