Dielectric strength of series-connected triggered vacuum switches

An HV switching device consisting of two series-connected triggered vacuum switches (TVS) of type RVU-43 is tested. This device is intended for operation at a voltage up to 80 kV and its maximum switched current is 200 kA. The breakdown voltage of each TVS is measured separately and that of the series connection presented. Weibull plots are used to analyze the breakdown test results. Our investigations allow the determination of experimental and theoretical distribution functions for the breakdown voltages of the individual switches and the combined switching device. The probability of breakdown of the switching device is calculated using empirical distribution functions of breakdown voltages of each TVS. A comparison of the calculated distribution function of the breakdown voltages of the switching device with the experimental distribution function shows good agreement. The proposed method allows estimating the dielectric strength of the switching device depending on the degree of nonuniformity of the voltage distribution between series-connected TVSs.     

高压断路器辅助开关分断能力研究及结构优化设计

对FK-口型辅助开关灭孤室进行二维数学建模,分析其内部电场强度分布,推导出电流过零后介质击穿的判断条件,对灭弧室结构进行优化,达到降低电场强度,使电场分布趋于均匀的目的,为辅助开关的优化设计提供了有效的解决方法.     

嵌入屏障的绝缘介质中电树生长模型

利用WZ模型将绝缘介质离散化,使用分形理论讨论了绝缘介质中电树发展的随机性和确定性。在原有WZ模型的基础上引入了分布耐电强度的概念,建立了新的模型。通过此二维模型仿真了在绝缘介质中嵌入了耐电强度高于原介质的屏障后的电树生长情况。在针板电极结构下用模型仿真了在绝缘介质中所嵌入屏障耐电强度的不同对电树发展造成的不同影响,并比较了不同情况下的平均击穿距离。通过比较得出,当嵌入耐电强度远大于原介质的屏障后,电树发展过程中需要绕过屏障进行生长,从而等效于增加了原有介质的厚度,使得整个介质的绝缘性能有一定程度的提高。     

Effect of electrode surface roughness on electrical breakdown in high voltage apparatus

This paper considers the statistical theory of electrical breakdowns in high voltage (HV) devices. The extended probability distribution of breakdown is deduced for nonuniform gaps. The breakdown of high voltage apparatus is sensitive to local irregularity of the electric field which may result from the presence of defects such as surface roughness. The surface roughness leads to existence of localized microscopic projection with local electric field strength at the projection top larger than the average field at the electrode surface. The link between parameters determining the probability of electrical breakdown and the parameters determining microscopic geometry of electrode surface is obtained. In this paper a simplified breakdown model is used as a basis for statistical treatment. According to the model the breakdown proceeds if the electric field strength at the projection top exceeds the critical value. The method of dielectric strength calculation for HV devices using a simplified model of breakdown is presented. The paper gives an example of calculation of the breakdown voltage for vacuum switch TVS-43. Results of calculations are compared with available experimental data and Weibull distribution     

选择性相强化对CuCr触头材料在真空小间隙中耐电压强度的影响

研究了合金元素Ｗ、Ｃｏ的加入对ＣｕＣｒ触头材料在真空小间隙中耐电压强度的影响。研究结果表明,合金元素选择强化ＣｕＣｒ材料的Ｃｒ相能够显著提触头间隙的耐电压强度,而强化Ｃｕ相对间隙的耐电压强度没有明显作用。文章认为制备ＣｕＣｒ系触头材料时应选择适当的制备工艺,使合金元素能够选择强化材料中的Ｃｒ相。     

Imaging breakdown spots in SiO/sub 2/ films and MOS devices with a conductive atomic force microscope

Conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) was used to study the dielectric breakdown of SiO/sub 2/ layers at a nanometric scale. First, bare oxide regions were stressed and broken down using the tip as the metal electrode of a MOS structure. The results show that the initial breakdown is electrically propagated to neighbor regions, affecting their dielectric strength. Moreover, the area affected by the initial breakdown depends on the breakdown hardness. In particular, it is shown that this area is smaller when the current through the structure is limited during the experiments. The effect of the current limitation is analyzed in detail. Based on the results, a qualitative picture of the breakdown process is presented, which accounts for this effect. Finally, for the first time, the breakdown spots in standard MOS devices (with poly-Si gate) are electrically imaged with C-AFM. The areas of the observed spots are in agreement with those obtained on bare oxides.     

