Inception voltage of positive streamer and its length on PMMA inair

A positive surface discharge on a solid insulator in air consists of many branched streamers. The length of the streamers is controlled by the applied voltage at the instant when the streamers occur. The relationship between the inception voltage and the streamer length depends on the thickness of the solid insulator and the number of streamer branches. At a low voltage, the length of a streamer decreases with increasing the thickness of the insulator, but at a high voltage, it increases with thickness. The length of a streamer with a large number of branches is shorter than that with a few branches. This phenomenon can be explained as follows: the electrons generated in each branch flow into a positive high-potential electrode through the stem of the streamer, and the potential drop in the stem is enhanced due to this electron flow     

Positive streamer propagation in large oil gaps: electricalproperties of streamers

This paper presents experimental data and calculations concerning the electrical properties of positive streamers in mineral oil at large gaps and HV. The experiments concern the measurement of charge, electric field, and the determination of the potential drop along streamers, either in the liquid alone, or for streamers guided within insulating tubes. Calculations of charge and field distribution around streamers are carried out by charge simulation. To do this, streamers are represented by objects with simple shapes (spheres or cylinders) equivalent to their macroscopic aspect. These models lead to a correct agreement with measured streamer charge and field on the plane electrode. Qualitative correlations are established between calculated field distributions and streamer behavior such as velocity, transitions between propagation modes. It is also concluded that the potential drop in streamers and branching both act as regulating mechanisms that help to keep the streamer tip field, and hence the velocity, constant over a wide voltage range     

Surface profile effect on streamer propagation and breakdown in air

In a uniform field arrangement, under direct voltage, positive streamer propagation and breakdown are investigated along cylindrical insulators with different profiles, inserted perpendicularly between two parallel plane electrodes. The basic properties of streamer propagation and breakdown, namely the electric field required for a stable propagation together with the associated velocity and the breakdown field together with time to breakdown, are measured as influenced by the pulse voltage amplitude used for the streamer initiation and by the insulator profile. It is shown that a strong relation between streamer propagation and breakdown exists, because the insulator profile exerts a similar influence on the breakdown and propagation fields. The effect of a shed on an insulating surface, forming an `obstruction' to streamer progress, is to increase the stability for propagation and breakdown fields, and to reduce the propagation velocity at all applied fields compared with those in the case of a smooth insulator. Along the surface of a smooth insulator, a streamer system propagates with a `surface' and an `air' component; however, a shed on an insulating surface modifies this system, resulting in only one component reaching the cathode     

沿冰层表面流注传播场稳定性的实验研究与分析(英文)

The electric field required for stable propagation of a positive streamer along an ice surface was investigated by measuring the currents associated with the streamer discharge.The influence of the surface properties,namely the existence of a water film on the ice surface and surface contamination,was analyzed.Results showed that in the presence of an ice surface,except in case of low conductive surface,streamers propagate stably with an external field lower than that generally measured for propagation in air alone(approximately 5 kV/cm).For higher contamination levels,the stability field was found to be slightly influenced by the temperature,while for lower contamination levels,it decreased significantly with an increase in temperature.     

Streamer propagation along profiled insulator surfaces

Experimental results on the propagation of positive streamers along contoured, axially symmetric, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) insulation surfaces are presented. A plane parallel electrode configuration provides a substantially uniform electric field for streamer propagation and a point electrode at the ground plane initiates the avalanche process. Basic streamer properties of velocity and propagation probability with field strength are measured and compared with the corresponding characteristics of air and cylindrical insulators. Several insulator profiles are investigated and the occurrence of multiple streamer paths is demonstrated, which are generally distinguishable as surface and air components with different propagation velocities. Comparative data of the breakdown fields for the various insulators is included     

Study of the Development of Positive Streamers Along an Ice Surface

This paper presents the results of fundamental investigations on the inception and propagation of corona discharge on an ice surface stressed with a standard lightning impulse voltage. High-speed photography and photomultiplier techniques were used to observe and record the propagation of the streamers. The effects of several experimental parameters such as freezing water conductivity and HV rod electrode radius on the streamer inception parameters were investigated. Moreover, time to first streamer, inception voltage and corresponding field, as well as streamer propagation velocity and charge deposited by a streamer on ice surface were measured. The results are discussed and emphases are laid on the main factors influencing the development of positive streamers on ice surface.     

