Insulation characteristics and its evaluation method of N2 gas for nonstandard lightning impulse waveforms

Until recently, SF₆ gas has widely been used as the best insulating medium in substation equipment. However, SF₆ gas was specified to be a greenhouse gas at COP3 in 1997 because of its high global warming potential (GWP), and alternative insulation gases to SF₆ have been sought for a long time. Alternatives using the natural gases are considered to be suitable, but none of them show better properties for insulation as well as good environmental compatibility. Therefore, it is necessary to rationalize the equipment insulation level and reduce the test voltage of electric power apparatus to as low a level as possible. The actual lightning surge waveform (so‐called nonstandard lightning impulse waveform) occurring in the actual field is different from the standard lightning impulse waveform (1.2/50 μs). There are many cases in which the actual lightning surge waveform has a steep rise and large decay of overvoltage, and the insulation requirements are not as severe as those for the standard lightning impulse waveform. In this paper, we focused our research on N₂ gas as an SF₆ substitute and investigated the insulation characteristics of N₂ gas for a single‐frequency oscillatory waveform with various frequencies from 2.7 to 20.0 MHz and damping ratios. Based on the experimental results, it might be possible to reduce the test voltage of N₂ gas insulation by evaluating the crest value of the actual lightning surge waveform that has been converted into an equivalent standard lightning impulse waveform. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 167(2): 10–20, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20754     

Breakdown characteristics of gas‐insulated switchgear for nonstandard lightning impulse waveforms under nonuniform electric field

To improve the insulation specification of gas‐insulated switchgear (GIS), it is necessary to recognize the insulation characteristics of SF₆ gas during actual surges (called nonstandard lightning impulse waveforms) occurring at field substations. The authors observed the insulation characteristics of SF₆ gas gap under various types of nonstandard lightning impulse waveforms and compared them quantitatively with those obtained with standard lightning impulse waveforms. The experimental results were used to derive an evaluation method for real surges, which was applied to typical surges for various UHV and 500‐kV systems. In the preceding study, therefore, only the case of a quasi‐uniform electric field (with a typical range of field utilization factors in the bus of a GIS) was investigated. In the present investigation, the insulation characteristics of an SF₆ gas gap for a nonuniform electric field were observed experimentally and an evaluation method for converting nonstandard lightning impulse waveforms equivalently to the standard lightning impulse waveform was investigated. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 177(1): 11–18, 2011; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.21144     

Insulation characteristics of SF6 gas for nonstandard impulse voltage polarity reversal pulse waveforms

Evaluation of insulation strength for lightning surge that actually enters into substations is important in estimating insulation reliability of gas‐insulated equipment. The standard lightning impulse voltage (1.2/50 µs) is used for factory tests. However, the actual lightning surge waveforms in substations are complex and are usually superimposed with various oscillations. Insulation characteristics of SF₆ gas as a function of such complex voltages have not been sufficiently clarified. This paper deals with gap breakdown characteristics in SF₆ gas under submicrosecond pulses. Breakdown voltages are lower under a polarity reversal condition than under a monopolarity condition. The cause of this difference is discussed while observing discharge propagation using an image converter camera. The electrode size effect is also discussed. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 146(4): 18–25, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10246     

V-t characteristics of SF6 gas during lightning surges

The waveform of a standard lightning impulse differs greatly from those of actual lightning surges acting on GIS. This raises the problem of the equivalence of the standard lightning impulse. This report describes the effect of voltage waveforms on insulating performance in an SF₆ gas gap subjected to fast oscillating impulse voltages simulating actual lightning surges, and the evaluation of V-t characteristics by applying the equal area criterion. © 1997 Scripta Technica, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 119(4): 1–11, 1997     

