Affiliations: [a] Dipartimento di Elettrotecnica ed Elettronica,
Politecnico di Bari, Via Orabona, 4, Bari, I-70125, Italy. Tel.:
+390805963257; Fax: +390805963410; E-mail: lattarulo@poliba.it
Abstract: The observed deposition, on a collector placed in the drift region
outside the source, of unipolar ion flow in corona discharges is strongly
dependent on the current density distribution in the ionisation sheath
(source's region of support) enveloping the active electrode. Such a
distribution, whose knowledge is the prerequisite for an optimal design of
corona-based electrostatic devices and corona-free systems, results still
undetermined. Therefore, an inverse source problem has been adopted for
reconstructing corona source features. To this end, a universal law governing
the ion flow distribution in the drift region has been discovered long after an
intense experimental activity. The value of the present law consists in being
virtually interpretable as the boundary condition, at the source, needed for
successfully resolving a forward space-charge-dominated field problem by a
method based on Deutsch's hypothesis.
Keywords: Corona discharge, unipolar ion flow, forward electric field problem, inverse source problem, universal boundary condition, Deutsch's hypothesis
