Simulation of charged particles and discharges using transmission line modelling

A numerical model for simulating charged particle interactions with electromagnetic fields in general configurations, including particle generation and recombination, is proposed. Space charge effects are included at each stage of the simulation. Ionization processes are introduced into the model by connecting current sources across appropriate points in the transmission line matrix to achieve separation, thereby generating charged pairs. Comparison of simulated results with experimental data in the literature confirms that the model correctly-predicts Townsend's first ionization coefficient, electron drift density, longitudinal and radial diffusion coefficients and the average energy of the electron swarm.