NOVEL FINITE-ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF SPACE-CHARGE MODIFIED FIELDS

A new finite-element based method for the analysis of the space-charge modified field around unipolar transmission lines without resort to D eutsch's assumption is described. The method seeks a solution of only one second-order partial differential equation (PDE) rather than a sol ution of a nonlinear third-order PDE or a solution of two simultaneous second-order PDEs as documented in the literature. The effectiveness of the proposed method has been tested through the application to the coaxial cylindrical and conductor-to-plane configurations. Present res ults agree well with previous calculated and experimental values. The proposed method is characterised by a quick convergence to achieve the desired accuracy and simplicity in computer programming.