Insulation properties of a CO2/N2 50% SF6 gas mixture in a nonuniform field

This paper describes partial discharge (PD) inception and breakdown voltage characteristics of a CO₂/N₂/SF₆ gas mixture in a nonuniform field. These voltage characteristics were investigated with ac high voltage by changing the mixture rate of each gas of CO₂, N₂, and SF₆ gas and the gas pressure from 0.1 MPa to 0.6 MPa. It was found that adding a small amount of CO₂ gas into a N₂/SF₆ mixture causes a drastic increase in the breakdown voltage. For instance, when the mixture rate of SF₆ in N₂/SF₆ gas mixture is 50%, with the addition of 1% CO₂ the maximum breakdown voltage becomes 1.31 and 1.15 times higher than that of a 50% N₂/50% SF₆ gas mixture and pure SF₆ gas, respectively. Moreover, those voltage characteristics of a CO₂/N₂/SF₆ gas mixture were also investigated by changing the electric field utilization factor as well as by applying positive and negative standard lightning impulse voltages in order to discuss the corona stabilization effect, which seems to be one reason for the drastic increase in the breakdown voltage. These results and breakdown mechanism of the CO₂/N₂/SF₆ gas mixture are discussed on the basis of the corona stabilization effect and the dissociation energies of the component gases by observing PD light images, PD light intensities through a blue and red filter, and PD current waveforms. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 140(3): 34–43, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10019     

Evaluation of breakdown characteristics of gas insulated switchgears for non-standard lightning impulse waveforms - method for converting non-standard lightning impulse waveforms into standard lightning impulse waveforms -

To lower the lightning impulse withstand voltage of gas insulated switchgear (GIS) while maintaining the high reliability of its insulation performance, it is important to define in an organized way the insulation characteristics for non-standard lightning impulse voltage waveforms that represent actual surge waveforms in the field and compare them with the characteristics for the standard lightning impulse waveform quantitatively. In the preceding researches, lightning surge waveforms and disconnector switching surge waveforms at UHV, 500 kV, and 275 kV substations were analyzed and five to six kinds of non-standard lightning impulse waveforms with basic frequencies of 0.6 to 5.0 MHz were identified. Then, the dielectric breakdown voltage ? time characteristics were measured under several different conditions on the quasi-uniform SF6 gas gaps and partly the coneshaped insulating spacers that represent insulation elements of GIS for six kinds of nonstandard lightning impulse waveforms. In this paper, the resultant breakdown voltages were evaluated in terms of the overvoltage duration, which led to their formulation in a unified way. On the basis of these insulation characteristics and their unified formulation, the paper investigated a method for converting non-standard lightning impulse waveforms into standard lightning impulse waveforms with equivalent stress for the insulation. When the constructed algorithm was applied to five examples of representative two type waveforms in the lightning surge time region, they were converted into standard lightning impulse waveforms with crest values reduced by 20% to 34%, suggesting potentiality for reduction of lightning impulse insulation specifications of GIS.     

Evaluation of breakdown characteristics of gas insulated switchgears for non-standard lightning impulse waveforms - analysis and generation circuit of non-standard lightning impulse waveforms in actual field

To lower the insulation specifications (specifically, the lightning impulse withstand voltage) of a gas insulated switchgear (GIS) and thus cut the equipment cost while maintaining the high reliability of its insulation performance, it is necessary to define in an organized way the insulation characteristics for non-standard lightning impulse voltage waveforms that represent actual surge waveforms in the field and compare them with the characteristics for the standard lightning impulse waveform quantitatively. In this paper, first, lightning surge waveforms and disconnector switching surge waveforms at UHV, 500 kV, and 275 kV substations were analyzed and five non-standard lightning surge waveforms with basic frequencies of 0.6 to 5.0 MHz were identified. Next, high-voltage circuits that generate these non-standard lightning surge waveforms were designed and constituted using EMTP (electro magnetic transients program) based on a circuit with a gap, inductors, and resistors connected in series and resistors and capacitors connected in parallel. Further, circuits were actually constructed, to obtain voltage waveforms approximately equal to those designed. Finally, the dielectric breakdown voltage-time characteristics were measured under several different conditions for the quasi-uniform SF₆ gas gap that represents an insulation element of a GIS. As a result, it was found that, in the tested range, the dielectric breakdown values for non-standard lightning impulse waveforms were higher than for the standard lightning impulse waveform by 6% to 32%     

