High Voltage

Engineering
EE4207
Lecture 08: Breakdown of liquid and Solid Insulations

Vidura Jayasooriya, Ph.D.

vidura@sjp.ac.lk
High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

- Breakdown in Liquids
- Breakdown of Commercial liquids
- Breakdown due to
gaseous inclusions
liquid globules
solid particles.
- Purification of a liquid for testing.
- Breakdown of Solid Insulating Materials.
- Breakdown of Composite Insulation
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Liquid Dielectrics
- Highly Purified Liquids
- High Dielectric strength ( > 1 MV/cm)
- Breakdown phenomena similar to that of gasses
- Liquids – Easily contaminated
- Solids,
- Other liquids in suspension,
- Dissolved gasses
- Effect of Impurities
- Relatively small for short duration pulses (10 μs)
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Effect of Impurities
- When a continuous voltage is applied
Solid impurities
- line up at right angles to equipotentials
- Distort the field
- Breakdown occurs at relatively low voltage
- Line up of particles is a fairly slow process
- Unlikely to affect the strength on voltages lasting for less than 1 ms
Gaseous Impurities
- Dissolved gasses may come out of solution, forming a bubble
- Lower dielectric than the liquid
- Ultimately causes breakdown
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Liquid Dielectrics
- High tendency to get contaminated
- Not usually used alone in apparatus continuously energized equipment > 100 kV/cm
- Used in conjunction with solids, at stresses > 1 MV/cm
- Solids – acts as barriers, prevent line up of solid impurities and localizing of bubbles
formed
- Main function – fill up the voids, impregnation, heat transfer, cooling, arc quenching
- Mixtures of Hydrocarbons, weakly polarized
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations
Properties of Liquid Dielectrics
- Choosing a liquid dielectric for a given application
- chemical stability
- space, cost,
- previous usage
- susceptibility to the environmental influences
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Properties of Liquid Dielectrics

- Capacitance per unit volume or its relative permittivity
- Resistivity
- Loss Tangent
- Dielectric Strength / BD Strength

Pure
9
Liquids - chemically pure and do not contain any other impurity even in traces of 1 in
10
simple pure liquids n-hexane (C6H14), n-heptane (C7H16) and other paraffin hydrocarbons.

Commercial Liquids - not chemically pure

consist of mixtures of complex organic molecules which cannot be easily specified or
reproduced in a series of experiments
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Breakdown of Commercial Liquid Dielectrics

- Breakdown Strength of Oil (Tests on Transformer Oil)

- Has small but definite dependence on electrode material
- Decreases with increase in electrode spacing
- independent of hydrostatic pressure for degassed oil but increases with
pressure, if the oil contains gases like nitrogen or oxygen in solution
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Breakdown of Commercial Liquid Dielectrics

- May not be subjected to proper purification process

- BD strength depend more on nature of impurities
- Classification of Impurities
- BD strength < BDliquid (Gas bubbles)
- BD of these will initiate the total BD of liquid
- Unstable in an electric field (Water globules)
- Form a low resistive bridge across the electrodes
- Total BD (0.01% water in Transformer oil à reduces the BD strength by 20%)
- Local enhancement of electric field (Conducting particles)
- Local BD à Total BD
High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Breakdown due to Gaseous Inclusions

- Gas or vapour bubbles

- dissolved gasses, temperature and pressure variations, or other
causes
Electric field Eb in gas bubble in a liquid of permittivity ε1 is given by
"#!
𝐸! = $#! %&
𝐸' ,
where E0 is field in liquid in absence of bubble
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Breakdown due to Liquid Globules

- A globule of another liquid in suspension
- Instability of globule in E field
Electric field Eg in liquid globule (ε2),
when a spherical globule of liquid of permittivity ε2 immersed in a liquid
dielectric of permittivity ε1, given by
3𝜀&
𝐸( = 𝐸'
2𝜀& + 𝜀$
where E0 is field in liquid in absence of globule
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Breakdown due to Liquid Globules

