Journal of the Korean Physical Society, Vol. 55, No. 5, November 2009, pp.

18031807
Optimal Design of a Permittivity Graded Spacer Conguration
in a Gas Insulated Switchgear
Heung-Jin Ju and Kwang-Cheol Ko
Department of Electrical Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 133-791
Seung-Kil Choi

Department of Electrical Engineering, Ansan College of Technology, Ansan 425-792

(Received 2 September 2008)
The relaxation of the electric eld intensity can be expected when a functionally graded material
(FGM) with various permittivity distributions is applied to the spacer of a gas insulated switchgear
(GIS). We calculated the electric eld strength in the FGM spacer model of a common GIS by
using the nite element method (FEM). Based on the results in this paper, a rapid permittivity
variation has a tendency to relax the electric eld concentration near the anode and to improve the
uniformity of the internal electric eld distribution in the FGM spacer. In addition, the design of
experiment (DOE) method was used to design an optimal spacer conguration where the electric
eld along the surface of the spacer was smaller and more uniform. Consequently, a FGM spacer is
more ecient than a single permittivity spacer for improving insulation performance.
PACS numbers: 77.22.Ch, 77.84.Lf, 52.80.Mg
Keywords: Electric eld, Functionally-graded material, Permittivity, Spacer, Design of experiment
DOI: 10.3938/jkps.55.1803
I. INTRODUCTION
Special attention is required to design an insulator con-
guration and to select insulation materials in a gaseous
insulation system because the cause of breakdown is dif-
cult to analyze due to numerous equipments installed
in a narrow space SF
6
gas has a high electric eld de-
pendence so that insulation performance is rapidly re-
duced in a non-uniform electric eld, especially [1]. A
solid spacer in a gaseous insulation system plays an im-
portant role for supporting the highvoltage conductor
and keeping the insulation properties at a gas insulated
switchgear (GIS) Therefore, it is necessary to consider
breakdown inside the spacer and the surface discharge
generated along the spacer in designing a spacer cong-
uration. Till now, eorts have been made to improve
the insulation performance. These include the applica-
tion of lowpermittivity materials to the spacer, control of
the spacer conguration, addition of shield electrodes for
electric eld relaxation, insertion of a thin lm made of a
low conductivity material on a spacer surface, etc. How-
ever, these techniques make the spacer geometry more
complex. Hence we propose a functionally graded mate-
rial (FGM) spacer to keep a simple spacer structure and

Corresponding Author: skc0386@ansantc.ac.kr;

