Partial discharge measurements in SF6 and air usingphase-resolved pulse-height analysis

Carries out a study on partial discharge (PD) phenomena in SF₆ gas and tries to construct a diagnostic system capable of separating noise from observed PD signals for assessing the condition of insulation performance in power apparatus. The authors have constructed a computer-aided PD measuring system which permits a time-sequential data acquisition and phase-resolved pulse height analysis. Using the PD measurement system, the authors measured 60 Hz AC PD in SF₆ gas and in air at atmospheric pressure for needle-plane electrodes with three different radii at the tip of the needle, 3, 30 and 500 μm. They proposed particular PD statistical parameters, unbalance ratios U _T and U_q of the pulse repetition rate and average of charge, respectively, between positive and negative PD pulses occurring per cycle; these parameters proved to be good indicators to distinguish PD occurring in SF₆ from that in air. The mechanism of PD inception was also discussed     

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     

Applying a voice recognition system for SF6 gasinsulated switchgear's inspection/maintenance services

The authors have developed a new portable voice recognition system which is compact, lightweight and has two-way communication (sending and receiving) for the purpose of inspection/maintenance services for substation equipment. The authors are using these newly developed systems for daily visual inspection, periodic inspection and for commissioning tests of substation equipment. By applying this system with the added guidance and judgment functions, unskilled personnel is possible to carry out inspection/maintenance services of substation equipment. And the data collected at site is possible to be fed to the computer directly, the trend control management can be easily done. This paper describes the outline of voice recognition system, applied examples of SF₆ Gas insulated switchgear's periodical inspection/maintenance and achieved results     

Insulation design and on-site testing method for a long distance,gas insulated transmission line (GIL)

The actual long distance GIL has more than 1,500 connections on site. Therefore, there is a possibility of particle contamination or a contact defect even with strict quality controls     

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     

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     

Recovery of SF6 from N2/SF6 gasmixtures by using a polymer membrane

The investigation of gas recovery from N₂/SF₆ gas mixtures using a polymer membrane has been reported. It has been shown that the purity of recovered gas, the recovery loss, and the gas handling speed depend on various parameters such as original gas mixing ratio, gas feeding pressure, gas flow rate, and temperature of the membrane. A gas recovering system with two membrane separators connected in cascade has proved to be very efficient in attaining high purity in a recovered gas, with negligibly small recovery loss and high handling speed for practical use. Furthermore, this system could be applied for CO₂/SF₆, He/SF ₆ and even for ternary mixtures such as N₂/CO₂/SF₆ without any modification in the system, where we expect much better performance in comparison with N ₂/SF₆     

Simulation of corona discharge. Negative corona in SF6

Negative coronas in SF₆ under three voltage levels are investigated by Monte Carlo simulation. For the purpose of simulation, the gap between a hyperboloidal needle and a plane is divided into two regions: region I where the electric field is very steep and most electrons and ions are accumulated, and region II the rest of the gap. In region I electron motion is simulated by dividing the region into a number of cells and a small cell size improves the accuracy. The magnitude of current pulse increases with increasing voltage and there appears to be more than one peak in each pulse as observed by experiment. The development of electron avalanches is due to ionization and photoionization in the high field region, while the quenching of the avalanches is due to the space charge field suppression. Also the accumulation of positive and negative ions are displayed in detail. The space charge field distortion is studied and found to increase with increasing applied voltage     

SF6气体绝缘设备的放电特性研究

随着SF6气体绝缘设备在系统中的广泛应用,对其绝缘状态的监测、检验以及相应的缺陷类型识别,成为当前亟待解决的问题.通过建立缺陷模型,对SF6气体在不同状态下放电特性进行试验分析,得到了不同缺陷情况下SF6绝缘设备的放电类型特征参数,和特征气体组分.结果表明:典型特征气体可作为实际检测的比对标准,也可作为SF6气体绝缘设备故障诊断专家系统的数据资料.     

