Inhomogeneous field breakdown in GIS-the prediction of breakdownprobabilities and voltages. I. Overview of a theory for inhomogeneousfield breakdown in SF6

Inhomogeneous field breakdown in SF₆ has been investigated, and a theory has been developed which predicts the breakdown voltage for fast-rising (rectangular) waveforms applied to arbitrary electrode geometries and gas pressures. This theory facilitates the analytical design aspects of many GIS components where previously, engineering judgement and development testing were necessary. It is suggested that extensions of the theory, will permit breakdown voltage prediction for an arbitrary surge waveform, which will facilitate the assessment of test waveform efficacy and the development of a more reliable field, factory, and type tests     

Inhomogeneous field breakdown in GIS-the prediction of breakdownprobabilities and voltages. II. Ion density and statistical timelag

For pt.I see ibid., vol.3, no.3, p.923-30 (1988). An improved model for the calculation of statistical time lags in SF₆ insulated electrode arrangements for positive impulse voltage is presented. On the basis of physical considerations, the production rate of initial electrons is ascribed to the local density of negative SF₆ ions and to field dependent electron detachment. Values of negative ion densities are measured directly, while the detachment coefficient is determined by a fitting procedure to measurements of statistical time lags     

On the calculation of breakdown voltages for uniform electricfields in compressed air and SF6

A novel method is described for calculating the breakdown voltage of uniform field gaps in compressed air and SF₆ without the need for experiments. This method is based on the criterion of self-recurring single-electron avalanches developed in the gap. It is shown that the results computed by this method for pd values to the right of Paschen's minimum (up to 15 kPa·m in air and up to 5 kPa·M in SF₆) are in good agreement with those measured experimentally. It is also shown that the use of the streamer criterion overestimates the breakdown voltage when applied for pd values where Townsend's mechanism is valid. In addition, it is shown that the size of the avalanche (and hence the parameter K) at breakdown is not constant as adopted in the literature; it depends upon the gap length and gas pressure     

Calculation of the uniform breakdown field strength of SF6 gas

We calculated the uniform dielectric breakdown field strength of SF₆ gas over the temperature range of 300 to 3000 K. The local thermal equilibrium (ITE) composition of the dissociated gas is connected to the electron impact collision cross sections of the species SF₆, F₂, F and S. The critical reduced electric field strength of the composition is determined by a balancing electron generation and loss modeled by chemical reactions evaluated by the electron energy distribution function (EEDF) derived from the Boltzmann transport equation. At room temperature, pure SF₆ has a critical reduced electric field strength of 362 Td. With increasing temperature and decreasing density we found a small decrease of this value, whereas at temperatures higher than 1500 K, dissociation starts to decrease the dielectric strength of the composition. Furthermore, we found that generation of electrons by (associative) detachment from F ^- starts to play an important role at temperatures >2500 K, where the critical field strength still has a value of 118 Td. This value is found to decrease rapidly afterwards with increasing temperature to the value of 38 Td at 3000 K. The calculated results agree very well with independently predicted values and measured data     

Prediction of breakdown in SF6 under impulse conditions

Prediction of fast transient voltage-induced breakdown in quasi-homogeneous field geometries requires compounding the breakdown probability over time, while taking into account the field-dependent probability of electron detachment. In this paper, a breakdown probability model has been developed to predict the impulse breakdown under quasi-uniform fields, as this is the fundamental condition, the knowledge of which facilitates computation of breakdown probability under more complex conditions. The model will facilitate computation of breakdown probability under more complex conditions. It accounts for the effect of the streamer formation length on the critical volume and the probability of initial electron production by electron detachment from negative ions. The proposed model has been verified through comparison with the measured impulse breakdown probabilities. The predicted breakdown probabilities are in good agreement (±10%) with those measured     

Statistical inference for breakdown voltage in SF6 GISfrom first breakdown data

The statistical distributions of first ac breakdown field data were shown to be represented by the three-parameter Weibull distribution. Many experimental data compiled from the literature in various gap configurations and in sphere-plane gap system in the present work, obtained in SF₆ at pressures of 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6 MPa were analyzed. By making use of the maximum likelihood method, the algorithm suggested provides parameter estimates with no computational difficulties. The compiled field data produces lower parameter estimates compared to those evaluated for individual data groups at the same pressure, and although the limiting field strengths tend to decrease as gas pressure increases, the slopes of the distributions are almost unaffected     

Temporal development of partial discharge and its application tobreakdown prediction in SF6 gas

