3D simulations of negative streamers in CO$_2$ with admixtures of C$_4$F$_7$N

Abstract

CO$_2$ with an admixture of C$_4$F$_7$N could serve as an eco-friendly alternative to the extreme greenhouse gas SF$_6$ in high-voltage insulation. Streamer discharges in such gases are different from those in air due to the rapid conductivity decay in the streamer channels. Furthermore, since no effective photoionisation mechanism is known, we expect discharge growth to be more stochastic than in air. In this paper we investigate whether conventional fluid models can be used to simulate streamers in CO$_2$ with admixtures of C$_4$F$_7$N of 1 or 10%. We focus on 3D simulations of negative streamers. First we review cross section databases for C$_4$F$_7$N and CO$_2$. Then we compare a two-term Boltzmann solver with a Monte Carlo method to compute reaction and transport coefficients from the cross sections. Afterwards we compare 3D fluid simulations with the local field (LFA) or local energy approximation (LEA) against particle simulations. In general, we find that the results of particle and fluid models are quite similar. One difference we observe is that particle simulations are intrinsically stochastic, leading to more branching. Furthermore, the LEA model does not show better agreement with the particle simulations than the LFA model. We also discuss the effect and choice of different boundary conditions on the negative rod electrode.