Influence of pre-existing negative surface charges on secondary electron emission avalanche evolution in vacuum surface flashover of spacecraft
Abstract
Surface charging of dielectric materials is commonly observed in spacecraft under complex space environments. The accumulated charges on dielectric surfaces can modify the local electric-field distribution and subsequently affect secondary electron emission avalanche (SEEA), which plays a critical role in vacuum surface flashover. However, the influence mechanism of pre-existing surface charges formed before discharge initiation on the subsequent SEEA evolution remains insufficiently understood. In this work, a 2-spatial- and 3-velocity-dimensional particle-in-cell model is employed to investigate the effect of pre-existing negative surface charges near the cathode on vacuum surface flashover development. Different levels of localized negative surface charge densities are introduced as initial charging states, and their effects on electron emission, avalanche evolution, surface charge accumulation, and electric-field redistribution are systematically analyzed. The results demonstrate that the pre-existing charge of dielectric surfaces can strongly regulate subsequent vacuum flashover behavior, providing new insights into the coupling mechanism between surface charging and SEEA development in spacecraft and vacuum insulation systems.
Article Details
Journal Info
Journal of Applied Physics
American Institute of Physics
Authors (12)
Yue-Tong Liu
State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, School of Electrical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University 1 , Xi’an 710049,
Bai-Peng Song
State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, School of Electrical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University 1 , Xi’an 710049,
Guang-Yu Sun
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) 2 , Lausanne CH-1025,
Xiong Yang
Wen-Tong An
State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, School of Electrical Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University 1 , Xi'an, Shaanxi 710049,
Li-Yao Zhang
State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, School of Electrical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University 1 , Xi’an 710049,
Fei Pang
Jia-Qi Deng
State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, School of Electrical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University 1 , Xi’an 710049,
Tian-Cun Hu
National Key Laboratory of Science and Technology on Space Microwave, China Academy of Space Technology (Xi’an) 2 , Xi’an 710100,
Fei Li
Fa-Lun Song
Institute of Applied Electronics, China Academy of Engineering Physics 3 , Mianyang 621900,
Guan-Jun Zhang
State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, School of Electrical Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University 1 , Xi'an, Shaanxi 710049,