Dynamics of prebreakdown phenomena in a uniform field in water

For a breakdown time lag of 10^-7 to 10^-3, both slow subsonic and thin supersonic streamers were found to emanate from a point electrode in deionized water (σ=5×10^-5 S/m). The slow streamer-formed dendrite probably consists of gaseous microbubbles. Relaxation of the slow streamers was studied. The development of fast streamers resulted from kinetic phase transition in the liquid, with subsequent ionization of thin discharge channels. It was shown that heating of water and electrohydrodynamic flow do not affect the prebreakdown phenomena under these conditions. A model has been proposed of an anodic supersonic streamer which is generated by the plasma in the condensed medium     

Spectral analysis of the light emitted by streamers in hydrocarbonliquids

This paper presents the results of a spectroscopic study from 200 to 850 nm of the light emitted by streamers initiated in cyclohexane and n-pentane under step voltage in point-plane geometry. Experimental spectra of the light emitted by bush-like and filamentary streamers are composed of the H_α-Balmer line, the C₂ Swan band system and a background continuum. The diagnostic method we used for evaluating rotational and vibrational temperatures of excited C₂ in streamers was first tested on high-pressure corona discharges in nitrogen. For streamers in cyclohexane and n-pentane, it was impossible to determine the rotational temperature of C₂ and consequently the effective temperature of molecules in the streamer. Moreover, we found that vibrational populations of excited C₂ do not follow Boltzmann statistics. This indicates that excitation processes are due to chemical reactions. Electron densities deduced of the Stark broadening of H_α are in the range 4×10 ¹⁶ to 7×10¹⁶ cm^-3 for filamentary streamers and 2 to 6×10¹⁷ cm^-3 during the breakdown phase. For slow bush-like streamers, the electron density is not measurable     

Mechanism of electrical breakdown left of Paschen minimum

The breakdown mechanism of a gas at small PD values is considered. Comparing experimental results and theoretical analysis, the limits of different breakdown mechanisms are established. For SF₆ and Ar gases the conditions for streamer and those for the Townsend breakdown mechanism are found, as well as those for vacuum breakdown. The pressure values characteristic for avalanche and emission mechanisms of vacuum breakdown are obtained. Left from the Paschen minimum in the vicinity of the minimum point, edge-type breakdown is dominating, which currently is misinterpreted as an anomalous Paschen effect     

Streamer propagation under impulse voltage in long point-plane oilgaps

A 67 mm point-plane gap immersed in transformer oil, at atmospheric pressure, stressed with a 1/180 μs impulse, has been studied by recording gap current and light emission. Time-resolved images were obtained by use of an image converter camera. Minimum breakdown voltages were twice as high for negative as for positive points. All streamers at these and higher voltages were supersonic, with negative streamer velocities ⩽50 km/s. The speed of the positive streamer gradually increased to 19 km/s with increasing voltage, where it saturated. At high stresses the propagating positive streamer has been observed to switch to a faster mode which propagates with speeds in the 65 to 200 km/s range. Positive streamers were bush shaped to 2× the minimum breakdown voltage, the branching diminishing with increased voltage. Negative streamers were coarsely bush shaped or usually tree shaped. For both polarities, light emission consisted of a background light, with superposed pulses corresponding to 15 ns wide current pulses of up to 10 A. The pulses are caused by very bright, brief re-illuminations of single streamer channels. The tips of positive streamers are considerably more luminous than the channels, indicating that electron multiplication may take place at the tips. A model of the streamers as being plasma filled channels may explain the re-illuminations     

Propagation of positive and negative streamers in oil with andwithout pressboard interfaces

Inception and propagation of streamers in a point-plane gap, with and without pressboard interface parallel to the field, have been studied. Current and light emission have been recorded. Positive streamers propagate at ~2 to 4 mm/μs at voltages to 2× the minimum breakdown voltage. Above this voltage, a fast event (>100 mm/μs) may occur, preceded by streamers propagating with velocities in the 10 to 20 mm/μs range. The negative streamers have ~2× the breakdown voltage as the positive ones. Even negative streamers may develop into a slower kind of fast event. Solid pressboard parallel to the field does not change the breakdown voltage, but makes inception of fast events easier. The breakdown process in oil shows several similarities to a gas breakdown     