Fax: +82-31-490-6055
to improve the insulation performance.
The FGM, as a material having graded properties by
changing gradually or discontinuously the concentration
of constituents from one side to the other one, is applied
to various appliances as shown in Figure 1. The most
familiar FGM is one that is compositionally-graded from
a refractory ceramic to a metal. It can incorporate in-
compatible functions of ceramics with those of metals
through appropriate variation of the material constants
without severe internal thermal stress [2].
Especially, with a FGM spacer as an insulation mate-
rial the distribution of relative permittivity inside an in-
sulator changes spatially, which can reduce the maximum
electric eld inside the spacer [3,5]. In this research, we
veried the improvement in the insulation performance,
Fig. 1. (a) Stepwise and (b) continuous graded structure
-1803-
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Fig. 2. Analysis model for the spacer of GIS and nite
element meshes
which were obtained by using the optimal permittivity
distribution and conguration optimization of the FGM
spacer in a common GIS.
II. ANALYSIS MODEL AND
PERMITTIVITY-GRADED SPACER
The maximum electric eld relaxation inside a spacer
and the optimization of the spacer conguration were
performed using the C-GIS model. Figure 2 shows the
spacer geometry and the analysis region. The rated im-
pulse voltage, 125 kV specied, was applied as a test volt-
age between the high-voltage anode and grounded metal
cathode. In spacer geometry, a metal anode is inserted
into a spacer. This improves the mechanic strength for
supporting the electrode and the electrical shielding of
the contact points.
First, we calculated the distribution of the electric eld
by using a 3-dimensional axis-symmetric nite element
method (FEM) [6]. The permittivity distribution inside
the spacer was uniform (
r
= 3.5), corresponding to a
practical spacer material consisting of epoxy resins. As
shown Figure 3, the electric eld is concentrated near
the anode inside the spacer. In addition, a small electric
eld is observed on the interface between the spacer and
the gas, especially near the region of inection in the
spacer geometry. Therefore, only a FGM spacer with
a distribution of dielectric permittivity varying along a
radial direction only is considered to relax the electric
eld concentrated near the anode. The fabrication of a
FGM spacer is performed by using the centrifugal casting
Fig. 3. Spatial distribution of the electric eld in the uni-
form permittivity spacer
Fig. 4. Permittivity distribution inside the spacer along a
radial direction only.
method [4].
Figure 4 shows various distributions of the dielectric
permittivity inside the spacer. In this research, a spacer
material that consisted of epoxy resins (
r
=3.5) mixed
with TiO
2
ller (
r
=114) was used. We assumed a
continuously-changing distribution of permittivity from
3.5 to 12. The distribution of permittivity in the FGM
spacer is divided into 11 cases as follows:
1. Non-FGM
2. Experiments 1, 2, and 3:
r
=12 at r < 61.5 mm;
otherwise
r
shows a linear decrease, a slow de-
crease, and a rapid decrease, respectively as r is
increased.
3. Experiments 4, 5, and 6:
r
=12 at r < 66.5 mm;
otherwise
r
shows a linear decrease, a slow de-
crease, and a rapid decrease, respectively as r is
Optimal Design of a Permittivity Graded Spacer Conguration Heung-Jin Ju et al. -1805-
Fig. 5. Spatial distribution of the electric eld in each
experiment.
increased.
4. Experiments 7, 8, and 9:
r
=12 at r < 71.0 mm;
otherwise
r
shows a linear decrease, a slow de-
crease, and a rapid decrease, respectively as r is
increased.
5. Stepwise variation.
The values of 61.5, 66.5, and 71.0 mm represent radial
coordinates of the point where the radius of curvature
changes, a projection on the anode inside a spacer, and
the inection point of the spacer geometry, respectively.
III. CALCULATION OF THE OPTIMAL
PERMITTIVITY DISTRIBUTION
The spatial distribution of the electric eld in various
FGM spacers is shown in Figure 5. In comparison to the
uniform permittivity spacer, the generation position of
the maximum electric eld moves from a projection on
an anode to an inection point of the spacer geometry
or a triple-junction point. Especially, the electric eld
concentration near the anode is largely relaxed.
The electric eld intensity in each experiment is shown
in Table 1. The electric eld intensity at a projection on
an anode and maximum electric eld are more reduced
in experiments 3, 6, and 9 where the distribution of the
permittivity varies rapidly. Peculiarly, in experiment 6,
Fig. 6. Distribution of the electric eld along a radial
direction (at z = 5mm).
Fig. 7. Design variables for optimizing the spacer congu-
ration.
Fig. 8. Eect of factor levels on the maximum electric
eld.
compared to the uniform permittivity spacer, the electric
eld at a projection on an anode is reduced by about 49
%, and the maximum electric eld is relaxed by about
