Numerical modeling of corona discharges has followed the same set of procedures for many years. The studies that simulate corona discharges on large scales for ionic wind generation or electrostatic precipitation often neglect the ionization events that occur near the source electrode and model only positive ion drift. The studies that model the ionization zone are often concerned with the species chemistry and consider a uniform axisymmetric configuration. However, with the increasing applications of corona discharges in millimeter and micron scales, the combination of the two procedures is necessary to accurately capture the discharge physics and ion distribution. The present study conducts numerical simulation of a wire-cylinder positive corona using both the purely ion-drift model and a model that includes species production and loss. A configuration where the wire is offset from the cylinder axis such that the electric field is asymmetric is considered. The study demonstrates the necessity of including the generation terms in the charge transport equations to obtain improved accuracy, particularly in gap dimensions comparable to the size of the ionization zone.
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