窄间隙SF6放电过程粒子动力学行为

为了能够从微观上深入研究SF6气体的放电机理,采用粒子连续性方程耦合泊松方程构建SF6气体放电流体模型,其中粒子连续性方程由电子、正离子和负离子连续性方程构成,用有限元法对该模型进行耦合求解.模拟过程考虑了带电粒子及中性气体分子间的电离、吸附、复合以及扩散等过程.仿真结果表明,SF6气体放电过程包含三个阶段:电子崩阶段、电子崩转化为流注阶段、流注放电阶段.     

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     

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%     

UHF detection of leader discharges in SF6

The ultra-high frequency (UHF) technique of partial discharge detection has been used to study the partial discharges produced by electrode protrusions and surface contamination in a gas insulated substation (GIS). The paper describes the stages of discharge development from inception to breakdown. The work has shown that the UHF technique may be used to identify distinct phases of discharge activity corresponding to discharge inception and a prebreakdown condition. The prebreakdown activity is detected as an increase in the UHF signal magnitude which has been attributed to the formation of leader-type discharges. These discharges form an essential part of the breakdown process, and their detection can be used to identify when the system is close to breakdown. The paper describes a filtering technique that may be employed to optimize the sensitivity of UHF leader detection     

Dielectric strength of SF6 insulation in EHVdisconnectors

A new method for the calculation of parameters of SF₆ insulation for extra HV GIS disconnectors is given. This method is based on a new criterion for leader inception, which is connected with the value of the peripheral electric field near the boundary of the streamer zone. The presence of such a critical field is confirmed by analysis of experimental results and physical considerations     

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。     

Creepage discharge propagation in air and SF6 gasinfluenced by surface charge on solid dielectrics

Influence of surface charging on creepage discharge propagation in air and SF₆ gas was investigated. The authors have employed a surface charging system using corona discharges, which permitted the deposition of surface charge on solid dielectrics with a given density distribution. By applying a lightning impulse across the charged surface of polyester film, they measured the discharge extension length as a function of surface potential generated by the surface charge. It was found that the impulse creepage discharges along the charged surface under a potential of 2 to 3 kV, extended a distance which was maximum 6× longer than the case of the uncharged surface both in air and SF₆ gas. Experimental results were also discussed from the viewpoint of the specific capacitance, permitting their application to actual HV apparatus such as GIS     

SF6/N2 mixtures: basic and HV insulationproperties

The widespread use of SF₆ by the electric power and other industries has led to increased concentrations of SF₆ in the atmosphere. This causes concern as to possible effects on global warming, because SF₆ is a potent greenhouse gas. This paper first touches on this issue and then documents the behavior of high pressure gases such as N₂ and SF₆/N₂ mixtures that can be realistically considered as acceptable intermediate or long-term replacements for pure SF₆ in some HV applications. The possible use of dilute SF₆/N₂ mixtures as an alternative to pure SF₆ for some of industry's insulation needs (albeit at higher pressure) is documented, and existing knowledge on these mixtures and on the individual components (N₂ and SF₆), both basic and applied, is compiled. A guide to existing literature is provided     

Variation of surface flashover voltage in SF6 withpressure

Surface flashover characteristics of solid spacers in a rod-plane configuration have been investigated in SF₆, at pressures to 400 kPa, for switching impulse voltages to determine the effect of spacer, spacer materials and polarity of applied impulses. The effect of spacer material on the flashover voltage is not significant. For negative polarity impulses, the influence of the spacer is also insignificant. But for positive polarity impulses, at pressures <200 kPa, the spacer efficiency becomes >1.0. On the other hand, at pressures >200 kPa, the presence of the spacer drastically reduces the flashover voltage of the system. At about atmospheric pressure also, the spacer efficiency in air has been found to be >1.0, with the same electrode geometry     

六氟化硫断路器分析及检修方法

通过对SF6断路器采用SF6气体作为灭孤介质的优缺点进行了分析,论述了SF6气体优良的灭孤性能和其分解副产物的腐蚀性能及解决措施,并对SF6断路器的检修方法进行了阐述.