Electrostatic forces cause globule to elongate and take shape of a prolate spheroid (i.e. an
elongated spheroid).
As field increases, globule elongates, ratio γ of longer to shorter diameter of spheroid also
increases. For same field E, ratio γ is a function of ε2/ε1.
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

When ε2 >> ε1 (generally when ε2/ε1 > 20),

and field exceeds a critical value,
no stable shape exists,
globule keeps on elongating, eventually causing bridging of electrodes, and breakdown of gap.
When ε2/ε1 >> 20, critical field at which globule becomes unstable no longer depends on ratio, and
is given by Ecrit.
%
𝜎 &'
𝐸!"#$ = 1.542
𝑅𝜀%
where σ = surface tension of the globule (N/m)
ε1 = relative permittivity of the insulating liquid
R = initial radius of globule (m).
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Example
1. Calculate Ecrit for a droplet of water (R = 1 μm , ε2 = 90, σ = 0.043 N/m) in
an insulating oil (ε1 = 2)
2. Calculate Ecrit for a droplet of water (R = 0.05 μm , ε2 = 90, σ = 0.043 N/m)
in an insulating oil (ε1 = 2)

ε2 >> ε1

&-
𝜎 $
𝐸)*+, = 1.542
𝑅𝜀&
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Breakdown due to Solid Particles

If impurity is a spherical particle of permittivity ε2 and is present in liquid of permittivity ε1, force F will act on the
particle,
1 𝜀" − 𝜀#
𝐹= ! ∇𝐸 "
2𝑟 𝜀" + 2𝜀#
where E is the applied field
r is the radius of the particle
Generally, ε2 > ε1, force would move particle towards regions of stronger field
Particles will continue to move in this way and will line up in the direction of the field. A stable chain of particles produced, which at
a critical length may cause breakdown.
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Purification of a liquid for testing

1. Removal of dust
Small dust particles can become charged and cause local stresses which can initiate breakdown.
They can also coalesce to form conducting bridges between electrodes.
Careful filtration can remove dust particles greater in size than 1 μm.
Strength of liquid then increases and greater stability is achieved.
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Purification of a liquid for testing

2. Removal of dissolved gasses
- Dissolved gas in small but significant amounts.
-Nitrogen and Hydrogen, do not appear to upset the electrical properties to a
great extent
-Oxygen and Carbon dioxide can cause the strength to change significantly.
- Distillation and degassing.
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Purification of a liquid for testing

3. Removal of ionic impurities
- Ionic impurities in liquid (particularly residual water which easily dissociates)
à Abnormal conductivity and heating of the liquid.
- Water can be removed by drying agents, vacuum drying, and by freezing out in low
temperature distillation
For measurements on liquid dielectrics, where test cells are small, electrode preparation is much more critical
than it is for measurements on gases or solids.
Not only is surface smoothness important, but surface films, particularly oxides can have a marked influence
on strength
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Breakdown of Solid Insulation

A good dielectric
- Low dielectric loss
- High mechanical strength
- Should be free from gaseous inclusions, and moisture
- Resistant to thermal and chemical deterioration
When breakdown occurs à Solids get permanently damaged
Gases and liquids, partially recover
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Breakdown of Solid Insulation

Highly purified and free of imperfections,
- High breakdown strength (around 10 MV/cm)
- Highest BD strength: Intrinsic Strength, under carefully controlled
experimental conditions
Variation of BD strength with time, after voltage is applied
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Breakdown of Solid Insulation

Solids breakdown well below the intrinsic strength
- electro-mechanical breakdown
- breakdown due to internal discharges
- surface breakdown (tracking and erosion)
- thermal breakdown
- electro chemical breakdown
- chemical deterioration
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Electro-mechanical breakdown
When a solid dielectric is subjected to high electric field,
- Mechanical force exerted on the dielectric
- Electrostatic compressive forces can exceed the mechanical compressive strength
- Decreases dielectric thickness, increasing the effective stress