Dielectric characteristics of oil‐filled transformer in the presence of nonstandard lightning surge waveforms

To achieve a rational insulation design for transformers, it is important to evaluate dielectric strength against surges actually impinging on equipment on‐site. This paper deals with the breakdown voltage characteristics of an oil gap under nonstandard lightning surge waveforms combined with oscillatory voltages. It is found that the breakdown voltages of the oil gap under nonstandard impulse waveforms are higher than standard lightning impulse voltages. The results can be ascribed to V–t characteristics of the oil gap in short‐time impulse voltage ranges. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 146(3): 39–45, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10229     

Quantitative evaluation of lightning surge range voltage–time characteristics in high‐pressure SF6 gas

Gas‐insulated switchgear (GIS) is subjected to very fast transient overvoltages such as lightning surges or disconnector switching surges. Therefore, the sparkover voltage and time (V?t) characteristics of SF₆ in a very short time range of less than are of great interest from the viewpoint of insulation design and coordination for a GIS. This paper describes the V?t characteristics of SF₆ at a gas pressure of 0.5 MPa using a steep‐front square impulse voltage under a quasi‐uniform field gap and presents a quantitative evaluation of the V?t characteristics for a nonstandard lightning impulse voltage. In the case of a square impulse, the V?t characteristics of positive polarity were observed to be almost flat over a long time range from 80 ns to , and rose steeply over a short time range from 80 ns down to 20 ns. For negative polarity, the V?t characteristics exhibit a gentle rise from 200 ns down to 40 ns. In the estimation of V?t characteristics, the equal‐area criterion parameters were quantitatively estimated using the square impulse. For a nonstandard lighting impulse, we found that application of the equal‐area criterion with these parameters for the nonoscillating impulse and oscillating impulse of up to 5.3 MHz as a model of lightning surge and disconnector switching surge is possible. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 159(4): 8– 17, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20309     

直流电缆雷电冲击电压安全裕度研究

高压直流电缆是柔性直流输电技术的关键装备,直流电缆的绝缘厚度设计以雷电冲击电压安全裕度为重要依据。为了获得直流电缆的安全裕度,文中提出了直流电缆雷电冲击电压安全裕度试验方法,建立了相应的试验回路,对冲击电压波形参数进行了计算、仿真和验证,获得了波前时间为1~5μs、半峰值时间为40~60μs的冲击电压波形;提出了直流电缆雷电冲击电压安全裕度的分析方法,计算了电缆绝缘的电场分布。研究表明,文中所提方法可以获得直流电缆的雷电冲击电压安全裕度,为高压直流电缆绝缘厚度设计提供了依据。     

Evaluation of breakdown characteristics of oil-immersed transformers under non-standard lightning impulse waveforms - definition of non-standard lightning impulse waveforms and insulation characteristics for waveforms including pulses

To lower the insulation specifications (specifically, the lightning impulse withstand voltage) of oil-immersed transformers and thus cut the equipment cost while maintaining the high reliability in its insulation performance, it is necessary to grasp in an organized way the insulation characteristics under non-standard lightning impulse voltage waveforms that represent actual surge waveforms encountered in the field and compare them with the characteristics under the standard lightning impulse waveform quantitatively. As described in this paper, the first step in a series of study for the purpose above was taken by analyzing lightning surge waveforms and restriking surge waveforms such as disconnector switching surge waveforms at UHV, 500 kV, and 275 kV substations and identifying four typical non-standard lightning impulse waveforms with basic frequencies of 0.24 to 1.0 MHz. Then, two of these non-standard lightning impulse waveforms, the single-pulse waveform which is the most basic type and the waveform with a pulse in the crest and a subsequent flat section, were used to measure the breakdown voltage and the partial discharge inception voltage while changing the parameters, on three models that represent the insulation elements of windings of oil-immersed transformers. Then, the resultant average breakdown voltages were evaluated in terms of the overvoltage durations, leading to a result of formulating them in a unified way. In the tested range, the dielectric breakdown values under non-standard lightning impulse waveforms were higher, marking 52% at the maximum, than those under standard lightning impulse waveforms in all the cases, suggesting a possibility of lowering the insulation specifications of an oil-immersed transformer     

