High Voltage Engineering

Insulation: Gaseous
dielectric
 Introduction

• Dielectric material is a poor conductor of electricity.

• But it can be conducted by applying high electric field.

• It is an efficient supporter of electric field.

• Whenever we are applying electric field the position of ions get

changed and support for electricity conduction

• Examples of dielectric materials are mica, glass, ceramics et

Dielectric Strength
The dielectric strength of an insulating material is defined
as the maximum dielectric stress with the material can
withstand.

Factors affecting Dielectric strength

1. Pressure
2. Temperature
3. Humidity
4. Nature of applied voltage
5. Imperfection of material
Types of Dielectrics
• Gas or Vacuum Dielectrics
• Liquid Dielectrics
• Solid Dielectrics
• Composite Dielectrics

Gas or Vacuum Dielectrics

• It has high dielectric strength (10^7 V/cm)
• Breakdown occur in the gas or vacuum is due to collisional
ionization. (Ionization by collision)
• If the applied voltage is sufficiently large electrons are
multiplied in an exponential manner & breakdown will be
occurred.
• Examples- Sulphar Hexa Fluoride, CO etc
Liquid Dielectrics

• The liquid dielectric are used in HV equipment for dual purpose

of insulation & heat dissipation.
• Temporary failure can be quickly re-insulated by the liquid flow
to the affected area.
• Highly purified liquid is more suitable to serve as a dielectric
medium.
• Dielectric strength is up to 1 MV/cm
• Breakdown strength reduces due to impurities.
• Selection of liquid dielectric is based on dielectric strength,
viscosity, stability, flash point, gas constant etc
• Examples- Petroleum, transformer oil (Mineral oil) etc
• Applications Area where equipment is continuously operated
like Distribution Transformer.
Solid Dielectrics
• It has good mechanical strength & bonding capability.
• Dielectric strength 10MV/cm
• Examples- Inorganic materials (Ceramics, glass etc) ,
Organic materials(PVC, Polyethylene, natural rubber etc)
• Application- Electrical apparatus

Composite Dielectrics
• Combination of more than two kinds of insulators
• Chemically stable
• Long life span
• But dielectric constant of two material should match
• Two insulators never react together.
• Examples – Oil impregnated paper, Oil impregnated metalized plastic
film.
 Gases as Insulating Media
• The most common dielectrics are gases. Many electrical
apparatus use air as the insulating medium, while in a few
cases other gases such as N2, CO2, CCl2F2 (freon) and SF6
(hexafluoride) are used.

• Gases consist of neutral molecules, and are, therefore,

good insulators.

• Under certain conditions, a breakdown of the insulating

property occurs, and current can pass through the gas.

• Several phenomena are associated with the electric

discharge in gases; among them are spark, dark
(Townsend) discharge, glow, corona, and arc.
• The simplest and the most commonly found
dielectrics are gases.

• Most of the electrical apparatus use air as the insulating

medium, and in a few cases other gases such as Nitrogen
(N2), Carbon dioxide (CO2), Freon (CCl2F2) and
Sulphurhexafluoride (SF6) are also used.

Various phenomena occur in gaseous dielectrics when

a voltage is applied.
• When the applied voltage is low, small current flow
between the conducting electrodes and the insulation
keep its electrical properties.
• Whereas if applied voltage is large, the current flowing
through the insulation increases very sharply, and an
electrical breakdown occurs.

• A strongly conducting spark formed during breakdown

practically produces a short-circuit between the
electrodes.

• The maximum voltage applied to the insulation at the

moment of breakdown is called the breakdown voltage

• Two types of electrical discharge in gases: Non-

sustaining discharges, and self sustaining types
 collision processes: Ionization Processes

• At normal temperature and pressure, a gas acts as good

insulating materials.
• When high voltage applied between the two electrodes immersed
in gaseous medium, the gas becomes a conductor an electrical
breakdown occurs.

Ionization by collisions are two type:

a. Elastic collisions: An elastic collision is a collision in which
there is no net loss in kinetic energy in the system as a result of
the collision.
b. Inelastic collisions: A collision in which the total kinetic
energy of the colliding bodies or particles is not the same after
the collision as it was before (opposed to elastic collision)
The breakdown in a gas (spark breakdown) is the transition of
a non-sustaining discharges into a self-sustaining discharge.

The build up of high currents in a breakdown is due to the

ionization in which electrons and ions are created from neutral
atoms or molecules, and their migration to the anode and
cathode respectively leads to high currents.

Townsend theory and Streamer theory are the present two

types of theories which explain the mechanism of breakdown
under different conditions as pressure, temperature, electrode
field configuration, nature of electrode surfaces and
availability of initial conducting particles
 Ionization Process

• Townsend discharge is named after John Sealy

Edward Townsend, (7 June 1868 – 16 February 1957)
a mathematical physicist of Oxford University. He has
discovered the fundamental ionization mechanism by
his work between 1897 and 1901.

• This concept is demonstrated using a simple electrode

arrangement having two parallel plate electrodes
(representing uniform field geometry) separated by a
distance d and immersed in a gas at pressure p.

