Abstract
The results of a linear analysis for the stability of a homogeneous dielectric liquid with respect to density perturbations in a uniform electric field are presented. The electric field increases the instability increment for the stratification along the field and decreases this increment in the transverse direction. Thus, a strong electric field can induce anisotropic decay into liquid and vapor phases for a fluid that is initially both in a labile state and in a metastable or stable state. Theoretical calculations are confirmed by the results of numerical modeling of the fluid dynamics. The new regions of a low-density phase have the form of narrow cylindrical channels oriented along the field. This new mechanism of gas phase formation in strong local electric fields probably plays a key role in the inception and ultra-fast propagation of streamers during the breakdown in dielectric liquids in a nanosecond range.
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Original Russian Text © A.L. Kupershtokh, D.A. Medvedev, 2006, published in Pis’ma v Zhurnal Tekhnicheskoĭ Fiziki, 2006, Vol. 32, No. 14, pp. 72–80.
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Kupershtokh, A.L., Medvedev, D.A. Anisotropic instability of dielectric liquids and decay to vapor-liquid system in strong electric fields. Tech. Phys. Lett. 32, 634–637 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1134/S106378500607025X
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S106378500607025X