Visualization of particulates distribution from electrode erosion

Particulates generated from electrode erosion in gas spark gap is inevitable and may initiate self-breakdown behavior with high risk.Traditionally,this problem is addressed by empirical method qualitatively.To push this old problem forward,this paper conducts laser confocal microscopy measurement of eroded surface and a statistical method is introduced to obtain visualization of particulates distribution from electrode erosion after different shots.This method allows dense particulates to be classified with their heights in z direction and scattered figures of particulates within certain height range are obtained.Results indicate that the higher-than-10 μm particulates start to emerge after 200 discharge shots and particulates number has a waved radial distribution with a 0.5 mm wide deposition zone.Based on these quantitative results,the risk of reignition and field-distortion failure that are triggered by particulates can be assessed.