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     

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     

Development of 72‐kV high‐pressure air‐insulated GIS with vacuum circuit breaker

SF₆ gas has excellent dielectric strength and interruption performance. For these reasons, it has been widely used for gas‐insulated switchgear (GIS). However, use of SF₆ gas has become regulated under agreements set at the 1997 COP3. Thus, investigation and development for GIS with a lower amount of SF₆ gas are being carried out worldwide. Presently, SF₆‐free GIS has been commercialized for the 24‐kV class. Air or N₂ gas is used as the insulation gas for this GIS. On the other hand, SF₆‐free GIS has not been commercialized for the 72‐kV‐class GIS. The dielectric strengths of air and N₂ gas are approximately one‐third that of SF₆ gas. To enhance the insulation performance of air and N₂ we have investigated a hybrid gas insulation system which has the combined features of providing an insulation coating and suitable insulation gas. We have developed the world's first 72‐kV SF₆‐free GIS. This paper deals with key technologies for SF₆‐free GIS, such as the hybrid insulation structure, a bellows for the high‐pressure vacuum circuit breaker, a newly designed disconnector and spacer, and prevention of particle levitation. Test results of the 72‐kV high‐pressure air‐insulated GIS with the vacuum circuit breaker are described. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 157(4): 13–23, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20451     

基于混合气体热特性的GIL氮气使用配比研究

SF₆/N₂混合气体具有绝缘性能良好、环境效益好等优点,被认为是能替代SF₆的最具发展前景的气体之一,但SF₆/N₂混合气体在不同场景下的混合比问题尚缺乏研究。文中在保证气体绝缘输电线路(GIL)绝缘水平的前提下,建立多物理场耦合计算模型,从混合气体热特性的角度出发,分析不同绝缘气体压强、负载电流和环境温度下SF₆/N₂混合比与GIL温升之间的关系,为GIL在不同场景下选择合适的SF₆/N₂混合比提供依据。结果表明：绝缘气体压强和相同压强下SF₆含量均与GIL温升呈负相关关系;设备的负载电流长期超过3 kA时,建议SF₆含量为40%～60%;设备运行在中低纬度地区时,建议SF₆含量为40%～70%,运行在高纬度地区时,建议SF₆含量为30%～40%。此外,由于设计GIL设备时考虑了安全裕度,因此通常SF<...     

Creeping flashover characteristics in (N2/SF6) gas mixture under pulse voltage

The effect of a barrier between a needle electrode and a plane one in an (N₂/SF₆) gas mixture on creeping flashover was investigated using a microsecond pulse voltage. The SF₆ gas content was varied from 0% to 100%, and the gas pressure from 0.1 MPa to 0.3 MPa. The flashover voltage increased with increasing SF₆ gas content for a positive needle electrode. For a negative needle electrode, excepting the total pressure of 0.1 MPa, at which similar flashover characteristics were obtained to the positive case, a considerable decrease in flashover voltage was found in the case of a mixture of a few percent SF₆ in (N₂/SF₆) gas mixture at elevated total pressures. The corona behavior on the barrier in (N₂/SF₆) gas mixture was investigated by means of a high‐speed digital framing camera. © 2000 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 131(1): 1–9, 2000     

Effects of a barrier on creeping discharge characteristics in SF6 and N2 gases under pulse voltages

This paper describes the effect of a barrier on creeping discharge characteristics in SF₆, N₂, and their mixtures. The barrier height effect on the discharge voltage was investigated under a positive pulse voltage. The discharge voltage increased with increasing barrier height in SF₆ gas. On the other hand, the discharge voltage hardly changed with the barrier height in N₂ gas. In order to clarify the mechanism of the initial creeping corona, it was observed by optical techniques, including an ultra-high-speed electronic imaging system (IMACON 468). The creeping corona path revealed differences in images at various barrier heights. The accumulated charge induced on the barrier by the initial corona in SF₆ gas was able to suppress the development of the later creeping corona, in contrast with N₂ gas. © 1998 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 125(4): 1–8, 1998     

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     

基于一维电弧模型的SF6混合气体灭弧性能评价

SF₆混合气体是广受关注的SF₆替代气体方案之一。为定量评估SF₆混合气体的灭弧性能,文中采用一维衰减电弧模型和玻尔兹曼方程相结合的方法,将电弧熄灭过程划分为热恢复阶段、弧前介质恢复阶段和弧后介质恢复阶段,分别引入热恢复率、弧前介质恢复率和弧后介质恢复率作为各阶段的评价参数,并计算三者的调和平均数作为综合评价参数,以此来评估SF₆-N₂、SF₆-CO₂、SF₆-CF₄以及SF₆-Air混合气体的灭弧性能。基于上述方法,文中初步探讨SF₆含量、背景气体种类和压强大小对SF₆混合气体灭弧性能的影响。结果表明,随着SF₆含量的减少,混合气体的灭弧性能整体上呈现下降趋势;当SF₆含量为10%～50%时,4种混合气体中SF₆-N₂的灭弧性能最优,其次...     