Positive streamer discharges along insulating surfaces

By measuring the currents associated with the streamer discharge along silicone rubber surfaces, parameters of streamer propagation such as the minimum field of streamer crossing, the field of stable streamer propagation, the mean velocity and the streamer charge distribution have been analyzed and compared to the streamer discharge in air alone. Clear differences were observed in the measured currents for the individual surfaces at low background fields (285 kV/m). For higher fields the streamer crosses the gap almost independently of the surface type. The minimum streamer field was found to be slightly increased compared to air. The field of stable streamer propagation also was higher than in air. It is ~ 570 kV/m, larger than that of the streamer discharge in air (~ 500), under the same conditions. The streamer speed was found slightly increased in the presence of the silicone rubber surface and the distinction between the individual surfaces was modest. A discussion on possible mechanisms for the observed differences in the streamer speed and currents with and without the insulator surfaces is presented. The net positive charge of the streamer along an insulating surface seems to be distributed along the streamer channel rather than localized in the front part of the channel as the case for the streamer in air     

Streamer propagation along insulating surfaces

Results concerning the propagation of streamers along insulating surfaces under uniform electric field are presented. The basic properties of streamers, namely the electric field required for a stable propagation and the propagation velocity, have been measured and compared with propagation in air alone as a reference. The results have shown that in the experimental arrangement used significant space charges due to streamer branching are absent, therefore the properties observed are considered as characteristic of a single streamer. Streamers propagate stably with an intrinsic propagation field and a characteristic velocity that depend on the nature of the insulating material. For electric fields higher than the minimum field required for a stable propagation, a streamer system propagates with a `surface' and an `air' component     

Positive Streamer Propagation and Breakdown in Air: the Influence of Humidity

The influence of humidity on streamer propagation at conditions from the threshold for propagation to those for streamer-induced breakdown was investigated in a uniform field in air at atmospheric pressure. Experiments were carried out in a three electrode arrangement consisting of a 12 cm long parallel-plane gap, with an auxiliary needle in the earthed anode. Positive streamers were initiated by applying at the needle electrode a pulse voltage which varied in amplitude. These propagated towards the upper plane electrode which was stressed by a negative dc voltage. Under natural atmospheric conditions, propagation and breakdown probability curves were obtained for several values of absolute humidity in the range between 5 and 22 g/m³. Thus, distributions of the electric field required for streamer propagation and breakdown were obtained and the associated velocity of propagation and time to breakdown were measured. Besides humidity, the amplitude of the voltage used for streamer initiation and the ambient electric field were considered as influencing parameters on streamer properties. Empirical equations are presented expressing the effects of the above parameters on the intrinsic streamer properties. A comparison with previous work in the literature is made and this leads to the conclusion that the influence of humidity on streamer propagation and breakdown can be placed in a sounder quantitative basis.     

Propagation characteristics of a positive surface streamer

The potential distribution of a developing positive surface streamer was measured by the Pockels effect. The transient potential distribution along a linear path was measured at minimum resolutions of 20 µm and 2 ns. Additionally, velocity of a streamer, average electric field along a streamer, and the developing length were measured while changing the insulator thickness from 0.8 to 5.0 mm. The potential along a positive surface streamer decreases linearly with the distance from the high‐potential electrode, and its gradient is about 500–650 V/mm, which is independent of the inception voltage and the insulator thickness. © 2006 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Effects of additives on prebreakdown phenomena in n-hexane