Stratified gas-liquid two-phase electrohydrodynamics in horizontalpipe flow

Stratified gas-liquid two-phase electrohydrodynamics in pipe flow has been studied experimentally and numerically. Experimental studies were conducted using 1.27 and 1.9×10^-2 m-inner diameter horizontal tubes with air-water two-phase flow for the range of gas surface velocity of 10±²-10 m/s, liquid surface velocity of 10^-2-2×10^-1 m/s, and applied voltage of 0-20 kV. Experimental results are analysed by an area-averaged two-fluid one-dimensional model. The results show that the effect of the applied electric field is significantly influenced by the flow regime transition boundaries between stratified smooth-to-wavy and stratified wavy-to-intermittent flow. However, the time-averaged void fraction was not observed to be significantly influenced by applied electric fields     

Applicability of simple expressions for electrical breakdownprobability increase in vacuum and gas

Simple analytical expressions for the law of breakdown probability increase are suggested. They are tested by comparing with experimental data obtained by impulse and DC breakdown. The pressure 10^-4 Pa and interelectrode gaps d<0.1 mm are used for vacuum, and the pressure 1 bar-5 bars and the interelectrode gaps 1 mm-50 mm are used for gas breakdown. The insulation gas was a SF₆, N₂ and gas-mixture: SF₆-N₂. It is concluded that such a simplified approach is not appropriate for vacuum. It is also concluded that, for gas, the BPI (breakdown probability increase) law, in the form of a simple expression, is valid in the considered range of relevant experimental parameters     

High-speed imaging of the pulsed-field flashover of an aluminaceramic in vacuum

An intensified high-speed imaging technique was used to observe the optical events associated with the pulsed-field breakdown of an alumina ceramic tube having two concentric planar electrodes metalized onto its end face. HV pulses, typically of 5 kV amplitude (5 kV μs ^-1 rate of rise), were applied to the radial MIM insulator-electrode regime under ultrahigh vacuum (pressure <5×10^-7 Pa), with video recordings made at 1000 frames per second. Images of the observed breakdown phenomena are presented, viewed both along the center axis and also in the plane of the MIM structure. These breakdown images are discussed in relation to plasma jets associated with vacuum arcs and, in particular, on the nature of the ion species within such jets     

Carrier mobility in LDPE at high temperature and pressure

Current peaks due to transient SCLC (space charge limited current) were observed in LDPE (low-density polyethylene) at 70°C. From the time at which the current peak occurs, carrier mobilities ranging from 5×10^-15 to 7×10^-14 m²/Vs were obtained. The mobility values obtained for LDPE depend on both applied field and hydrostatic pressure and verify hopping mechanism. The presence of space charge has been confirmed by analyzing discharge currents measurements     

1.047-μm Yb:Sr5(PO4)3F energystorage optical amplifier

The pumping and gain properties of Yb³⁺-doped Sr₅ (PO₄)₃F (Yb:S-FAP) are reported. Using a tunable, free running 900-nm Cr:LiSAF oscillator as a pump source for a Yb:S-FAP rod, the saturation fluence for pumping was measured to be 2.2 J/cm² based on either the spatial, temporal, or energy transmission properties of the Yb:S-FAP rod. The emission peak of Yb:S-FAP (1047.5 nm in air) is shown to overlap with that of Nd:YLiF₄ (Nd:YLF) to within 0.1 nm, rendering Yb:S-FAP suitable as an effective power amplifier for Nd:YLF oscillators. The small signal gain, under varying pumping conditions, was measured with a cw Nd:YLF probe laser. These measurements implied emission cross sections of 6.0×10^-20 and 1.5×10^-20 cm ² for π and σ polarized light. Respectively, which fall within the error limits of the previously reported values of 7.3×10^-20 and 1.4×10^-20 cm² for π and σ polarized light, obtained from purely spectroscopic techniques. The effects of radiation trapping on the emission lifetime have been quantified and have been shown to lead to emission lifetimes as long as 1.7 ms, for large optically dense crystals. This is substantially larger than the measured intrinsic lifetime of 1.10 ms. Yb:S-FAP crystal boules up to 25×25×175 mm in size, which were grown for the above experiments and were found to have acceptable loss characteristics (<~1%/cm) and adequately large laser damage thresholds at 1064 nm (~20 J/cm² at 3 ns). Overall, diode-pumped Yb:S-FAP amplifiers are anticipated to offer a viable means of amplifying 1.047-μm light, and may be particularly well suited to applications sensitive to overall laser efficiencies, such as inertial confinement fusion energy applications     

Prebreakdown and breakdown phenomena under uniform field in liquid nitrogen and comparison with mineral oil

This paper presents a study of breakdown and prebreakdown phenomena (streamers) in liquid nitrogen and mineral oil under quasi uniform electric field, under ac and impulse voltage. Streamers preceding breakdown are studied up to 0.5 MPa by high-speed visualization and recording of emitted light. In these conditions, breakdown in LN/sub 2/ is mainly due to negative streamers, initiated at lower voltage than the corresponding positive voltage. Hydrostatic pressure has a limited effect on breakdown voltage, such as in mineral oil. It is shown that the ratio of impulse to ac breakdown voltage in LN/sub 2/ is surprisingly low (close to 1), whereas in the same conditions ac breakdown voltage in mineral oil is lower than impulse breakdown voltage. Practical consequences for the design of HV insulation in superconducting systems are discussed.     

