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SURFACE FLASHOVER AND SURFACE DETERIORATION OF POLYMER INSULATIONS IN VACUUM Taher D. Eish and Fathi M.H. Youssef

Electrical Engineering Dept., Faculty of Engineering, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt. ABSTRACT.
This paper i n t r o d u c e s t h e r e s u l t s of investigations c a r r i e d o u t to r e c o r d t h e various f a c t o r s a f f e c t i n g t h e s u r f a c e flashover s t r e n g t h a c r o s s perspex (PMMA) a n d t e f l o n ( T F P ) insulators in vacuum. T h e f a c t o r s s t u d i e d include t h e depend a n c e of flashover A C a n d DC v o l t a g e s t r e s s e s on s a m p l e length a n d field conditions. T h e i n f l u e n c e of t h e n u m b e r of s e q u e n t i a l flashovers on t h e m a g i n t u d e of flashover v o l t a g e a n d on t h e s u r f a c e d e t e r i o r a t i o n of t h e polymer s a m p l e s in vacuum is a l s o introduced.

INTRODUCTION.
T h e effect of d e t e r i o r a t i o n a n d conditioning of t h e insulator s u r f a c e a n d e l e c t r o d e s is p a r t i c u l a r l y c r i t i c a l . D e t e r i o r a t i o n a n d conditioning c a n a r i e s d u e to relatively low e n e r g y p a r t i a l discharges o n t h e insulator s u r f a c e o r to high e n e r g y d i s c h a r g e s b e t w e e n t h e e l e c t r o d e s . T h e s e e v e n t s c a n affect g a s p r e s s u r e n e a r t h e t h e insulator s u r f a c e , t h e insulator s u r f a c e resistivity, s e c o n d a r y emission c o e f f i c i e n t , a n d topograph, t h e e l e c t r o d e e l e c t r o m emission c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s or t h e t r i p l e junction g e o m e t r y a n d emission c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s [I , 2 ] . T h e p r e s e n c e of d e t e r i o r a t i o n e v e n t s implies t h a t t h e physical p a r a m e t e r s of t h e insulator s y s t e m c h a n g e as a f u n c t i o n of t i m e . T h e c h a n g i n g conditions should b e considered when e v a l u a t i n g t h e s y s t e m p e r f o r m a n c e . In t h i s p a p e r o b s e r v a t i o n s concerning t h e d e p e n d e n c e of flashover c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s on insulator length, on s e q u e n t i a l flashover n u m b e r , on uniform a n d non-uniform field conditions a n d o n d e t e r i o r a t i o n of t h e polymer s a m p l e s a r e introduced.

EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES. Two t y p e s of e l e c t r o d e c o n f i g u r a t i o n s a r e used to s i m u l a t e uniform a n d non-uniform fields. T h e uniform field i s a t t a i n e d

CH2593-2/88/ 0000-0349$01.OOCopyright 1988 IEEE

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by using t w o p a r a l l e l c o p p e r p l a t e e l e c t r o d e s of 50 m m d i a m e t e r a n d r a d i u s of c u r v a t u r e a t t h e e d g e s o f t h e e l e c t r o d e s of 2 mm. T h e non-uniform field i s o b t a i n e d by using a rodp l a t e a r r a n g e m e n t w i t h a s t e e l rod e l e c t r o d e of 2 rnm d i a m e t e r a n d c o p p e r p l a t e e l e c t r o d e of 30 m m d i a m e t e r . The i n s u l a t o r s a m p l e s a r e solid c y l i n d e r s of 50 m m d i a m e t e r m d d i f f e r e n t t h i c k n e s s , n a m e l y , 10, 20, 30 a n d 40 mm. T h e p o l y m e r i c m a t e r i a l s u n d e r i n v e s t i g a t i o n a r e PMMA a n d T F P . T h e s a m p l e i s t h e n p l a c e d in a PVC vessel, which i s t h e n e v a c u a t e d by a c r y o g e n i c a b s o r p t i o n p u m p to a n u l i t i n a t e p r e s s u r e of 0.1 Pa. T h e A C v o l t a g e r e q u i r e d f o r i n v e s t i g a t i o n s is o b t a i n e d by m e a n s of a 220 V/ 80 kV, 8 k V A t e s t i n g t r a n s f o r m e r . T h e D C v o l t a g e i s o b t a i n e d by m e a n s of t h e s a m e t r a n s f o r m e r c o n n e c t e d in s e r i e s w i t h r e c t i f i e r a n d s m o o t h i n g c a p a c i t o r s . Both A C a n d D C v o l t a g e s a r e m e a s u r e d by m e a n s of e l e c t r o s t a t i c v o l t m e t e r in c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h a r e s i s t i v e divider. T h e a c c u r a c y of v o l t a g e m e a s u r m e n t is + 2%. E a c h f l a s h o v e r v o l t a g e r e p o r t e d i s t h e a v e r a g e of ten readings. T h e r a t e of d e c r e a s e of t h e s u c c e s s i v e f l a s h o v e r v o l t a g e s w a s used as a n i n d i c a t i o n of t h e r a t e of d e t e r i o r a t i o n of t h e i n s u l a t o r s u r f a c e . L a t e r , t h e s u r f a c e s of t h e s a m p l e s w e r e e x a m i n e d by using a n e l e c t r o n microscope.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION.