Prebreakdown phenomena in n-hexane are observed in detail for positive and negative polarities by using simultaneously a high speed schlieren technique and an LED current measuring system, when an impulse voltage (1.1/225 μs) is applied to a point-to-plane electrode gap. Furthermore, the effects of several additives on the streamer propagation are investigated. Especially the effects of electron-trapping additives on negative streamer propagation and of low ionization potential additives on the positive streamer propagation, are examined, as is a correlation between the shape and the propagation velocity of the streamers     

考虑载流子密度扰动的植物绝缘油中初始流注放电仿真

在现有泊松方程及电流连续性方程的放电模型基础上,通过引入载流子密度波动源建立具有多分支流注形貌的放电改进模型;通过COMSOL软件仿真分析了雷电冲击电压为120kV、160kV和200kV时的放电结果。结果表明:改进模型的流注分支形貌比原模型更接近试验结果;最大场强主要分布在流注头部,且均超过2×108 V/m,其中200kV时由二次流注引起的场强和电荷变化最为明显。此外,3种电压下的z轴流注发展长度和速度还表明流注分支间电荷的相互排斥对流注有抑制作用。而对比电压上升沿时间分别为5ns、10ns、50ns和120ns时的流注形貌还发现:电压上升沿时间越短,流注半径越大,分支越多。该文的研究成果有助于分析放电过程中载流子密度波动对流注分支的影响机理。     

中频正弦电压下大气压氦等离子体射流的产生机理

为了探讨He大气压等离子体射流(APPJ)的产生机理,采用增强型电荷耦合元件(ICCD)分别拍摄HeAPPJ的纵截面和横截面图像发现,He在17kHz中频正弦外施电压下正负半周的APPJ图像不对称,在正半周电压下,He APPJ以空间流光的形式向石英管口传输,至石英管外转换为沿He/Air界面传输的沿面放电;而在负半周电压下,He APPJ传播较正半周下短,为一种典型的存在于He气流中的电晕放电现象。研究APPJ长度与管内介质阻挡放电(DBD)放电模式的关系发现,随着外施电压的升高,DBD放电将依次呈现出"倍周期"、"混沌"、"流光-辉光过渡"、"非对称辉光"、"对称辉光"和"辉光+丝状"等6种模式,各个模式的放电电流波形具有不同的特征,等离子体羽流长度并不是单纯地随着外施电压增大而增长的量,而是放电所产生的He激发态粒子浓度与放电对气流的扰动两方面共同作用的结果。     

Thermal processes in a streamer discharge in water

The propagation features of a streamer discharge in water have been investigated. Based on the experimental data obtained in the study of water discharges in a nonuniform electric field, due propagation of streamers is explained as the evaporation of water at the tip of the streamer and around it. The energy balance in the process of the streamer propagation is calculated for a sub-microsecond discharge in distilled water. It is shown that the energy released in the pre-breakdown process is sufficient to evaporate the liquid in the streamer channels. Similar velocity of the streamer propagation in both tap and distilled water substantiates negligible effect of ionic current density onto the streamer propagation process. These estimations, based on experiment, have relevance to the discussion of the nature of the dielectric breakdown of water     

Streamer propagation in mineral oil in semi-uniform geometry

Presents a study of streamer propagation in transformer oil, with point-plane and semi-uniform geometry. The latter is made of parallel plane electrodes, with a thin triggering point of calibrated size. By reducing the length of the point, it is possible to move progressively from a point-plane geometry to a quasi uniform geometry. The propagation of streamers is impeded by the presence of a metallic plane behind the triggering point, that reduces the field on propagating streamers. The effect varies widely according to the streamer type considered. The propagation of negative and fast positive streamers is nearly quenched, whereas slower filamentary positive streamers (usually responsible for breakdown in oil) are less affected. This shows that many results obtained in point-plane geometry can not be simply extrapolated to the more realistic case of uniform field     

