Numerical simulation of gas spark gap discharge

In this paper, the output voltage on a resistive load of a capacitor discharging circuit is numerically calculated based on Rompe-Weizel's formula for spark dynamic resistance. With the same electrical parameters, the calculated peak voltage is 54 kV, and the rise time is 2.0 ns, while the published experimental data are 55 kV and 2.3 ns respectively. Both results agree well basically. Based on Braginskii's formula for spark dynamic resistance, the nonlinear dynamic resistance of a spark gap used in a transmission line discharging circuit is calculated under the assumption of constant conductivity and variable conductivity. The comparison between calculated results(0.5~0.8 Ω) and existent measured data(0.7~0.9 Ω) indicates that the model of spark dynamic resistance with variable conducti