The authors measured the temporal change of partial discharge (PD) characteristics leading to breakdown in SF₆ gas for AC voltage application. At the final stage close to the breakdown, positive PD pulses with relatively high magnitude began to take place in the phase region near the applied voltage peak. This event was interpreted in terms of the change of PD type in SF₆ gas from streamer to leader. Optical observation also revealed that PD type transition occurred. With the results considered, the mechanisms of PD were discussed. Moreover, they discussed the possibility of breakdown prediction in GIS. An attempt was made to find a breakdown prediction parameter which characterized the change of PD type: the ratio R_L of maximum charge to the average charge of PD pulses appearing in the phase region near the peak in positive half cycle. It was found that R_L allowed to predict the time to breakdown successfully within the error of 4~20%     

Prediction of the breakdown voltage in SF6 under corona stabilization

Corona-stabilized breakdown in SF₆ can occur either through a streamer or a leader mechanism depending on the gas pressure. The paper derives an expression to predict the breakdown voltage in coaxial cylinders in the pressure range where the streamer mechanism is operative. The pre-sparkover current can also be determined. Excellent agreement is obtained with experimental results.     

Motion of free conducting particles in SF6 insulatedsystems under dc switching voltages

The dynamic behavior of free conducting particles in SF₆ insulated systems under switching impulse (SI) superimposed on a dc voltage is investigated. This study includes the influence of the most important design parameters on the particle motion, such as value of dc/switching voltage ratio, particle parameters, shape of switching voltage and system configuration; parallel plane and coaxial cylinders. The computations have concluded that the behavior of contaminating conducting particles in GIS when subjected to a dc bias voltage and SI wave is more dangerous than its behavior under pure switching impulse voltage     

Voltage-time characteristics for steep-front impulse voltages ofparticle-contaminated spacers in SF6 gas-insulated switchgear

The voltage-time characteristics of spacer surfaces for steep-front impulse waves are investigated under a particle-contaminated condition in SF₆ gas. The characteristics are measured as a function of particle length, particle position, and space shapes. Flashover voltages monotonically increase in the submicrosecond region as time to flashover is shorter, and are a minimum in the 1 μs region. Applicability of the equal voltage-time area criterion for estimating the voltage-time characteristics is discussed and the estimation is clarified. Moreover, it is demonstrated that an optimized spacer with ribs greatly improves flashover voltages in the submicrosecond region as well as in the 1 μs and power frequency region     

Partial discharge and breakdown mechanisms in ultra-dilute SF6/N2 gas mixtures

With the goal of reducing SF₆ gas usage, we investigated partial discharge (PD) and breakdown (BD) mechanisms in ultra-dilute (0 to 1%) SF₆/N₂ gas mixtures. The experimental results and discussions are given in this paper. In particular, we focused our research on the transition characteristics of the electrical insulation performance with an extremely small amount of SF₆ content, the PD behavior on the applied voltage, and the relation among prebreakdown streamer, return stroke and BD. Moreover, we discussed the PD and so mechanisms with reference of space charge behavior. From these results, the transition threshold at which the influence of SF₆ gas on the discharge characteristics began to appear, was clarified to be SF₆ content k=10 ppm for a total pressure of 0.1 MPa     

Comparison of SF6/N2 and SF6/CO2 gas mixtures as alternatives to SF6 gas

The interest in SF₆ gas mixtures has been re-ignited in recent years by the issue of the greenhouse effect of the SF₆ gas, and most research work is now focused on a SF₆/N₂ gas mixture, which is suitable for application in electrical apparatus with slightly non-uniform fields. This paper presents a comparison of SF₆/N₂ and SF₆/CO₂ gas mixtures with a viewpoint of their possible applications to gas-insulated transformers, where both highly non-uniform field problems and partial discharges in gas/film insulation are inevitable. It is shown that in this case the dielectric strength of SF₆/CO₂ is superior to that of SF₆/N ₂ with a minor disadvantage related to the gas decomposition in SF₆/CO₂. However, this may not be a problem for the SF₆/CO₂ gas mixture to be used in gas-insulated transformers, where internal breakdown is not allowed     

The influence of surface charge on lightning impulse breakdown ofspacers in SF6

We have investigated the influence of surface charges on the discharge development across particle contaminated spacer surfaces under SF₆ for lightning impulse (LI) voltages (1.2/50 μs). Surface charges may be generated by dc, ac or lightning impulse stress. The discharge characteristic shows a strong reduction of the insulation strength if the applied voltage and the surface charge have opposite polarities. The investigations were performed with a needle protrusion attached to the bottom electrode to give severe field distortion. The bottom electrode was biased positively. The influence on the discharge process is observed by measuring the surface charge distribution and predischarge currents. The results reveal changes in streamer onset voltage, streamer to leader transition, and leader development     