PD time‐sequential properties of SF6 and SF6 gas mixture including CO2

This paper deals with partial discharge (PD) time‐sequential properties of SF₆/N₂/CO₂ ternary gas mixture as well as SF₆ and SF₆/N₂ gas mixture under AC and positive DC voltage applications. The measurements were carried out by changing the gas pressure up to 0.6 MPa and applied voltage with the N‐shape characteristics of breakdown voltage versus gas pressure for each tested gas considered. We obtained experimental results of the gas pressure dependence of maximum peak value of PD current pulse as well as the relationship between the time interval of PD pulses and the peak value of PD pulse. We discuss the mechanism of increase in breakdown voltage by adding CO₂ into SF₆/N₂ gas mixtures in terms of change of PD type from streamer to leader discharge. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 151(3): 32–40, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20073     

High-voltage testing on UHV equipment: Overshoot and base curve for oscillating lightning impulse

As the higher impulse testing voltage, residual inductance of the test circuit or the stray capacitance of the test object increases with size. This means that the overshoot superposed on standard lightning impulse voltage would not be neglected because of its larger value during the lightning test. This paper describes the analysis of overshoot and oscillation based on the equivalent circuit containing a residual inductance. The waveform parameters such as relative overshoot magnitude, oscillation frequency are also derived to evaluate the influence of the residual inductance in the impulse testing circuit. The oscillating impulse waveform is related to the base curve of the standard lightning impulse. Furthermore, the base curve for oscillating impulse is proposed by the analysis. Copyright © 2009 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Review of research on nonstandard lightning voltage waves

Although the impulse insulation level of a power apparatus is specified under the standard 1.2×50-μs voltage wave, the apparatus seldom encounters such a voltage wave in the field. A wealth of knowledge exists on the behavior of air gaps under nonstandard lightning impulse voltages. The objective of the Task Force was to compile a bibliography on the nonstandard lightning impulse voltages and review the present state of research. This paper reviews the present status of research including the behaviour of air gaps under transient voltages, and the generation and measurement of fast-front impulse voltage waveforms     

Investigation of partial discharge mechanism by simultaneous measurement of current waveform and light emission

We observed current pulse waveforms of partial discharge (PD) in SF₆ gas so as to investigate the PD mechanism. We also measured light intensity and light emission image of PD simultaneously under different conditions of applies voltage and SF₆ gas pressure. From these experiments, we found that the “double-peak current waveform” appeared at high pressure and high voltage conditions. We also analyzed the mutual correlation of waveforms between a single current and the light emission. Moreover, we obtained experimental evidence of filmentlike light image appearing at the PD tip under the same condition with double-peak current waveform. From the electric field analysis around the needle electrode tip, we believe that the filamentlike light image expands beyond the critical electric field of SF₆ gas. Thus, we concluded that these current waveforms with double peaks showed evidence of leader-type PD, leading to breakdown. Finally, we could point out that leader-type PD should be distinguished and measured for the diagnosis of GIS insulation performance. © 1999 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 129(4): 58–65, 1999     

A study on hybrid insulation composition joint using gas and solid insulator for gas‐insulated power equipment

SF₆ is used as the main insulation gas for gas‐insulated switchgear (GIS), but it has recently become a gas that must be restricted because of its greenhouse effects. To date, we have studied the insulation characteristics of compressed N₂ and CO₂ as possible alternatives for SF₆. We have reported that N₂ or CO₂ must be pressurized to 2.0 MPa when it is used as a substitute for SF₆ at 0.5 MPa. Therefore, we have proposed a hybrid installation composition that uses gas and solid insulators. Because the central conductor of GIS is covered by a solid insulator in this composition, a high‐pressure gas at 2.0 MPa is not needed. However, the joint of the solid insulator becomes a weak point for discharge development. In this paper, we describe an effective configuration for improvement of the withstand voltage based on experiments. The most effective connector was made of resin without an implant electrode and the most effective configuration was one without a solid–solid interface between the solid insulator of the central conductor and the resin connector. In this experiment, the improvement of breakdown electric field of the hybrid composition was 44% or more compared with the case of only gas insulation (conventional method). In addition, further improvement can be expected by optimizing the insulation creepage distance and configuration. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 178(1): 11–20, 2012; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.21107     

