Methods on the Determination of the Circuit Parameters in an Underwater Spark Discharge

We constructed an underwater discharge system to conduct a number of experiments. Considering the constant resistance of the plasma channel, we got an analytic expression for the current containing unknown parameters on the basis of the Kirchhoff voltage law. Therefore, we are required to determine the total circuit resistance R with the measured current data in hand. Three methods are employed to get this job done, namely, nonlinear least squares with three variables (NLS-TV), nonlinear least squares with a single variable (NLS-SV), and waveform calculation method (WCM). The Levenberg–Marquardt (L-M) algorithm and particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm are employed in NLS-TV and NLS-SV, and the root mean square error (RMSE), as well as an improved cosine similarity (ICS), was selected to evaluate the performance of algorithms. The results show that NLS-TV gives an optimal solution with the combination of the PSO algorithm and L-M algorithm. Then, by calculation, R = 1.3195 Ω, C = 0.56865 μF, and L = 17.172 μH. RMSE and ICS between fitted current data and measured one are 43.9689 and 0.9947, respectively. NLS-SV gives a satisfying solution either by PSO or by L-M, yet it needs information of angular frequency from the measured current waveform and the total inductance C. In this case, we get R = 1.3115Ω, L = 16.969 μH, RMSE = 48.0883, and ICS = 0.9967. As for WCM, it is completely dependent on the measured current waveform and the total inductance C. The corresponding values of R and L are 1.2463 Ω and 16.993 μH. Also, we get RMSE = 52.1902 and ICS = 0.9728. For NLS-SV and WCM, the needed total capacitance during calculation is determined using the computed capacitance by NLS-TV. If the energy storage capacitance is used as the total capacitance, the obtained solution is frustrating. Therefore, independent use of NLS-SV or WCM demands a precise capacitance of the total circuit measured by an RLC meter. We also draw a conclusion that ignoring the capacitance of other parts of the circuit is incorrect and will lead to an enormous error during calculation.