Monte Carlo Simulation for an Electrical Discharge in O2

Abstract

The generation of plasmas and the initiation of electrical breakdown are realized by the phenomenon of electrical discharge which is provoked when we apply a sufficient electric field in a gas. Consequently the free charges are accelerated, new charged particles are created and others are destructed. This can be ranged in four phenomena: elastic collision (recombination), attachment, excitation and ionization. The aim of this paper is to study the basic phenomena in an electrical discharge in the case of Oxygen O2. Monte Carlo Simulation is used to follow the random trajectory of free charges determining in each path many parameters of the discharge. To determinate electrical and physical parameters, we have used the sampling laws. The spatial distributions of space charges (electrons, positive and negative ions) are also obtained. The determination of electrical field depends on distributions of charged particles obtained by solving the Maxwell equations.