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     

负极性冲击电压下油–屏障绝缘的放电行为

考虑到运行过程中油浸式电力设备会承受双指数型与双极性振荡型冲击电压的作用,该文旨在通过研究两类冲击电压下油–屏障绝缘的放电行为,为油–屏障绝缘结构的优化与油纸放电机理的探究提供参考.利用搭建的油纸绝缘光电联合诊断平台,该文基于阴影成像法拍摄了负极性双指数冲击电压与双极性振荡冲击电压下油–屏障绝缘中流注的典型发展过程,并...     

InGaN-based blue laser diodes

The continuous-wave (CW) operation of InGaN multiquantum-well (MQW) structure laser diodes (LDs) was demonstrated at room temperature (RT) with a lifetime of 100 h. The threshold current and the voltage of the LDs were 50 mA and 5 V, respectively. The threshold current density was 8.8 kA/cm². The carrier lifetime and the threshold carrier density were estimated to be 3.5 ns and 1.8×10²⁰/cm³, respectively. The Stokes shift of the energy difference between the absorption and the emission energy of the InGaN MQW LD's were 140 meV. Both spontaneous and stimulated emission of the LD's originated from this deep localized energy state which is equivalent to a quantum dot-like state. From the measurements of gain spectra and an external differential quantum efficiency dependence on the cavity length, the differential gain coefficient, the transparent carrier density, threshold gain and internal loss were estimated to be 5.8×10^-17 cm², 9.3×10 ¹⁹ cm^-3, 5200 cm^-1, and 43 cm^-1 respectively     

Electrical surface resistance, hydrophobicity and diffusionphenomena in PVC

Polymeric materials are used increasingly in both outdoor and indoor insulation and it has become imperative to find a convenient and a practical method to evaluate the performance of the insulation in situ. The hydrophobicity of a polluted surface particularly in the presence of moisture, determines the level of the leakage current which may result in a flashover and an outage of the power system. However, it is difficult to measure the hydrophobicity of insulators in the field, and therefore the measurement of the electrical surface resistance in situ has been suggested as an alternative method that might give information on the surface state. In the present study, polyvinylchloride (PVC) was used to study the characteristics of the surface resistance, the change of the hydrophobicity and the relationship between both of them in the presence of salt-fog. The dependence of the surface resistance on factors such as the duration of the wetting in salt-fog, the recovery during drying time, the length of the specimens, the level of the applied dc stress used to measure the resistance and the ac stress is reported. The surface free energy per unit area of PVC, during exposure to salt-fog, was calculated using the harmonic-mean method and was found to be consistent with the changes in both the surface resistance and the hydrophobicity of the surface. The surface tension γ_s, increased from 43.1×10^-3 J/m² for the virgin specimen to 76.8×10^-3 J/m² after complete wetting in un-energized salt-fog. The diffusion coefficients of a saline solution having a conductivity of 1 mS/cm into the pvc were found to increase from 2.8×10^-15 m²/s at 74°C to 1.6×10^-14 m² /s at 98°C     

Area and volume effects on breakdown strength in liquid nitrogen

We measured dc and ac breakdown voltages in liquid nitrogen (LN ₂) with a sphere-to-plane electrode configuration. Experimental results revealed that the breakdown voltage in LN₂ did not increase monotonously but partially decreased as the sphere diameter increased at a constant gap length. Thus, the existence of the area and the volume effects on the breakdown voltage in LN₂ was verified quantitatively; the breakdown strength decreased when increasing the {SEA}₉₀ (90% stressed electrode area) and the {SLV}₉₀ (90% stressed liquid volume). By changing the experimental conditions, it was verified that both area and volume effects, having a mutual correlation, simultaneously lead to the degradation of the breakdown strength in LN₂. In order to examine the area and the volume effects for the larger {SEA}₉₀ and {SLV}₉₀, we also measured the breakdown voltage with a coaxial cylindrical electrode. It was concluded that the dc and ac breakdown strengths in LN₂ decreased as the {SEA}₉₀ and the {SLV}₉₀ increased varying widely from 10⁰ to 10⁵ mm² and from 10 ^-1 to 10⁵ mm³, respectively     