长间隙放电流注发展的新的计算模型

基于光电子理论推导出一种新的流注发展计算模型，它能仿真长间隙放电中正流注发展的全过程。与同类模型相比，该模型不但能描述一次流注的起始和发展，而且能对一次流注熄灭后，暗期中空间电荷的迁移与扩散，以至二次流注的发生和发展作定量计算。为验证计算程序的正确性，使用李庭博尘粉图对某些给定电压下流注发展长度的实验值与计算值进行了比较。同时还引用了有关文献中的数据来验证计算结果，经比较发现该计算程序是可行的。     

Parallel streamer discharges between wire and plane electrodes in water

Streamer discharges in tap water and distilled water have been generated by applying a voltage pulse from 120 to 175 kV and 500 ns duration to a wire-to-electrode configuration. Electrical and optical diagnostics were used to explore the temporal development of the streamers in tap and distilled water, at various applied voltages and both polarities. With the wire serving as anode, multiple, parallel streamer discharges were generated. The number density of these streamers along the wire decreases with decreasing electric field on the surface of the wire. The dependence of the streamer density on electric field indicates the role of field enhancement at inhomogeneous microstructures along the wire as streamer initiation mechanism. The appearance of the discharge was different for tap and distilled water. However, the measured average streamer propagation velocity from the positive wire to the grounded plane electrode, of 32 mm//spl mu/s, was independent of the water conductivity and the applied voltage. This suggests the existence of a self-sustained electric field at the streamer head. With the wire serving as cathode, only a weak light emission from the area close to the wire was observed, and streamers did not appear for the same voltage amplitude as with the positive polarity. This suggests that an ionic current flowing in the water is not dominant in the streamer propagation process.     

低气压下流注放电特性的研究

流注的产生和传播是空气间隙击穿中一个重要的物理过程,研究低气压下流注的产生和传播过程有助于理解空气间隙的击穿放电,对高海拔地区输电线路及输变电设备的设计和运行有着重要的意义。在可调节气压湿度的有机玻璃罐中,利用“三电极”结构,应用光电倍增管测量了不同气压湿度下,流注传播概率和平均传播速度随平板间电场强度的变化。通过数据拟合得到了流注稳态传播电场和相对空气密度以及湿度之间的经验公式。建立流体模型,对流注传播的动力学特性进行了仿真计算,得到的流注稳态传播电场及平均传播速度和实验测量得到的结果吻合得很好。结果表明：流注的传播场强随湿度、气压的增大而增大;在相同的电场强度下,流注平均传播速度随湿度、气压的增大而减小。利用仿真计算模型计算得到流注传播过程中的各个参数,分析了流注传播动力学特性随气压湿度变化的机制。     

Propagation characteristics of impulse creepage discharge in perfluorocarbon liquid

In this paper, the propagation characteristics of a creepage discharge on the surface of a solid insulator with a back electrode in perfluorocarbon liquid under an impulse voltage application are investigated. The propagation process is observed in detail by means of a high‐speed schlieren optical technique, and simultaneously waveforms of a current and a charge are also measured. Consequently, the polarity effect of the streamer propagation and the positive streamer which propagates stepwise can be seen. The latter is concurrent with the sparse current pulse which corresponds to the charge step‐variation. These results are compared with ones obtained in transformer oil. © 2000 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 131(4): 19–28, 2000     

Measurement of streamer charge distribution on an insulator in SF6 Gas

The charge density produced by streamers on an insulator surface in SF₆ has been investigated by using a probe method with a high-speed temporal resolution. Concentric circular probes, which also act as a plane electrode, are used in this probe method. Probe signals are observed oscilloscopically and converted into the charge densities through a numerical calculation. This method reveals the charge distribution before a disturbance caused by the “back discharge.” The charge density thus obtained ranges from several nC/cm² up to about 60 nC/cm². The density depends on the pressure, voltage height and the position of the streamer. The electric field on the insulator is analyzed numerically taking into account the surface charge. The internal electric field of the streamer is found to be 40 ～ 50 kV/cm · atm when the streamer ceases its propagation. However, it partly exceeds the critical one (89 kV/cm · atm) during the propagation.