Effect of Moving Speed of Charged Metallic Spherical Electrode on Electrostatic Discharge

In this investigation, the nature of the electrostatic discharge (ESD) that occurs when a charged object moves toward a stationary grounded object is experimentally clarified. The spark lengths, discharge currents, and induced voltages in a magnetic probe were measured when a charged metallic spherical electrode connected to a 422 pF capacitor approached a stationary grounded object, which was the current target, for different moving speeds of the charged metallic spherical electrode in a range of 1 mm/s to 100 mm/s. The charge voltages of the capacitor were +6.5 kV and +10 kV. Based on the results, the average gap length shortened with the speed of the spherical electrode. The average peak values of the discharge current and the induced voltage were likely to increase with the speed of the spherical electrode. The average rise times of the discharge current and the induced voltage were likely to drop with the speed of the spherical electrode. The relation between the spark length and the discharge current due to the ESD can be explained qualitatively by using an equation derived from the spark resistance formula proposed by Rompe and Weizel.     

Studies on electrostatic surface discharges on corona-chargedpolymer surfaces

Electrostatic surface discharge phenomena on corona-charged thin polymer films such as FEP or PTFE Teflon, with surface potentials from 1 to 5 kV in both polarities, were studied. A grounded sphere electrode, 5 mm in diameter, approached the charged surface by a computer-controlled step motor until the surface discharge occurred. Discharge-current waveforms, with a very short risetime (a few nanoseconds), were observed to be related to the length (5-30 cm) or type (single wire or plain mesh) of the earth line. The discharge gap length between the film surface and the grounded electrode was also calculated. The results were strongly dependent on the polarity of the surface charge and were widely divergent, indicating the complicated surface discharge mechanism     

Influence of humidity on current waveform and light emission of alow-frequency discharge controlled by a dielectric barrier

The aim of this work is to determine the effect of humidity on a silent discharge in air. A point to plane configuration has been used. Current and emission spectra of the discharge have been recorded in dry and humid air for short and long inter-electrode gaps and with the plane electrode coated by a silicone rubber plate alone or under a polypropylene film. Results show the typical corona discharge regimes. For a long gap, humidity decreases the number of breakdown streamer pulses. For a short gap, the behavior observed depends on the surface conduction of the dielectric in contact with the discharge. These results show that the presence of humidity in the discharge cell not only modifies the gas but also the surface states of the dielectrics coating the electrodes. The surface charge decay appears as a major parameter, since it is related to the local field value which results from the applied field and the reverse field induced by charge accumulation during previous discharges     

Sparks in a small gap between HV spherical metal electrode andcorona-charged organic film

Sparks between a spherical metal electrode and corona-charged organic film were studied in air at room temperature. dc and impulse high voltages (HV) were applied to the spherical metal electrode, the polarity of which was opposite to that of the charge on the film. The maximum surface voltage of the corona-charged film was ±2 kV. The gap length was studied in the range 0.2 to 2.5 mm. Films of PTFE, PP, PS and PET of thickness 30 to 50 μm, were tested. In the case of negatively charged films, the electric field strength depended on the film material; the spark field strength decreased in the following order: PTFE⩾PP>PS⩾PET. The dependence of spark field strength on the material of negatively charged film was observed under both dc and impulse voltage applications. In the case of the positively charged films, the spark field strength showed less dependence on the film material. The experimental results are explained in terms of the degree of electron emission from negatively charged PTFE being higher than that from negatively charged PET     

Discharge occurring at a grounded electrode located in a charged particle cloud

Electrical discharge phenomena from a grounded electrode located in a charged particle cloud have been investigated. Soil conditioning particles charged by corona charging were blown to form a space charge cloud. A grounded sphere electrode was placed at the center of the charged cloud to produce an electrical discharge. A positive pulse discharge extended from the sphere electrode toward the charged cloud with a strong luminescence. A brushlike streamer with a maximum length of 170 mm appeared at an interval of 30 ms. The maximum pulse height of the discharge was 2.4 A. The distribution of the electric field around the sphere electrode was obtained from field analysis using a concentric spherical model. It was found that the magnitude of the discharge depends on the radius of the grounded electrode and the size and charge density of the clouds. © 2001 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 136(4): 7–14, 2001     