Optical investigation of high-field conduction and prebreakdown ina dielectric liquid

Light emission studies of the high-field conduction and prebreakdown phenomena in a mixture of mono and dibenzyl-toluene (M/DBT), used as polypropylene impregnant in the all-film capacitor technology, have been undertaken to gain insight into the underlying physical mechanisms responsible for these processes. The absorption spectrum of this fluid, in the UV region, shows the appearance of structured bands at 348, 366 and 386 nm indicating a luminescence process via anthracene and 9-methylanthracene impurities at a concentration of 3×10^-3 mol/l. Optical and electrical measurements were performed simultaneously on the electrically stressed fluid. Electroluminescence of the impurities contained in M/DBT has been investigated using a new uniform field electrode arrangement. The light inception stress was determined to be ~ 20 μm^-1 for ac excitation (50 Hz). Configurations with different interfacial situations were studied and we have evidenced a correlation between charge injection and electroluminescence activity. Spectral analysis of the light radiated by streamers in M/DBT in a needle-plane electrode geometry, under step voltage (1 to 50 μs, 30 kV) revealed, for both polarities, the presence of H₂ and C₂ characteristic bands emerging from a continuum corresponding to the dissociation and recombination of molecular fragments     

Calorimetric measurements of optical signals in electrostaticdischarge studies

A method based on calorimetry and an instrument are described for the absolute measurement of the energy contained in optical radiation, especially in the optical signatures of electrostatic discharge. The optical emission of a spark gap, comprised of two stainless-steel spheres, was collected by an optical condenser system and focused on the calorimeter sensor. The system was calibrated using a set of light-emitting diodes and tested using either single-pulse discharge or a continuously operating optical source. The calorimeter system detectivity, in terms of output voltage related to the input energy, was determined to be 4.3 × 10⁷ V·J^-1 and its detection limit was 2.3 × 10^-13 J. The system has application for nonintrusive characterization of optical emissions associated with discharge events     

Dielectric recovery of a residual SF6 plasma between twoparallel plane electrodes

The present work is a theoretical investigation into the dielectric strength of a thin column of hot SF₆ gas left between two contacts after the thermal quenching of an arc at current zero in a modern HV gas-blast circuit breaker. Because of time rapid decay of arc temperature during current zero, this hot gas is still in a plasma state (referred to as the residual plasma) with sufficiently high charge density (both electrons and ions) although electrical conductivity is low. The dielectric recovery of such a residual plasma differs from that of an infinitely large, uniform plasma in two aspects. Firstly, the presence of space charge can distort severely the local electric field and can influence strongly the generation and loss of charged particles by ionization and chemical reactions. Secondly, due to the finite size of the plasma column, electrons diffuse in an ambipolar manner, thus enhancing the loss of charged particles in the plasma. In the present investigation, the gap length between the contacts (electrodes) is 1.0×10^-2 m and the diameter of the plasma column varies between 50×10^-6 and 500×10 ^-6 m. Distribution of the number density of charged species on the axis is obtained by solving their continuity equations using the method of MacCormack with Shuman filter. It is found that formation of space charge creates strong ionization layers close to the electrodes and that the whole column could deviate from electrical neutrality due to the drift of charged particles. The breakdown field of such a bounded plasma at atmospheric pressure or above is approximately equal to the critical field for an infinite plasma within a numerical uncertainty of 5%     

Effects of liquid conductivity upon gaseous discharge of droplets

The effect that liquid conductivity has upon gaseous breakdown and conduction between a droplet and a sharp grounded metal point was investigated as a function of the droplet charge level and point-to-droplet gap. A uniform stream of equally spaced 1210 μm droplets was studied in passing the point at 2.05 m/s at a rate of 465/s. The negative droplet charge was set at 24, 40, 55, and 60% of the Rayleigh hydrodynamic instability limit (i.e. 3×10^-10 C) for liquid conductivity values in the 10^-4-10¹ S/m range characterizing electrostatic crop sprays. No significant conductivity effect was found for charges up to the 55% level; the most conductive liquid exhibited a significantly (α<0.10) higher discharge current at the 60% charge level. For close gaps, droplets departed the grounded point region with a reversed charge, indicating they were overneutralized by a positive-ion flux from the grounded point