Evaluation of Breakdown Characteristics of Gas Insulated Switchgears for Non-Standard Lightning Impulse Waveforms - Breakdown Characteristics for Non-Standard Lightning Impulse Waveforms Associated with Lightning Surges

To lower the insulation specifications (specifically, the lightning impulse withstand voltage) of a gas insulated switchgear (GIS) and thus cut the equipment cost while maintaining the high reliability of its insulation performance, it is necessary to define in an organized way the insulation characteristics for non-standard lightning impulse voltage waveforms that represent actual surge waveforms in the field and compare them with the characteristics for the standard lightning impulse waveform quantitatively. In the preceding paper, lightning surge waveforms and disconnector switching surge waveforms at UHV, 500 kV, and 275 kV substations were analyzed and five to six non-standard lightning surge waveforms with basic frequencies of 0.6 to 5.0 MHz were identified. In this paper, the dielectric breakdown voltage - time characteristics were measured under several different conditions mainly for the quasi-uniform SF₆ gas gaps that represent an insulation element of a GIS toward four kinds of non-standard lightning impulse waveforms associated with lightning surges. As a result, in the tested range, the dielectric breakdown values for nonstandard lightning impulse waveforms were higher than for the standard lightning impulse waveform by 3% to 32%.     

Characteristics of lightning surges observed at 77 kV substations

In order to improve power supply reliability, it is necessary to prevent lightning faults in transmission lines and substation apparatus. However, faults are caused occasionally in lower-voltage power systems, particularly at the 77 kV level. The governing factor for insulation strength of substation apparatus is the lightning impulse voltage, and it is necessary to know the voltage level and distribution in a substation caused by lightning surges in order to investigate rational insulation coordination. For this purpose, the authors measured lightning surges at two 77 kV conventional substations from 1990 to 1993. In this paper, the characteristics of induced lightning surges and back flashover lightning surges are described. Comparisons of related surge voltages at two substations, the power line phases in grounding faults, and the equivalent capacitance of the substations are also discussed.     

Results of lightning impulse tests for a 275‐kV full GIS substation

This paper describes the outline and results of the lightning impulse tests for a 275‐kV full GIS substation. The behavior of lightning surges is a very important factor for the rational design of substations and low‐voltage and control circuits inside the substations. For the above reason, we carried out lightning impulse tests for a new 275‐kV full GIS substation. In these tests, we measured voltage induced in low‐voltage and control circuits, transient characteristics of grounding grid, injected voltage and current waveforms, and so on. By investigating these data, we confirmed the behavior of lightning surges inside the substation. We also compared simulated waveforms by EMTP analysis with the measured waveforms. The simulated results agreed well with the measured results. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 146(1): 46–58, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10230     

Impulse partial discharge and breakdown characteristics of rod–plane gaps in air and N2 gases

In response to growing environmental concerns, we attempted to develop switchgear without using SF₆ gas. In our research, we used compressed air and pure N₂ as an electrical insulation gas, because of their low global warming potential. In this paper, we examined the impulse breakdown and impulse partial discharge characteristics under various conditions related to nonuniformity of the electric field. The experimental results show that the breakdown voltage (BDV) of air is higher than that of pure N₂ gas under highly nonuniform field conditions in the rod–plane gap. On the other hand, the discharge inception voltage of air and N₂ were almost the same. Furthermore, first partial discharge (PD), leader discharge, and its transition to the breakdown were successfully observed through the measurement of discharge current and light emissions under impulse voltage application. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 148(3): 36–43, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10277