Development of a high‐pressure air‐insulated 72/84‐kV disconnecting switch corresponding to bus‐transfer current switching

SF₆ gas has excellent dielectric strength and current interruption performance. For these reasons, it has been widely used for gas‐insulated switchgear (GIS). Today, such global environmental problems as global warming are important issues of concern. SF₆ gas is known as a greenhouse gas with a long atmospheric lifetime, and has global warming potential of 23,900. SF₆‐free 72‐kV GIS was recently developed by using high‐pressure air and a gas/solid hybrid structure. But an alternating current disconnecting switch (DS) has yet to be developed thus making this type of SF₆‐free 72‐kV GIS unsuitable for double bus‐bar application. Consequently, the development of a high‐pressure air‐insulated DS corresponding to bus‐transfer current switching has been expected. The bus‐transfer current is the highest among all current interruption requirements for the DS. To develop an alternating current DS, efforts must be made to reduce arcing damage to the electrode. This paper describes the fundamental characteristics of current interruption in the plain break type and the magnetic field driven type. Then, average arcing time of the magnetic field driven type was estimated by magnetic flux density. Finally, two types of DS, which were a high‐speed plain break and a low‐speed magnetic field driven, were confirmed to comply with bus‐transfer current switching requirements on JEC standard. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 167(2): 48–55, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20595     

Arc erosion characteristics of Cu-W contact at load current range in SF6 gas

Development of SF₆ gas-insulated switches that have a long service life and are highly reliable at medium voltage ratings require arc erosion of contacts in SF₆ gas to be decreased. The effects of SF₆ gas pressure and magnetic field for arc blow-out on erosion were studied experimentally in detail using sintered Cu-W contacts. The test current, SF₆ pressure and magnetic field were 100 to 400 A, 0.1 to 0.6 MPa and 0 to 50 mT, respectively. The results show that the arc erosion rate increased linearly with the SF₆ pressure. The magnetic field effectively reduced anode erosion (i.e., the application of a mere 50 mT lowered the erosion rate to 1/3 to 1/4). These phenomena may be attributed, respectively, to the increase in evaporation rate according to the shrinkage of arcing spot areas caused SF₆ pressure and a decrease of the evaporation rate correlating to high-speed movement of the arcing spot on the anode by the magnetic field. However, the cathode erosion was insensitive to the magnetic field. The influence of both W grain size and composition ratio, Cu:W, on the erosion rate was also studied. The smaller W grain at Cu content of 50 to 70 wt.% was found to be best for suppression of erosion under the present conditions. Further, the increase of N₂ mixture ratio to SF₆ under constant total gas pressure greatly decreased contact erosion. © 1997 Scripta Technica, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 118 (1): 41–51, 1997     

Impulse insulation characteristics of a composite insulation system having a wedge gap in SF6 gas

Impulse insulation characteristics were investigated in a composite insulation system having a wedge gap in SF₆ gas. The partial discharge inception voltages of wedge gaps with various types of film were measured and compared with the calculated breakdown voltages estimated from Paschen's curve of SF₆ gas. Also discussed is how the charge accumulated on the film surface due to a partial discharge had an effect on the creepage breakdown voltage. Partial discharge inception voltages in wedge gaps were higher with higher SF₆ gas pressures and with lower film permittivities. Creepage breakdown voltages depended little on gas pressures or on creepage distances. The dependency of breakdown voltages on gas pressures and the effect of polarity on the breakdown voltage differed with the types of film. This may be partly because the charge on the film due to partial discharge had an effect on the discharge propagation, and that charging of the film differed with the types of film.     

Comparisons of direct-current breakdown characteristics in dry air and SF6 gaps using a parallel-plane arrangement with variable height protrusion

Breakdown voltages in uniform and quasi-uniform field gaps are sensitive to the presence of small protrusion on the electrode surface in SF₆ at high pressures. The aim of the present work is to study direct breakdown and corona stabilized breakdown for the transitive region from uniform to nonuniform gap in dry air and SF₆ at low pressures up to a critical pressure when direct breakdown takes place by a leader discharge crossing the gap in SF₆. In a parallel-plane gap with a variable-height protrusion subjected to the dc voltage, corona onset voltage is remarkably controlled by the protrusion height. The present electrode arrangement has the advantage of directly measuring the minimum critical guiding field strength for the propagation of a streamer discharge at corona onset. The experimental observations have been explained qualitatively on the basis of a streamer model and precise electric field calculations of gap.     