Modeling of tunneling current and gate dielectric reliability for nonvolatile memory devices

We present a hierarchy of tunneling models suitable for the two- and three-dimensional simulation of logic and nonvolatile semiconductor memory devices. The crucial modeling topics are comprehensively discussed, namely, the modeling of the energy distribution function in the channel to account for hot-carrier tunneling, the calculation of the transmission coefficient of single and layered dielectrics, the influence of quasi-bound states in the inversion layer, the modeling of static and transient defect-assisted tunneling, and the modeling of dielectric degradation and breakdown. We propose a set of models to link the gate leakage to the creation of traps in the dielectric layer, the threshold voltage shift, and eventual dielectric breakdown. The simulation results are compared to commonly used compact models and measurements of logic and nonvolatile memory devices.     

提升纳米复合电介质击穿强度的理论与方法

聚合物复合电介质材料在电工领域有着广泛的应用。在电力设备运行过程中,电介质材料在温度、电(磁)场、机械力以及环境的作用下会发生击穿现象,造成电力设备失效以及由此引起的损失。因此,提升复合电介质的击穿强度一直是电工领域的重要问题。纳米复合电介质代表未来电力设备绝缘的发展方向。该文首先简述聚合物电介质的基本击穿理论,并总结提升纳米复合电介质击穿强度的基本策略及原理。接着,聚焦纳米粒子对电荷产生、输运以及电场分布的作用,总结几种提高纳米复合电介质击穿强度的方法,包括纳米粒子的表面工程、调控纳米粒子的维度和排列、制备多层结构的复合电介质、制备核壳结构纳米粒子复合介质,以及利用金属纳米颗粒的纳米效应。最后,对提升纳米复合电介质击穿强度未来的研究方向进行展望。     

Insulation optimization by electrode contour modification based onbreakdown area/volume effects

This paper shows how to determine the electrode contour with the best insulation performance on the basis of an area effect and a volume effect in the breakdown field strength. Previous electric field optimization techniques have provided us only with an optimum electric field distribution, For the design of power apparatus insulation, we have to consider the dielectric breakdown characteristics rather than the electric field distribution. As a first step, we developed a new optimization technique which enables us to obtain an optimum electrode contour with the highest breakdown strength while taking into account the area and volume effects of breakdown strength of insulating media. From the results, we have confirmed that the proposed optimization method improved the breakdown voltage more than did the electric field optimization. This leads to an effective insulation design of electric power apparatus     

Breakdown behavior of oil-impregnated polypropylene as dielectricin film capacitors

The dielectric breakdown behavior of thin metalized PP films for use in HV capacitors was studied as function of temperature with and without rape-seed oil as impregnation medium. The impregnating oil penetrates into the amorphous regions of the dielectric. With oil impregnation, the dielectric breakdown strength of the PP film is increased by >25%. A correlation between the breakdown strength and the degree of impregnation was found. With increasing temperature the breakdown strength of PP films decreases. Moreover, the measurements showed abrupt changes of slope in the breakdown strength at defined temperatures. From these results a correlation was established between the dielectric breakdown strength of PP films and temperature induced structure changes. It was shown that the abrupt changes of slope in the breakdown strength occurring at defined temperatures are due to the additives contained in the PP capacitor films used. Finally, guidelines for further development of impregnated PP films as dielectrics for high power capacitor applications are presented     

Influence of additives on the dielectric strength of high-densitypolyethylene

In this study, we present the results of the influence of chemical additives (antioxidant and UV stabilizer) and pigments (titanium dioxide and carbon black) on the short-term dielectric breakdown test of high-density polyethylene (HDPE). These additives and pigments are commonly added to polyolefins, which are used as insulating material for medium voltage cables. The incorporation was performed in a single screw extruder and thin films specimens were obtained by hot compression from extruded materials. For the dielectric breakdown test, an automated system has been used. A voltage ramp of 500 V/s was applied to specimens immersed in a silicon oil bath at room temperature. The degree of crystallinity and chemical modification of the formulations were evaluated by X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), respectively. The dielectric breakdown results have been analyzed by a Weibull distribution. The shape and scale parameters of this distribution have been obtained by a graphic and maximum likelihood method. These results showed that the carbon black is the component that affects the dielectric strength, that the β shape parameter from the graphic method can be used to evaluate additive mixing conditions, and that the weakest point for formation of the rupture channel is on the carbon black agglomerate     

