Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • EImag PD3

    Uploaded by

    J. Mauricio A. Bejarano
    8 views8 pages

    Original Title

    EImagPD3

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Report this Document

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    8 views8 pages

    EImag PD3

    Uploaded by

    J. Mauricio A. Bejarano

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 8
    Partial Discharge - Part III: Cavity-Induced PD in Solid Dielectrics Steven A. Boggs, Underground Systems, Inc. nthe fist paper ofthe seis, we discussed the rnc pit ang and hw 1D tssoited witha test objet css acento in the teat Tendo Te scond paper ofthe series de used the options fr detecting sch a sign With this paper the sis begins the move toward aplcations: pec content which wil ad to serie of papers on PD esting of spovietypesok elec apport eh by sold Gilet power cable, rotating machines, Printed cet boards gos nelated substations te avis Gometmes termed voids) within soli oF issu liga dielectric ave among the most coramon Sources of PD in such systems. For this eason, along wrth he recent progres nthe we wil devote a pape tothe subject The base problem on be stated in Either of two contexts, viy “How do we relate the fragriade ofthe measured, ‘fective, PD wo the size, Shapeand positon oftheenity within aso deci Syste” oF What the reationship between cavity Stecand ‘fective PD magntide na piven contest” te What the smallest detectable cavity?” Fora range of geometien suchas parallel plate nd css, tre can develop aati solutions (ce, formulas), and for any syste the solution canbe found using com puterbased methods for aleulting the eect Held throughout a simple ‘Theimportantpreblem ofcaviy-induced PD asotid dielectric was eae as ery a 1987 [and a mathe matically sophsetedclution wa pnb 983 [Bis however it was apparently too sophisticated for those workingin the edt te ime to understand and secmstohaveatacedreltivly Ie tention Aten Hon etured tthe picasa rest ofan om golg EPRI Projet (RP2669-1 om "Gis Solid Dclcric Spacer Felabltyiedatthetimeby the author who published Some simple experimental and theoretical ork in the Shen BL However this work cid ot include» general Solution and was based on relatively simple assump tions The obvious need fra more sophisticated est tment ofthe problem, combined with apport provided Eiyough the EPRI prope stimulated Prot. Pedersen ted hs colleagues ofthe Technical University of Den mate (OTH, Physks Laboratory Io direct their STholely attention toward the subject, which sued inthe development ofthe general solion and much improved sstumptions which il be escibed i his The basic problem can be stated as “How do wwe relate the magnitude of the measured, ‘effective’ PD to the size, shape, and position of the cavity within a solid dielectric”? For a range of geometries, we can develop analytic solutions; and for any system, a solution can be found with computer-based methods to calculate the electric field throughout a sample. article [4], The basic DTH solution is equivalent to that presented in [2] but is much more readily understood And is more complete asa result of improved assump- tions. ‘The DTH solution begins from Maxwell's equations and is more mathematical than is appropriate for an ‘article inthis magazine. The approach taken here there- fore, will be based on a qualitative description of the problem, presentation of analytic solutions without derivations, derivation of sealing rules, and a descrip tion of the method by which a solution can be derived for any geometry. The interested reader can refer to [4] and the references therein for the mathematical details. Causes of Cavities Gascfiled cavities in solid or liquid dielectrics can result from many causes. In the case of epoxy castings, for example, gas-filled cavities can be caused by air leaking into the mold during curing, by insufficient pressure on the liquid epoxy during curing so that the vapor pressure of an epoxy component causes a gaseous cavity to develop, or by the epoxy curing ‘around a liquid core, which then shrinks during curing, ‘within rigid “walls”, In the case of an air leak into the rmold or insufficient pressure, one tends to get spherical, brat least smooth, regularly shaped cavities. Inthe case fof epoxy curing within rigid (cured epoxy) walls, the epoxy tends to "tear", which produces many small Closely spaced and very iregularly shaped cavities. The (0883-7554 /90/1100-001181.00 © 1990 IEEE IEEE Electical insulation Magazine Nov,/Dec. 1990-Vo16. Noo n ‘gases and partial pressures within the cavity will have ‘ major impact on the discharge characteristics, For cavities which arethe result of air leakage into the mold, the cavity is ikely to contain primarily No at about 0.8 atmospheres, as the Opis likely to react with the epoxy during curing, In the ease of cavities formed from in- adequate pressure on the epoxy during curing, the cavity may contain the epoxy component(s) with highest vapor pressures, which, at room temperature may be very low. While