d d
o

E=0 E≠0
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Electro-mechanical breakdown
Compressive force
𝑃𝑐 = ½ 𝐷 𝐸 = ½ 𝜀𝑜 𝜀𝑟 𝑉2/𝑑2
From Hooke's Law for large strains
𝑃𝑐 = 𝑌 ln(𝑑𝑜/𝑑)
At equilibrium, equating forces gives
$
2𝑌 $ 𝑑.
𝑉 = 𝑑 ln
𝜀. 𝜀* 𝑑
V – applied voltage
Y – Young’s Modulus
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Electro-mechanical breakdown
By differentiating w.r.t. d,
System becomes unstable when,
ln(𝑑𝑜/𝑑) > ½ or 𝑑 < 0.6 𝑑𝑜
- When field is increased, thickness of material decreases
- When 𝑑 < 0.6 𝑑% , any further increase in field would cause mechanical
collapse of dielectric
- Apparent stress (V/do) at which collapse occurs is
𝑌 (.*
𝐸& = 0.6
𝜀% 𝜀'
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Breakdown due to internal discharges

- Voids or cavities in solid insulating material
- In the medium, at the surface or the boundary Voids
- Low dielectric strength
- Field inside the void may exceed the BD strength
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Breakdown due to internal discharges

- When voltage Vv across void exceeds critical voltage Vc, a discharge is initiated
and voltage collapses
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Breakdown due to internal discharges

In organic solid and liquid dielectrics
- Internal discharges produce gradual deterioration
- disintegration of solid dielectric under bombardment of electrons set free by the
discharges
- chemical action on dielectric of products of ionization of gas
- high temperatures in the region of the discharges
Voids can be removed by careful impregnation and this results in an increase in
discharge inception stress Ei
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Breakdown due to internal discharges

The final value of Ei then depends on electrical processes which lead to gas
formation.
- decomposition of moisture in paper
- local electrical breakdown of the oil
Stress at which gas is evolved from paper containing appreciable quantities of
moisture can be less than 10 V/μm, but increases continuously with
increasing dryness and can be higher than 100 V/μm for dry paper.
Due to the discharges, widespread carbonization occur
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Surface Breakdown
Surface Flashover
- Breakdown of medium in which solid is immersed
- Role of solid dielectric
- distort field so that electric strength of gas is exceed
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Surface Breakdown
Tracking
- Tracking is the formation of a permanent conducting path across a
surface of insulation
- The conduction (carbon path) results from degradation of insulation
itself leading to a bridge between the electrodes
- Occurs in organic insulating materials
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Surface Breakdown
Erosion
Surface discharges in organic insulating materials,
- if products of decomposition are volatile and there is no residual conducting
carbon on surface
- process is simply one of pitting
- it is preferable to use materials with erosion properties rather than tracking
properties
- tracking makes insulation immediately completely ineffective
- erosion only weakens the material but allows operation until replacement
can be made later
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Thermal Breakdown
- Heat is generated continuously in electrically stressed insulation by dielectric
losses
- If the heat generated exceeds the heat lost to the surroundings
- The temperature of the insulation increases.
- The power dissipated in the dielectric
Uniform direct stress
Power dissipated/volume = 𝜉2/𝜌 W/m3
where ξ = uniform direct stress, V/m
ρ = resistivity of insulation, Ωm
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Thermal Breakdown
Power dissipated 𝑃 = 𝑉 . 𝐼 cos 𝜑 = 𝑉 . 𝑉𝐶𝜔 tan 𝛿
where V = applied voltage, V
ω = supply frequency, Hz
C = dielectric capacitance, F
= 𝐴 𝜀𝑟 𝜀0 / 𝑑
δ = loss angle, rad
ε = dielectric constant
𝑃 = 𝑉2 (𝐴 𝜀𝑟𝜀0/𝑑) 𝜔 tan 𝛿,
where ξ = alternating stress, V/m
Re-arranging terms gives the result
𝑃 = (𝑉/𝑑)2 . 𝜀𝑟 𝜀0 . 2 𝜋 𝑓 . tan 𝛿 . 𝐴 . 𝑑
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Thermal Breakdown
Since A.d is volume, and V/d is uniform applied stress,
Power dissipated/volume
= 𝜉2 𝜀𝑟𝜀02𝜋𝑓tan 𝛿 W/m3
Simplest case is where
loss of heat by cooling is linearly related to temperature rise, and heat
generated (loss angle) is independent of temperature.
Heat lost = 𝑘 (𝜃 − 𝜃0), where
θ0 = ambient temperature
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Thermal Breakdown