Automatic breakdown voltage measurement of polymer films

Determining the breakdown strength of dielectric films is tedious, as the breakdown strength at 1% breakdown probability is more relevant to system insulation design than the Weibull characteristic breakdown strength, and obtaining reasonable confidence limits at 1% breakdown probability requires very large numbers of breakdowns. An automatic system for DC ramp breakdown strength measurements has been reported [1]. This system comprises a HV-probe and a movable arm equipped with an electrode holder that scans over the sample surface. One problem with this approach is that the metal electrodes are damaged by the breakdowns which, based on the author's experience, results in occasional low breakdowns that can distort the statistical distribution. To avoid this problem, a breakdown tester that can carry out breakdown strength measurements automatically utilizing metalized film electrodes has been developed. In this system, metalized films are used as electrodes and renewed after each breakdown. This is accomplished using a mechanical assembly under computer control through a LabView interface. By utilizing metalized films and renewing them after each breakdown, the system does not suffer from breakdown-induced electrode damage. To evaluate the system, we carried out 100 breakdowns with three active areas varying from 2 cm2 to 20 cm2. The breakdown data were analyzed using a Weibull distribution, agreed well with previous data obtained manually, and scaled properly as a function of area based on a Weibull distribution [2]. We have carried out over 600 breakdowns automatically, which is sufficient to provide very good data at low probability of breakdown. The development of the automatic breakdown strength tester provides a means to evaluate polymer films at low breakdown probability which is relevant to insulation design.     

Breakdown conditioning characteristics of long gap electrodes in a vacuum

An improvement in dielectric strength is required in vacuum circuit breakers (VCBs) intended for use in higher voltage systems. In order to develop higher voltage VCBs, it is important to improve the dielectric strength in a vacuum based on consideration of the vacuum breakdown mechanism. Particularly for gaps longer than 10 mm, little is known about the breakdown mechanisms and their quantitative analyses in a vacuum. This paper discusses the breakdown conditioning characteristics of long gap electrodes, under a non-uniform electric field in a vacuum. We treat gap lengths of up to 50 mm in this paper. The conditioning characteristics are investigated under impulse voltage applications. A negative standard lightning impulse voltage was applied to rod-plane electrodes made of Cu-Cr and SUS304 for different tip radii and gap distances until the conditioning effect was completed. We observed illumination spots on electrodes at each breakdown during the conditioning process and calculated the corresponding breakdown field strengths. Experimental results revealed that the tendency of breakdowns associated with long gaps is different from that for the short gaps. As a result, we clarified that the breakdown field strengths are nearly constant at 110-120 kV/mm at the distances longer than 10 mm, and the breakdown field strength is at its maximum when the gap distance is about 5 mm.     

基于Kerr电光效应的冲击电压下液体电介质空间电荷高速CCD测量

空间电荷的存在直接影响液体电介质的绝缘击穿性能,为了更好地研究空间电荷的动态变化过程,建立了基于Kerr电光效应的冲击电压下液体电介质空间电荷的高速电荷耦合器件(CCD)测量系统。运用高精度光电传感器的测量方法,得到了室温下液体碳酸丙烯酯的Kerr常数。进而通过高速CCD的动态光电测量,并结合图像处理技术,求取了冲击电压下平行板铜电极间电场和空间电荷的动态分布曲线。实验研究表明:在平行板铜电极间,当液体介质中电场达到一定程度时会出现空间电荷的注入与输运,使得极间电场呈现出中间高两边低的分布情况。另外还分析了空间电荷的分布和输运对液体绝缘特性的影响,该研究为分析冲击电压作用下液体介质中空间电荷的产生机制及空间电荷对流注放电的影响奠定了基础。     

Application of functionally graded material for solid insulator in gaseous insulation system

