Afivo-streamer is a tool for the simulation of streamer discharges in 1D, 2D and 3D, using plasma fluid models. Afivo-streamer makes uses of the afivo framework, which for example provides adaptive mesh refinement and parallelization.
Quick links
Opiniated comparison against typical alternatives (advantages and disadvantages)
Strong points
- Computational efficiency: relative to typical other codes, afivo-streamer has a high computational efficiency, see e.g. this paper. This usually makes it possible to do 2D simulations on a normal computer rather interactively.
- Possibility of doing 3D simulations: due to the computational efficiency it is possible to do relevant 3D simulations in a reasonable time on typical hardware
- Usage: the code has frequently been used for streamer simulations in various publications, which also means that things like plasma chemisty and different photoionization models are included
- Open source: anyone can in principle change the code (although doing so might not always be easy)
Neutral points
- Linux/unix: basic familiarity with such systems (and the command line) is required to compile and run the code
- Fortran: experience with Fortran is required in order to change the code
Weak points
- Complexity: it can be rather difficult to change the code or to add new physics, in particular due to the use of adaptive mesh refinement and parallelization
- Research type code: which means there is not much documentation, no extensive test suite, there are experimental features, etc.
- Complex geometries: although curved electrodes can be included, curved dielectrics and complex geometries are generally not supported