some light has been shed on the cavity contents [5], the implications of the contents for discharge characteristics are less explored. The theory of Pedersen provides a prediction for PD characteristics if the discharge characteristics of the gas within the cavity are known, Cavities can be produced through process control errors during the production of almost any type of solid dielectric or liquid-impregnated solid dielectric, includ ing solid dielectric (PE, XLPE, EDR, et.) power cable, laminar dielectric power cable, epoxy castings, ete. APD testis the most common means of detecting such potentially fatal defects, Separate articles will discuss the test Ing of solid dielectric castings, solid dielectric power cable, laminar dielectric power cable, etc. The present article will focus onthe generic subject of cavity-induuced PD which is relevant to almost any solid and/or liquid dielectric system, A Brief Review of Gas Breakdown the maximum possible distanceacrossthe cavity during, which it generates the minimum “eritical avalanche size” necessary to precipitate a full “streamer” break down across the cavity. As the voltage is raised further, the volume (known as the “critical volume”) from, ‘which an electron can be effective in precipitating full breakdown of the eavity increases, as shown in Fig. 1 Thus the time one must wait for breakdown after the voltage is raised above the minimum breakdown volt- age depends on two factors, viz, the amount by which the voltage is above the minimum breakdown voltage, which determines the size of the critical volume from. Which a free electron can precipitate a PD; and the number offre clectrons generated per second. ‘The source of free electrons in most systems is cosmic rays and any naturally occurring, radiation, although ‘cosmic rays generally dominate the process [6,7]. The umber of free electrons generated in air is about 3 the cloctric field in the gas within a cavity is ‘om eS raised beyond the minimum breakdown field, ~ a discharge (PD) can take place. It will not necessarily take place as soon as the field goes above the minimum breakdown field for a number of reasons, First, to havea breakdown, ‘one must have both a sufficiently high electric field and an initiating “free” electron. Second, the initiating “ree” electron must be sufficient” ly far (in the direction ofthe electric field) feom the cavity wall that electron multiplication produces a critical avalanche size before the Fig. 1 The two mashroom-shaped electrodes are imbedded in an epoxy post-type spacer with a dielectric constant of 4.1 mim’ spherical cavity is located om the vertical axis slightly below horizontal center, Below, 2 «ross section of the enlarged cavity (diameter of 124 mm) showing, from Teftto right thecritial volume shaded for vollages of 100%, 105%, 110%, and 125% ofthe minimum inception voltage of about 200 KV. An electron within the shaded volume can initiate a PD. At 100% of the theoretical imum breakdown voltage, the critical volume is infinitesimal. ‘wall is reached. That is, the electron must be accelerated within the electric field to an ener By such that, on average, a collision between an electron and a molecule generates more charge than, itabsorbs,s0 that charge generation grows exponential> ly resulting ina critical avalanche size before the process is brought to a stop by the cavity wall. The critical avalanche size is required to produce a well-defined breakdown channel known asa “streamer” At the minimum breakdown voltage, the initiating clectron would have to appear ina very small volume at the positive side of the cavity, so that it could travel 12 IEEE Electrical insulation Magazine © /em’-see-ba, while for SF the numberisin the range of 10 e'/em’-see-bar. However, for electronegative ‘gases such as SF, electrons can be “stored” on negative tons from which they can be detached as a result of a collision between a negative ion accelerated in the ap- plied electric field and a normal molecule, For gases which are not electronegative, such as nitrogen, electrons are available only as they are created Electronegative gases, such as $Fo, have a higher dielectric strength than non-electronegative gases such Nov/Dec. 1990-Volé. Nos iD Fig.2.Inthe “ABC model, the capacitances across the cavity and between the cavity and the electrodes are modeled as being in parallel withthe capacitance of the rest ‘ofthe test sample, This an be reduced othe ight hand representation, in which By ate reduced to an equivalent B. The problem with the model is that the ‘spactances have no “real”, i, calculable, values. AS a result, we can assign hypothetical valuesto A,B, and from which wecan compute PD magnitudes when C discharges (is shorted), but given a sample geometry with a defect, we cannot readily compute the values of A,B, and Cand cannot, therefore, compute a theorel ‘al PD magnitude from a known defect geometry. The means for making such a within the cavity goes above the breakdown field for the gas within the cavity, a discharge (PD) can take place, It will not necessarily take