Functionally graded materials (FGM) have spatial distribution of a material property in order to achieve efficient stress control. An application of the FGM to a solid insulator (spacer) for a gaseous insulation system, like gas insulated switchgear, is expected to improve electric field (E-field) distribution around the spacer. In this paper, we describe the applicability of the FGM spacer to gas insulated power equipment. In the FGM spacer, we gave spatial distribution of dielectric permittivity to control the E-field distribution inside and outside the spacer. This paper includes following key results for the applications of the FGM. Firstly, E-field simulation results when applying the FGM by a finite element method are presented, in which we show the effective reduction of the maximum field strength by applying the FGM. Next, a fabrication technique of the FGM spacer sample with not only step-by-step but also continuous changes of permittivity is presented by use of centrifugal force. Finally, dielectric breakdown tests using FGM samples which are accurately controlled the spatial distribution of permittivity are carried out under lightning impulse voltage applications. The test result indicates the increase of breakdown voltage (BDV). From these results, we verified the applicability and the fabrication technique of FGM spacer for improvement of the dielectric strength in the gaseous insulation system.     

面向配电网不停电作业装置的高性能电力电容器介质材料制备

随着配电网高可靠性作业的发展,不停电作业装置是配电网运检的必备工具之一.电力电容器是配电网不停电作业装置中配电单元、AC/DC电源变换单元等的能源储存核心单元,其高性能化、轻型化和小型化是其发展的一个关键.为制备新型高储能密度的电力电容器用介质材料,利用磁控溅射技术在Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si基底上制备Ba(Sn0.3...     

Water absorption in a glass-mica-epoxy composite [II: field distribution and diagnostic in a stator bar geometry]

In this paper, the water concentration profile within the insulation of a stator bar in the presence of a water leak is calculated by resolving the Fick?s equation. The temperature strongly activates diffusion processes, but the shapes of concentration profiles remain similar. From the measured dielectric properties versus water content, an electrical model is developed in order to calculate the field and potential distribution within the insulation. The field is reduced in wet zones due to the high local permittivity and conductivity compared to dry zones. This effect is favorable since the breakdown field is lowered in wet zones. On the other hand, the field in dry zones is reinforced, but the value attained remains lower than the short-term breakdown strength. This explains why stator bars in the presence of waters leaks may survive for long times, in spite of high local water concentrations in excess of 1%. The high sensitivity of dielectric properties at low frequency to the presence of water suggests non-destructive methods to detect wet bars in a real power generator.     

Dependence of Vacuum Electrical Breakdown Field and Field Enhancement Factor on the Number of Apertures Drilled in Small Electrodes

Dark current based on field emission current is considered to be a factor causing the vacuum electrical breakdown between multiaperture acceleration grids in the JT‐60 negative ion source. In this paper, we focus on field enhancement factor, which is a key parameter of field emission from the electrode. Vacuum breakdown testing for small‐sized electrodes simulating the multiaperture acceleration grids of the negative ion source was performed. We found the field enhancement factor and breakdown field for multiaperture electrodes, and we investigated the dependence of each parameter on the number of apertures. The results revealed that an increase in the average field enhancement factor after the end of conditioning resulting from an increase in the number of apertures led to a decrease in the dielectric strength of the multiaperture electrodes.     

Thickness dependent dielectric strength of a low-permittivitydielectric film

The dielectric strength of a promising interlevel low relative permittivity dielectric is investigated for various film thicknesses and temperatures by using I-V measurements with metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) structures. It is found that the dielectric breakdown mechanism also depends on thickness. For relatively thick films (thickness >500 nm), the dielectric breakdown is electromechanical in origin, i.e. the dielectric strength is proportional to the square root of Young's modulus of the films. By scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observation, a microcrack in thicker films may contribute to a lower value of Young's modulus, which may confirm that the electromechanical breakdown is the dominant mechanism for dielectric breakdown of thicker films. In addition, the thickness dependent dielectric strength can be described by the well-known inverse power-law relation by using different exponents to describe different thickness ranges, However for thinner films, i.e., <500 nm, the experimentally observed relationships among the dielectric strength, Young's modulus, and film thickness cannot be explained by the existing models