Observation of propagating brush discharge on insulating film with grounded antistatic materials

A propagating brush discharge (PBD) usually occurs on a highly charged thin film with a grounded metal backing plate and often becomes energetic enough to ignite a flammable gas/vapor and even a dust cloud. In an actual situation, a PBD is seen on the surface of a large-sized flexible intermediate bulk container (FIBC) during its filling and/or emptying processes in an industrial site when the fabric of the FIBC is highly insulating. Anticipating that a PBD could occur even on an antistatic FIBC if it were used with an insulating inner bag, various types of antistatic fabrics for FIBCs in contact with an insulating polyethylene terephthalate (PET) sheet were put to the test. An antistatic fabric was grounded, and the PET sheet on the fabric was charged with a corona charger. A PBD was then generated by approaching a grounded spherical electrode. The discharge patterns were observed, and the currents and charge amounts were measured. A thin metallic fiber woven on an insulating fabric was found to drastically enhance the transferring of charge during a PBD, probably because of the corona discharges emanating from the metallic fiber. The resistivity of the fabric also affected the charge transference. The incendiary nature of each mode of PBD was discussed.     

Effect of Charge Injection Due to ESD on the Operation of MEMS

The relative effect of charge injection due to human-body model electrostatic discharge (ESD) on the operation of capacitive microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) structures is studied. The influence on the operating characteristics as a function of feature size is analyzed; for small gaps (< 5 mum), the modified Paschen's law applies. A force factor is introduced to compare forces due to the control voltage and trapped charge due to ESD or triboelectrification and assess possible failure due to stiction. The results show that the relative effect of injected charge due to ESD increases inversely as the square of the gap separation for floating targets and inversely as the square of the plate area for grounded targets. For comparison purposes, the relative effect of charge injection due to triboelectrification is shown to be independent of device scaling. An electric-field model for the air gap and dielectric layer is introduced to assess the reliability of MEMS due to trapped charge in the dielectric.     

介质阻挡放电等效电容的测量与分析

为深入理解放电机理并优化介质阻挡放电反应器设计,提高运行效率,介绍了通过Lissajous图形计算介质阻挡放电气隙等效电容Cg,电介质层等效电容Cd及负载电容的方法,通过实验研究了外加电压及气隙距离的变化对Cd、Cg和总电容C的影响。结果表明,给定介质厚度和电源频率时,随外加电压的增加,Cd逐渐增大,在相同的电压下,Cd随气隙距离的增加而减小;Cg随外加电压的增大而减小,在相同的电压下,Cg随气隙距离的增加也是减小的;C随外加电压先增大再减小,中间会达到一个最大值,相同电压下,随着气隙距离的增加,介质电容减小,而且,随着气隙距离加大,介质电容所能达到的峰值会减小。     

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%     

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     

Streamer current in a three-electrode system

A study has been conducted on positive streamer discharges in air at atmospheric conditions for a three-electrode system, The electrode system consisted of two parallel planes (one grounded and one supplied with a negative dc voltage) and a small, insulated needle, sticking out from the center of the grounded plane. A triggering positive square impulse voltage of 5 μs duration was applied to the insulated needle and the currents associated with the streamer discharge were measured simultaneously on all three electrodes. During the streamer propagation, the current measured at the needle was the conduction current while the other two were the displacement (or capacitive) currents generated by the movement of charge in the electrode gap. The objective of this study is to identify the three currents and to investigate if simple representations of the streamer can reproduce the displacement currents measured at the plane electrodes. Two models for the streamer were applied: (1) a charged sphere moving in the background field and (2) a channel with a constant voltage gradient extending in the gap. In both models it was assumed that the streamer propagated with a constant velocity, which was estimated from the measurements. The motion of the streamer was simulated by a series of electrostatic calculations, using a field calculation program. Comparison of the measurements with the simulations indicates that the charge of the streamer is confined to a spherical region (i.e. streamer head) and it is increasing continuously during its advancement in the electrode gap. A discussion on advantages and disadvantages with the two investigated models (sphere vs. channel with potential gradient) is conducted, and a possible hybrid model is suggested. In the proposed model, features from both considered streamer representations are included     

