Study of the propagation process of electrostatic discharge caused by charged particles

Chemically processed particles are prone to collide with and friction against metals, which results in charge transfer. The strong electric field that is created breaks down the air and generates electrostatic discharge (ESD), which compromises production safety. The electrostatic field model can judge only whether the electric field strength reaches the breakdown threshold and cannot be used to determine the development process of electrostatic discharge. In this work, the growth process of an electrostatic discharge tree during the accumulation of charged particles is studied via the phase-field model. The propagation process of electrostatic discharge is simulated from a microscopic point of view, and the morphology and regional size of electrostatic discharge are obtained. The air breakdown caused by the strong electric field created by the surface charge density is used to model the propagation process. The bifurcation shape and propagation path of the electric tree match those of earlier studies, confirming the accuracy of the model. The electrostatic discharge tree produced by the side and bottom walls of the metal cylinder is simulated after the ideal mesh size and radius have been established. The findings demonstrate that in ESD, the two-dimensional model is unable to replace the three-dimensional model. Conical and inclined heaps are more likely to produce ESD under the same surface charge density. This work offers a useful model for examining the three-dimensional propagation of ESD.