T h e f l a s h o v e r A C a n d D C v o l t a g e s h a v e b e e n found to i n c r e a s e w i t h t h e l e n g t h of t h e s p e c i m e n under non-uniform field c o n d i t i o n s as shown in Fig. 1. H o w e v e r , t h e r a t e of i n c r e a s e i s found to b e d i f f e r e n t f o r e a c h t y p e of a p p l i e d v o l t a g e a n d a l s o f o r e a c h m a t e r i a l . T h e f l a s h o v e r v o l t a g e , as a f u n c t i o n of i n s u l a t o r l e n g t h , c a n b e r e p r e s e n t e d a p p r o x i m a t e l y by t h e p r o d u c t of t h e s q u a r e r o o t of t h e i n s u l a t o r l e n g t h a n d a c o n s t a n t , t h e v a l u e o f which d e p e n d s o n t h e t y p e of i n s u l a t o r a n d t h e t y p e of test v o l t a g e used. Under all tests, t h e f l a s h o v e r v o l t a g e f o r PMMA i s higher than t h a t of TFP. T h e f l a s h o v e r v o l t a g e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o b t a i n e d (Fig. 1 ) show t h a t t h e n e g a t i v e p o l a r i t y a n d p o s i t i v e p o l a r i t y of D C f l a s h o v e r v a l u e s e x c e e d t h e AC v a l u e s a n d t h a t t h e D C v a l u e s f o r PMMA a l w a y s e x c e e d t h e c o r r e s p o n d i n g v a l u e s f o r TFP. I t is a l s o s e e n f r o m Fig. 1 t h a t t h e f l a s h o v e r v o l t a g e f o r n e g a t i v e p o l a r i t y is a l w a y s g r e a t e r t h a n t h o s e f o r p o s i t i v e polarity.

I t h a s b e e n also o b s e r v e d t h a t u l t i m a t e s u r f a c e insulation