11 %.
Figure 6 shows the distribution of the electric eld
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Table 1. Electric eld near anode and maximum electric eld in each experiment
No E-eld near an anode [kV/mm] Maximum E-eld [kV/mm] (generated point)
Non-FGM 6.286 6.286 (anode)
1 3.962 5.729 (inection point)
2 4.436 5.789 (inection point)
3 3.404 5.628 (inection point)
4 3.893 5.726 (inection point)
5 4.546 5.799 (inection point)
6 3.203 5.605 (inection point)
7 4.085 5.677 (inection point)
8 4.667 5.816 (inection point)
9 3.443 5.664 (triplejunction point)
Stepwise 3.464 5.703 (triplejunction point)
Table 2. Variables, levels, and objective function.
Design variables and objective function Level 1 Level 2 Level 3
A. Distance [mm] 0 1 2
Control factor B. Radius [mm] 6 11 16
C. Width [mm] 9 10 11
Objective function Maximum electric eld [kV/mm]
Table 3. Results of three level - three factor experiments.
No
Factor Experiment Masimum electric
A[mm] B[mm] C[mm] condition eld [kV/mm]
1 0 6 9 A
1
B
1
C
1
5.154
2 0 11 10 A
1
B
2
C
2
5.355
3 0 16 11 A
1
B
3
C
3
5.817
4 1 6 10 A
2
B
1
C
2
5.290
5 1 11 11 A
2
B
2
C
3
5.793
6 1 16 9 A
2
B
3
C
1
6.566
7 2 6 11 A
3
B
1
C
3
5.808
8 2 11 9 A
3
B
2
C
1
6.013
9 2 16 10 A
3
B
3
C
2
5.670
along a radial direction at z = 5 mm inside the spacer.
The use of the FGM spacer as an insulator is observed to
reduce the maximum electric eld notably and to make
the distribution of the electric eld inside the spacer uni-
form. Namely, the FGM spacer shows high eciency for
improving the insulation performance of the GIS.
IV. OPTIMIZATION OF THE SPACER
CONFIGURATION
Because the dominant insulation performance in high-
voltage power equipment like a GIS relies on the spacer
geometry, it is necessary to optimize the spacer congu-
Fig. 9. Spatial distribution of the electric eld in an opti-
mally designed FGM spacer model.
ration. We performed the optimization by using a design
of experiment (DOE) method with an orthogonal array
table [7]. The main factors and the levels highly aecting
the specic objective value among various factors were
selected for the optimal design of the FGM spacer con-
guration. Also, a FGM spacer having the distribution
of permittivity of experiment 6, as calculated previously,
was applied.
The maximum electric eld was selected as an objec-
Optimal Design of a Permittivity Graded Spacer Conguration Heung-Jin Ju et al. -1807-
Fig. 10. Distribution of the electric eld (a) along a ra-
dial direction (at z = 5mm) and (b) along the surface of the
spacer.
tive function, and the surface geometry of the spacer in
contact with the gas as a control factor. The design
variables and levels considered for optimizing the spacer
conguration in this research are shown in Figure 7 and
Table 2. Especially, the levels of the control factors were
selected within the range for keeping the spacer surface
smooth.
Table 3 presents the maximum electric eld intensity
calculated in each experiment. The one-way table of fac-
tors calculated from the obtained results is shown in Fig-
ure 8. Factor levels making the maximum electric eld
the smallest are A
1
, B
1
, and C
2
, respectively. The va-
lidity of the predicted results was veried from one more
numerical analysis by applying the obtained optimal con-
ditions. Figure 9 shows the electric eld distributions
for the nal model at optimal conditions. The calcu-
lated maximum electric eld (E
m
= 5.280 kV/mm) in
an optimized spacer model is reduced approximately 16
% in comparison to the uniform permittivity spacer and
an additional approximately 5 % in comparison to the
FGM permittivity spacer of experiment 6. Therefore, as
shown in Figure 10, the optimized FGM spacer model
can reduce the maximum eld and keep the electric eld
uniform inside the spacer and on its surface, so the FGM
spacer will be very helpful for improving the insulation
performance of a GIS.
V. CONCLUSION
In order to reduce the electric eld inside the spacer
and on its surface, we applied a FGM spacer and we
found the optimal design of the spacer conguration by
using DOE method. The FGM spacer reduced the maxi-
mum electric eld eciently and kept the distribution of
the electric eld inside the spacer uniform. Especially, in
comparison to the uniform permittivity spacer, the max-
imum electric eld was reduced about 11 % in the FGM
spacer. In addition, an optimized FGM spacer model
relaxed the maximum electric eld by about 16 % and
made the electric eld distribution along the surface of
the spacer more uniform. Consequently, the optimally
designed FGM spacer was more ecient than a single
permittivity spacer for improving the insulation perfor-
mance.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This research was supported by Energy Technology
R&D Programs (2009T100100593) through Korea In-
stitute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning
(KETEP) funded by the Ministry of Knowledge Econ-
omy.
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