Influence of molecular structure on propagation of streamer discharge in hydrocarbon liquids

It is considered that the studies of the influence of molecular structure on the propagation of the prebreakdown phenomena in dielectric liquids are of great importance to comprehend the breakdown mechanism. In the present paper, the propagation processes of prebreakdown phenomena in straight-chain hydrocarbon liquids having different molecular structure are observed and investigated in detail for positive and negative point polarities in a point-plane geometry under application of an impulse voltage, by using a high speed schlieren system and a LED current measurement system simultaneously.