Conductive fur brush charging of a dielectric surface

A dielectric surface is charged without a corona discharge using a conductive fur brush to which an electrical potential of several hundred volts is applied. The fur brush, which consists of 10-μm-thick conductive fiber, lightly touches the surface of the (Mylar film or photoreceptor) dielectric. It is clear that brush charging is accomplished by direct charge transfer, gas discharge, and triboelectric charging. The direct charge transfer, which is the primary charging process, is analyzed using an ohmic contact model. The charge potential is nearly proportional to that of the brush. When the charging time is longer than 0.3 s, the charged potential on the surface photoreceptor saturates at almost that of the brush, the difference being less than 50 V. This is about the same as in corona charging. Brush charging is, therefore, useful as a low-voltage charging technique     

基于有限元弱解式的棒-板长空气间隙先导放电空间电场仿真研究

对棒-板长空气间隙先导放电过程的空间电场分布以及带电离子浓度等特征参数进行仿真计算研究。建立棒-板长空气间隙放电的二维模型,导出流注-先导放电的二阶偏微分方程,通过有限元弱解形式(weak form)数值计算方法求解先导放电过程中产生的电子、正、负离子浓度与空间电场的大小。仿真结果显示：气体放电所产生的空间电荷对空间电场分布影响显著;间隙距离1.5 m的棒-板长空气间隙下,外加500 kV、250/2 500 ms正极性操作电压时的先导放电起始条件为,流注头部带电离子浓度达到4′1013 cm-3数量级,空间电场最低达到10 kV/cm;先导放电形成后,先导通道内电场约为1~2 kV/cm,先导起始时间在400 ms左右且以3′104 m/s速度传播;有限元弱解形式能有效消除计算离子流中的数值振荡,使偏微分方程求解迅速收敛。     

Computation methods for one-dimensional bipolar charge injection

Kerr electrooptic field-mapping measurements have shown strong space charge effects in high-voltage stressed dielectrics, where the magnitude and sign of injected charge depends on electrode material. With appropriate choice of electrode material combinations and voltage polarity is possible to have uncharged, unipolar positively or negatively charged, or bipolar charged dielectrics. The bipolar homocharge case lowers the electric field at both electrodes due to space-charge shielding, and thus allows a higher voltage without breakdown. Using charge-transport analysis the authors consider the general case of charge injection from both electrodes and solve time and space dependences of the electric field and charge distributions and the time dependences of the terminal voltage and current. This analysis extends earlier work by including nonequilibrium charge dissociation and recombination so that the effective ohmic conductivity is not constant but varies with time and position due to local net charge density. Specific cases discussed are the open-circuit voltage decay of an initially charged capacitor, the charging and discharging by a Marx generator, and alternating voltage excitations     

Measurement of Charge Transfer in a Capacitive Discharge

An experimental investigation has been undertaken to measure the charge transfer from a conducting object during a capacitive discharge. To establish the validity of the absolute measurement of charge using a Faraday cup, a sphere was charged in a uniform electric field. It was confirmed that the charge agreed with the theoretical predicted Felici value. The sphere was then charged in a uniform electric field via a spark and the charge collected agreed with the Pauthenier charging model. The initial attempts to measure the charge using the accepted oscilloscope technique with an RC network grossly underestimates the real value of charge. A composite electrode consisting of an isolated smaller electrode located at the point of discharge has been shown to be accurate to within 5 percent. An explanation of the electrostatic principles is given to describe the operation of the system.     

