Electrostrictive Mechanism of Liquid Breakdown in Strongly Nonhomogeneous Field under the Action of Nanosecond Voltage Pulse

Electrostriction mechanism of breakdown in polar liquid caused by high-voltage nanosecond pulse is studied. Nonstationary motion of liquid in the pin-to-plane system exposed to a pulse with peak voltage of 30 kV and 6-ns duration is numerically analyzed. Cavities in which the breakdown can be initiated are formed in the vicinity of the tip electrode. Dimensions of such cavities are estimated, and the conditions for formation are formulated. Profiles of voltage and current pulses are measured for breakdown in water and air. The velocity of breakdown development in air is determined using the time delay of the pulse measured by the shunt of discharge current at several interelectrode distances. The proposed method has limitations in the measurement of breakdown in water due to the effect of displacement current that exceeds the discharge current.