Solid insulated switchgear and investigation of its mechanical and electrical reliability

SF₆ gas is widely employed in medium‐voltage switchgear because of its high insulation reliability and down‐sizing ability. However, SF₆ gas was placed on the list of greenhouse gases under the Kyoto Protocol in 1997. Since then, research on low‐SF₆ or SF₆‐free insulation has been carried out actively. Therefore, we focused on solid materials with higher dielectric strength than SF₆, and we have now developed solid insulated switchgear (SIS) that uses molding of all main circuits. A new epoxy casting material is used which contains a large amount of spherical silica and a small amount of rubber particles. This new material has high mechanical strength, high thermal resistance, high toughness, and also high dielectric strength because of direct molding of the vacuum bottle, as well as reduced size and high reliability. This paper describes the technology of the new epoxy casting material which makes possible SIS. In addition, mechanical and electrical reliability tests of SIS using a new epoxy resin were performed, and the effectiveness of the developed material and the mechanical and electrical reliability of the SIS were verified. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 174(4): 28–36, 2011; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.21057     

基于SF6混合气体绝缘性能的设备补气策略研究

随着电力需求的增长和环境保护要求的提高,SF₆气体的使用逐渐受到限制。SF₆混合气体在一定程度上减少了SF₆气体用量,目前已经在电气设备中应用。文中针对SF₆混合气体在220 kV气体绝缘组合电器（GIS）中发生泄漏引起的绝缘变化展开研究,通过改变微量的气压值和混合比,探究混合气体的绝缘性能变化,分析气压、混合比因素对工频击穿电压的影响规律,获取各气压下各比例混合气体的绝缘强度曲线图,从而得到保证设备安全稳定运行的补气策略。研究发现,混合气体击穿电压的变化规律呈现出随着压强和混合比的提高,非线性程度增大的特点,并且得到了设备安全运行的混合比和气压的边界值。文中的研究可以为SF₆/N₂混合气体绝缘设备提供运维规程和技术标准,同时为制定混合气体的检测技术标准奠定基础。     

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     

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     

Ablated mass of PTFE nozzle due to high‐current SF6 arc exposure: Formulation of ablated mass

Characteristics of PTFE ablation due to SF₆ arc exposure were studied to predict the ablated mass of PTFE nozzle in high‐voltage circuit breaker. From the measurement of the ablated mass, the predominant factor of the PTFE ablation was revealed as a radiation power of SF₆ arc. Subsequently, the radiation power absorbed in PTFE was formulated on the basis of the radiation transfer property and the arc physics. The formulation for the prediction of the PTFE ablated mass was established with the formulated radiation power and the measured masses. Finally, the validity of the PTFE ablated mass prediction was shown from the results of the error verification with the measured masses.     

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     

Influence of surface shape on DC surface breakdown characteristics under metallic-particle contaminated conditions in SF6 gas

The influence of a metallic particle attached to a supporting insulator is remarkable in decreasing the dielectric strength in an SF₆ insulated apparatus. To solve this problem, a series of studies has been conducted on a method of improving the particle-initiated breakdown performance. In this paper, dc breakdown voltage characteristics and the breakdown mechanism are investigated under metallic-particle contaminated conditions in SF₆ gas by varying the particle condition and the surface shape of the acrylic plate with a rod-plane electrode. The main results show that a rib increases the breakdown voltage by a corona stabilization effect and the elongation of discharge path, but a groove decreases its effect drastically at lower gas pressures. The breakdown voltage at pressures higher than 4 atm may be estimated on the basis of the discharge-maintaining field and the discharge length which depend on the gas pressure and the surface shape.     

c-C_4F_8/N_2混合气体稍不均匀电场下绝缘性能及放电分解产物的试验研究

SF6存在液化温度高和温室效应两大问题,电力行业发展急需新型环保气体。本文对cC_4F_8/N_2混合气体的绝缘性能进行了试验研究,测量了在稍不均匀电场中,不同气压强度以及混合比例条件下的工频交流击穿电压,结果表明,在实验条件范围内,击穿电压随着气压和c-C_4F_8占比的上升而上升;将实验结果与SF6比较发现c-C_4F_8/N_2混合气体具备和SF6相当的绝缘性能。此外,本文还对混合气体击穿后的气体进行了检测,发现了分解产物C_2F_4。本文为今后c-C_4F_8/N_2混合气体在电力行业中的实际应用提供了参考。