纳秒脉冲表面放电等离子体影响因素的实验研究

在大气环境条件下,以环氧为介质阻挡材料,基于单极性ns脉冲电源进行了表面介质阻挡放电实验,研究了电压幅值、电极宽度、电极间距和重复频率对放电等离子体的影响。结果表明ns脉冲表面介质阻挡放电是丝状放电,放电发生在电压脉冲的上升沿阶段;放电电流主要包括两部分脉冲,与放电丝分布的均匀性有着一定的内在关系,外加电压对放电的均匀性以及产生等离子体的长度起作用;电极宽度和间距对放电电流和产生等离子体的发光强度影响不大,电极宽度和间距越小,放电丝分布越均匀,电极宽度存在一个最优值,使得激励器的放电稳定且产生等离子体相对均匀;脉冲重复频率仅对等离子体强度起作用,对放电特性的影响较复杂,不同电极参数下这些影响与放电丝的分布状态有关。     

Ozone generation in dry air using pulsed discharges with andwithout a solid dielectric layer

Energy efficient generation of ozone is very important because ozone is being used increasingly in a wide range of industrial applications. Ozonizers usually use dielectric barrier discharges and employ alternating current (ac) with consequent heat generation, which necessitates cooling. In the present study, very short duration pulsed voltage is employed resulting in reduced heating of the gas and discharge reactor. A comparison of ozone generation in dry air using a coaxial concentric electrode system with and without a solid dielectric layer is reported. Two types of dielectric layers were employed, ceramic and polyvinylchloride (pvc). The effects of peak pulsed voltage (12.5 to 62 kV), reactor length (0.1 to 1 m), pulse repetition rate (25 to 400 pulses per second, pps), gas flow rate (1.5 to 3.0 1/min) and variation of the pitch length of the spiral wire forming the central electrode (5 to 10 mm) on the concentration and production yield of ozone (g/kWh) are reported. A comparison is made between the performance of discharge reactors with (ceramic reactor Type IIC and pvc reactor Type IIP) and without (reactor Type I) a dielectric layer, using the same electrode gap separation (15 mm) and reactor lengths (0.157 and 1 m). High production yields of ozone in dry air of ~125 52 and 60 g/kWh were obtained when using, respectively ceramic, pvc, and no dielectric layer, for a fixed pulse rate of 100 pps, 15 1/min now rate and for a relatively short length of the reactor of 157 mm     

螺旋针-环结构等离子体射流放电过程分析

为降低气体的击穿和维持电压,设计一种螺旋针-环电极结构的等离子体射流装置,研究不同电压下的放电电压、电流波形。研究表明,氦气等离子体射流放电可以分为电晕放电、介质阻挡放电和射流放电三个阶段,并且可以通过放电电压、电流波形的特征进行区分。分析可知,射流管管径较大时,采用螺旋针状内电极结构可以减小电极间的平均气体间隙距离,从而降低气体的击穿和维持电压,使放电更加容易进行;电压反向过程中残留电荷使得合成电场得到加强,气体将"提前"发生放电;由于电极结构的不对称,气体在正半周期更容易发生放电,放电产生的电流脉冲数目更多,电流值更大;随着外加电压增大至14k V,放电最终过渡到丝状放电状态。     

Steady-state corona charging behavior of a corotron over a movingdielectric substrate

Charging up a dielectric surface through corona discharge from a thin wire has been a common practice in electrophotographic processes. One of the widely used corona charging devices is called a corotron, which consists of a coronating wire enclosed in a rectangular shield with one constituent side being the surface to be charged. Uniform surface charge can be deposited on a dielectric substrate, such as a photoreceptor in the absence of light, by moving the substrate at a constant velocity through a stationary corotron that consistently emits corona current. To design an efficient corotron for charging dielectric substrates, a fundamental understanding of the electrostatic nature of the device is desired. In this paper, the steady-state behavior of corona charging with a corotron over a moving dielectric substrate is analyzed by computationally solving the nonlinearly coupled equation system with Galerkin finite-element method and Newton iterations. The predictions based on a first-principle model are shown to agree well with experimental measurements     

GIS中绝缘子与电极接触不良时闪络特性的分析

将GIS中绝缘子与电极之间接触不良问题归结为两个简化的模型，根据绝缘子与电极接触不良处绝缘子表面动态电荷分布的近似表达式，及试验研究结果对绝缘子与电极接触不良时冲击击穿异常的现象进行了解释。