Equilibrium is reached at temperature θ1 where heat generated is equal to heat lost

to surroundings
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Electro-Chemical Breakdown
The ions may arise from dissociation of impurities or from slight ionization of
the insulating material itself.
When these ions reach electrodes, reactions occur in accordance with
Faraday's law of electrolysis, but on a much smaller scale.
The insulation and the electrode metal may be attacked, gas may be evolved
or substance may be deposited on the electrodes.
High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Electro-Chemical Breakdown
Reactions are much slower than in normal electrolytic processes due to the
much smaller currents.
Typically a 1 μF paper capacitor operating at 1 kV at room temperature would
require 2 to 3 years to generate 1 cm3 hydrogen.
Also, contamination in polar insulating materials should be avoided with still
greater care because of the greater degree of dissociation of ionic substance
in solution
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Chemical Deterioration
Progressive chemical degradation of insulating materials can occur in the
absence of electric stress
Chemical Instability
Many insulating materials, especially organic materials, show chemical
instability.
Under normal operating conditions, this process is very slow, but the process
is strongly temperature dependent.
Logarithm of life t of paper insulation can be expressed as an inverse function
of absolute temperature θ.
log10 𝑡 = 𝐴/𝜃 + 𝐵
where A & B are constants
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Chemical Deterioration
In the presence of oxygen or moisture, the life of the insulation decreases much more
rapidly.
With about 0.1% moisture present, B decreases by as much as 0.8, so that t decreases by a
factor of about 6. This means that presence of about 0.1% moisture reduces the life of the
insulation by as much as 6 times
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Chemical Deterioration
Hydrolysis
When moisture or water vapour is present on surface of a solid dielectric, hydrolysis occurs
and materials lose their electrical and mechanical properties.
Materials such as paper, cotton tape, and other cellulose materials deteriorate very rapidly
due to hydrolysis.
Polyethylene film may lose its mechanical strength in a few days if kept at 100 % relative
humidity.
Oxidation
In the presence of air or oxygen, especially ozone, materials such as rubber and
polyethylene undergo oxidation giving rise to surface cracks, particularly if stretched and
exposed to light.
Polythene also oxidises in strong day light unless protected by an opaque filler.
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Chemical Deterioration

Other processes

Progressive chemical degradation of insulating materials can occur due to a variety of

processes:

- incompatibility of materials (ex: rubber ages more rapidly at elevated temperatures in the
presence of copper, and cellulose degrades much more rapidly in the presence of traces of
acidic substances)
- leaching (washing out of a soluble constituent) of chemically active substances (ex: glass
fabrics made from glasses of high sodium content lose their strength rapidly due to leaching
of sodium to the surface of the fibres and the subsequent chemical attack of the strong
alkali on the glass surface).
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Breakdown of Composite Insulation

Almost no complete electrical insulation consists of one insulating phase.
-Usually more than one insulating material will be involved, either in series,
parallel or both
-Simplest form of composite insulation system consists of 2 layers of same
material
-In this case advantage is taken of fact that two thin sheets have a higher
electric strength than a single sheet of same total thickness.
- In other cases, composite dielectrics occur either due to design
considerations (ex: paper with an impregnating liquid) or due to practical
difficulties of fabrication (ex: air in parallel with solid insulation)
 High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations

Breakdown of Composite Insulation

In certain cases, behavior of composite insulation could be predicted from behavior of components.

But in most cases, system as whole has to be considered.

Following considerations determine performance of system as a whole.

• stress distribution at different parts of insulation system is distorted due to component dielectric constants
and conductivities

• breakdown characteristics at the surface are affected by the insulation boundaries of various components

• internal or partial discharge products of one component invariably affect other components in the system

• chemical ageing products of one component also affect performance of other components in the system.
High Voltage Engineering
Breakdown of Liquid and Solid Insulations