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s t r e n g t h d e p e n d s upon t h e t y p e a n d m a g n i t u d e of t h e conditioning v o l t a g e used. Conditioning using A C v o l t a g e is m o r e e f f e c t i v e . I t i s likely t h a t conditioning l e a d s to m o r e rapid r e m o v a l of impurities, c o n c e n t r a t e d o n t h e insulator s u r f a c e . P r e b r e a k d o w n discharges a n d f l a s h o v e r s m a y also modify t h e s e c o n d a r y e l e c t r o n emission f r o m t h e d i e l e c t r i c s u r f a c e [3]. This h a s a s t r o n g influence o n t h e flashover voltage. T h e effect of uniform a n d non-uniform field conditions o n flashover v o l t a g e as a f u n c t i o n of s a m p l e length h a s a l s o b e e n d e t e r m i n e d . Fig. 2 shows t h e flashover v o l t a g e along t h e T F P i n s u l a t o r as a f u n c t i o n of t h e s a m p l e length. T h e F i g u r e shows t h a t f o r a l l i n v e s t i g a t e d s a m p l e lengths, t h e flashover v o l t a g e under non-uniform field is higher t h a n t h a t of uniform field. T h e s e r e s u l t s a r e in line with [4] a n d c a n b e laid back to t h e fact, t h a t t h e f a c t o r is probably a s s o c i a t e d with peculiarities of t h e breakdown p r e p a r a t o r y stage in t h e v a c u u m gap. O n t h e o t h e r hand, i t should b e n o t e d t h a t t h e flashover length under non-uniform field condition is g r e a t e r t h a n t h a t under uniform conditions. T h e flashover v o l t a g e o f a g i v e n s a m p l e is found t o i n c r e a s e initially by sequential conditional flashovers (Fig.3). A f t e r 10 to 30 flashovers, t h e flashover v o l t a g e r e m a i n s essentially c o n s t a n t . However, a f t e r 35 flashovers, t h e flashover v o l t a g e i s found t o d e c r e a s e d u e to s u r f a c e d e t e r i o r a t i o n . Examination of s a m p l e s implied t h a t t h e d e c r e a s e of flashover v o l t a g e is a r e s u l t of conducting t r a c k s f o r m e d o n t h e d i e l e c t r i c s u r f a c e . T h e test s a m p l e s , a f t e r flashovers, a r e found to h a v e t r e e - t y p e p a t h s ( t r a c k s ) o n t h e surfaces. T h e t r a c k s h a v e b e e n e x a m i n e d by m e a n s of a n e l e c t r o n m i c r o s c o p e to e v a l u a t e t h e s h a p e a n d r a t e of g r o w t h . I t h a s b e e n observed t h a t t h e s u r f a c e d a m a g e is in t h e f o r m of branching, t r e e like p a t h s e r o d e d i n t o t h e insulator. T h e t r e e begin a t t h e c a t h o d e a n d t r a n s f e r insulator m a t e r i a l to t h e anode. similar c h a n n e l behavior h a s been also o b s e r v e d f o r A C e x c i t a t i o n . P r e d o m i n a t e c h a n n e l u l t i m a t e l y developed f r o m t h e c a t h o d e h a s a n a p p e a r a n c e similar to t h o s e o b s e r v e d for D C e x c i t a t i o n . CONCLUSIONS. T h e f a c t o r s a f f e c t i n g t h e s u r f a c e flashover s t r e n g t h a c r o s s perspex a n d Teflon insulating m a t e r i a l s , in v a c u u m , a r e p r e s e n t e d a n d discussed in t h i s paper. Under a n u l t i m a t e pressure of 0.1 Pa., it h a s b e e n found t h a t t h e flashover v o l t a g e f o r perspex is a l w a y s higher t h a n t h a t of t e f l o n m a t e r i a l . Thereby, t h e D C flashover v o l t a g e values a r e

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higher t h a n t h o s e of A C values, w h e r e b y t h e n e g a t i v e p o l a r i t y f l a s h o v e r v o l t a g e i s higher t h a n t h a t of t h e p o s i t i v e polarity. T h e f l a s h o v e r v o l t a g e i n c r e a s e s in g e n e r a l w i t h i n c r e a s e d s a m p l e length. T h e r e b y , t h e f l a s h o v e r v o l t a g e v a l u e s under non-uniform fields a r e found to b e higher t h a n t h o s e u n d e r u n i f o r m field conditions. T h e f l a s h o v e r v o l t a g e d e c r e a s e s f i r s t a f t e r a b o u t 35 flashovers. S u c h a s e q u e n t i a l c o n d i t i o n a l n u m b e r of f l a s h o v e r i s n e c e s s a r y to c a u s e t r e e like e r o d e d p a t h s o n t h e insulating s u r f a c e a n d t h u s leading to a r e m a r k a b l e d e c r e a s e of f l a s h o v e r v o l t a g e value.

REFERENCES.
[ l ] C.H. D e T o u r r e i l a n d K.D. S r i v a s t a v a : IEEE Trans. Elec. Ins., Vol. EI-8, pp. 17-21, 1973. [2] R. L e e , T.S. S u d a r s h a n , J.E. Thompson a n d G.R. Nagabhushana: ibid., Vol. EI-18, pp. 280-286, 1983. [3] S. Grzybowski, E. K u f f e l , a n d J.P.C. McMath: ibid, Vol. El-7, pp. 180-185, 1972. [4] 1.1. K a l j a t s k y , G.M. Kassirov, a n d F.G. Sekisov: ibid, Vol. EI-20, pp. 701-703, 1985.

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Fig. 1: Flashover voltage as a function of sample length under non-uniform field. (a) For TFP Sample. (b) For PMMA Sample.

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Fig. 3: Flashover voltage as a function of Sequential flashover number for teflon under non-uniform field and Samples 30 mm thick