Place as soon as the voltage gocs above the minimum breakdown voltage for the reasons described above. The time one must wait for breakdown depends very strongly fon the voltage and on the cavity size, If one takes a 1 mm’ cavity filled with air at atmospheric pressure, ‘one would have to wait, on average, for over 5 minutes for the first electron, and unless the voltage is appreciably above the minimum breakdown voltage, this electron would almost certainly not occur ‘within the critical volumeand there- fore would not causea full PD pulse, Thusa small cavity is unlikely to be ‘rediction ae one of the major topics of this article. as Nz; however, they may break down more quickly ‘once their minimum breakdown field is exceeded as a result of a more ready supply of electrons as stored in ‘the negative ions within the gas ‘The ABC Model Cavity discharge in a solid dielectric is traditionally described in the context of the “ABC” model, as shown, in Figure 2b, which results from the reduction of capacitances B1 and By in Figure 2a to a single capacitance, B, in Figure 2b. The problem with this model is that we cannot readily calculate any of the capacitances in the model. For example, capacitance 'C" is typically a spherical cavity. What is the meaning, of the capacitance across a spherical cavity with no ‘metalic electrodes? Thus we must start by thinking about what happens during a discharge, and go from the physical phenomena to a model of those phenomena which facilitates useful predictions. ‘A Physically-Based Model of Cavity Discharge ‘We will start by considering a spherical cavity between the electrodes ofa solid dielectric, as shown in Figure I [Assuming that we apply an ac voltage fom initial conditions with no charge in or on the walls of the ‘cavity, wecan predict the electric field inthe cavity asa function of time, The electric field within a “regularly shaped” cavity will be nearly uniform (ie, equal at all, points within the cavity) and will vary in proportion to the voltage between the electrodes. Ifthe voltage be- tween the electrodes is raised tothe point that the field IEEE Electicol Insulation Magazine detected! during a I-minute factory PD test, as it will probably not go into discharge. ‘Now assuming thatthe cavity is sufficiently large or ‘other mensures are taken to put the cavity into dis ‘charge, let us consider the chain of events which leads toa measurable PD signal. [fan electron occurs within the critical volume of the cavity, the electron is ac- celerated inthe electric field, and produces, on average, anelectron gain during collisions with other molecules, so that the number of electrons grows exponentially. ‘This results in the development of a streamer, a some- what resistive channel across the cavity which develops in a period of nanoseconds. The conductivity of the streamer reduces the field across the cavity. Once the field drops below that necessary to support the streamer, the streamer "dies"; however, i leaves large ‘quantities of positive and negative charge. Thisdrifts to thecavity wallsin the small remaining electri field, and in doing so, tends to reduce further the electric field in the cavity, Thus at the end of the PD process the field in the cavity is greatly reduced; a first approximation would be to assume itis ze. ‘This change in the field within the cavity causes a change in the charge on the electrodes. If one assumes the field in the cavity goes to zero, the electric field configuration in the sample isthe same as ifthe cavity hhad been filled with a conductor. Filling the cavity with ‘a conductor would cause an increase in the capacitance between the electrodes, which would cause a drop in the voltage across the Sample electrodes for constant chargeon the electrodes (AV=Q/AC) ora flow of charge tonto the electrodes for constant voltage across them (8Q=ACV). The charge which flows onto the electrodes asa result of the change in the electric field Nov,/Dee. 1990-Vol6. Noo 13 configuration within the sample is the “apparent PD magnitude”, which is related in some way tothe sample geometry and the size, shape, and postion of the cavity ‘within the sample. The two equations above, for AV and AQ in terms of the equivalent change in sample capacitance, imply an. important difference between measuring cavity dis: charge-induced PD in terms of the voltage drop in- «duced on the sample at constant charge as opposed to the charge which flows onto the sample at constant voltage. We are concerned here withthe effect of chang- ing the total sample capacitance between the electrodes by changing the electrodes areas, without changing the dielectric constant of the material between the ‘electrodes or the distance between them, For such a change in the test sample, AQ depends on only AC, the ‘equivalent change in capacitance, and V, the sample voltage at which the discharge took place (more rigorously this should be the change in voltage from the last discharge). AQ does not depend on the sample clectrode area in any way. AV, on the other hand,

    You might also like