Dielectric breakdown of a residual SF6 plasma at 3000 Kunder diatomic equilibrium

A residual plasma at 3000 K and under diatomic equilibrium is left inside an axially blown gas blast SF₆ circuit breaker after the thermal extinction of an arc. The breakdown of such a residual plasma depends on the electron generation and loss mechanisms. Altogether six ionization and chemical reactions relevant to the time scale of breakdown have been taken into account. It has been found that the critical field strength for breakdown is proportional to the pressure and is equal to 2.0 V/(m.Pa). This field strength is in agreement with the experimental results     

Seismic behavior of `candle' type SF6 outdoor circuitbreakers and associated SF6 insulated current transformers

The authors analyze the seismic behavior of live tank circuit breakers of the candle-type architecture, i.e. breakers that support only one chamber per column and have a closing resistor built in the interrupting chamber. This arrangement has a lower interrupting module weight and the resistor is in the axis of the column. In the case of T or V configurations with two chambers per column and with a closing resistor chamber in parallel to the main chamber, it results in some large masses off-centered on each side of the column. It is shown that the candle architecture makes possible a simple simulation and economical solution to the problem of seismic resistance, SF₆ current transformers associated with these breakers are also modeled by a simple computational model     

碳纳米管传感器检测SF6放电分解组分的实验研究

研制了一种用浓硫酸和浓硝酸修饰,以印制电路板为基底,用于检测SF6局部放电分解组分的碳纳米管传感器。分析了碳纳米管膜的导电模型,并通过真空下传感器的温度特性试验,对修饰前后的碳纳米管传感器的电阻随温度变化的关系进行了分析。在实验室采用SF6放电分解试验装置,用碳纳米管传感器对分解组分进行检测,结果表明用经混酸修饰后的样品制作出的传感器对SF6放电分解组分表现出较好的吸附性。此外,研究了温度对传感器吸附性能的影响,结果表明,温度在85℃时传感器表现出最强的吸附性。     

Simulation of corona discharge. Positive corona in SF6

Positive coronas in SF₆ under three voltage levels, 3.0, 3.5 and 4.0 kV, are studied for a 0.5 cm gap between a hyperboloid needle and a plane electrode at a gas number density N=2.12×10¹⁸ cm³. The current in the form of a burst of pulses is found to increase with increasing voltage. The initiation and development of successive avalanches are traced as function of time after voltage increases. The development of electron avalanches and streamers are due to ionization and photoionization and quenching of avalanches is due to space charge. The simulation provides a detailed structure of avalanches from which essential differences between positive and negative corona with regard to total field distribution, propagation of successive avalanches and ion distribution can be discerned     

针-板缺陷模型下局部放电量与SF6分解组分的关联特性

为了定量判断气体绝缘组合开关电器(GIS)内金属突出物缺陷所产生局部放电(PD)的严重程度,在自建的SF6放电分解实验平台上,用针-板缺陷模型产生PD使SF6发生放电分解形成特征组分,分别在不同电压等级下进行96h实验,采用气相色谱法对分解组分进行定量测定,同时用50Ω无感电阻检测PD量大小,深入研究了PD量与SF6气体分解组分之间的关联特性,结果表明,针-板缺陷PD下SF6分解可产生CF4、CO2、SO2F2、SOF2等组分,SO2F2和SOF2的体积分数及产气速率与每秒平均放电量Qsec关联性良好,SO2F2和SOF2的体积分数及产气均方速率随Qsec增大而增加,而(SOF2+SO2F2)与(CO2+CF4)的体积分数比值随Qsec近似呈线性增长,CF4与CO2以及SOF2与SO2F2的体积分数比值可作为较大Qsec的辅助判据,因此,可以通过SF6气体组分定量分析来判断GIS设备内部PD的程度。     

Electrical breakdown of SF6 at small values of theproduct pd

The breakdown of SF₆ when static and impulse voltages are applied at small values (from 10^-4 bar-mm to 1 bar-mm) of the product pd was investigated. It was found that the prevailing breakdown mechanism up to 8×10^-3 bar-mm was the Townsend mechanism. Between 8×10^-3 and 5.5 bar-mm the Townsend and streamers mechanisms combined, whereas from 5.5 bar-mm on the streamers mechanism took over. The Paschen law was found to hold for the points lying to the right of the minimum when static voltage was applied, whereas edge-type breakdown occurred on the points lying to the left of the minimum. When impulse voltage was applied, the Paschen law was valid only for the points to the right of the 1 bar-mm point. The electrode material affected the static and impulse breakdowns through the values of its work function