Finite element method for conservation equations in electrical gas discharge areas (Q1335644)

A powerful finite element method for numerical solution of hydrodynamic conservation equations of electrons and ions, including drift, diffusion, and source terms, is proposed and applied in the areas of electrical gas discharges dominated by space charge effects and having steep variation of charge carrier densities. This numerical method, having a quite good conservative property and valid also for nonuniform mesh case, is able to take properly into account the possible discontinuities in space and/or time variation of electron and ion densities.