• A uniform electric field E is applied between two

electrodes.
 Townsend discharge
• A uniform electric field E is applied between two electrodes.

• Due to any external radiation (ultra violet illumination) free electrons are
liberated at the cathode.

• When an electron, e is placed in an E, it will be accelerated with a force eE

(coulomb force) towards the anode, and it gains an energy
Ultraviolet light
cathode Anode
_
+
I0

d R Current limiting
resistor
_ + _
A
VB I
 Townsend discharge

where x is the distance traveled by the electron from the

cathode, m is the mass and v is the velocity of the electron.

• This electron collides with the other gas molecules while

it is traveling towards the anode.

• The electron collides with the other gas molecules while

it is traveling towards the anode.
 Townsend discharge

• If the energy of the electron is sufficiently large (about 12.2 eV for N2

or 15.5 eV for O2), on collision it will cause a break-up of the atom or
molecule into positive ion and electron, so the new electrons and
positive ions are created.

• Thus created electrons form a group or an avalanche and reach the

anode.

• This is the electric current and if it is sufficiently large it results in the

formation of a conducting path between the electrodes resulting in the
breakdown of the gap.

• Townsend conducted experiments on the growth of these currents which led

to breakdown under DC voltage conditions, and he proposed a theory to
explain the phenomenon electron is sufficiently large (about 12.2 eV for N2 or
15.5 eV for O2),
 Townsend discharge

Assuming n0 electrons are emitted from the cathode and when

one electron collides with a neutral particle, a positive atom
and electron formed.
E = V/d
This is called an ionization collision. u = eE =eV/d more than one
electron emitted from cathode
to the anode

x nx
anxdx = dnx
x=0 x=d

Cathode anode
 Current Growth Equation in the Presence
of Secondary Processes
• When the initial set of electrons reaches the
anode, the single avalanche process is
completed.

• Since the amplification of electrons ead is

occurring in the field, the probability of
additional new electrons being liberated by
other mechanisms increases, and created
further avalanches and are called as
secondary electrons.
 Current Growth Equation in the Presence
of Secondary Processes
The other mechanisms resulting in secondary processes
are
i) The positive ions created in the gap due to
ionization shall drift towards cathode and may have
sufficient energy to cause liberation of electrons
from the cathode(emission) when they impinge on
it.(less efficient)
ii) The exited atoms or molecules in avalanches may
emit photons, and this will lead to the emission of
electrons due to photo-emission.
iii) the metastable particles (like mercury, and rare
gases) may diffuse back causing electron emission.
Current Growth Equation in the Presence
of Secondary Processes
Townsends currents for breakdown:
I oed I oed
Io = =
d
1 +  (1 − e ) 1 −  (ed − 1)
Townsends criterion for breakdown
d
1 −  (e − 1) = 0
d
e =  +1
Or, VB = f ( p.d )
VB
VB
Townsends breakdown in electronegative gases:
In the above analysis, electron attachment to neutral molecules was
not considered. Electron attachment removes free electrons and thus
gives gases very high dielectric strengths. The gases in which
electron attachment occurs are electro-negative gases.
An attachment coefficient can be defined, analogous with , as the
number of attachments per electron per unit drift in the direction of
the field. Under these conditions, the equation for the average current
growth in a uniform field can be shown to be as follows.

The corresponding criteria for spark breakdown is:

There are two mechanism of breakdown of gases:
1. Avalance breakdown
2. Streamer breakdown
Streamer breakdown:
This type of breakdown mainly arises due to the added effect of the
space-charge field of an avalanche and photo-electric ionization in the
gas volume.
The theory predicts the development of a spark discharge directly from
a single avalanche in which the space charge develop by the avalanche
itself is said to transform the avalanche into a plasma steamer. In the
Figure shown before, a single electron starting at the cathode by
ionization builds up an avalanche that crosses the gap. The electrons in
the avalanche move very fast compared with the positive ions. By the
time the electrons reach the anode the positive ions are in their original
positions and form a positive space charge at the anode. This enhances
the field, and the secondary avalanches are formed from a few
electrons produced due to the photo-ionization in the space charge
region. This occurs first near the anode where the space charge is
maximum and a further increase in the space charge. This process is
very fast and the positive space charge extends to the cathode very
rapidly resulting in the formation of a streamer. Comparatively narrow
luminous tracks occurring at breakdown at pressures are called
streamers. As soon as the streamer tip approaches to the cathode, a
cathode spot is formed and a stream of electrons rush
Factors affecting the breakdown voltage in Vacuum gap
Vacuum is ideally the best insulator, with breakdown strengths of the
order of 104 kV/c. The breakdown voltage of a high vacuum is the
voltage which when increased by a small amount will cause the
breakdown of the gap that was held at that voltage for an infinite time.
However, this definition is not always practicable as the breakdown is
affected by many factors:
1. Electrode Separation: For vacuum gaps less than about 1 mm,
the breakdown voltage is approximately proportional to the
length, all other parameters remaining constant. This gives a
constant breakdown strength. For these small gaps the breakdown
stress is relatively high, being of the order of 1 MV/cm.
For gaps greater than about 1 mm, the breakdown voltage does
not increase at an equal rate and the apparent breakdown stress for
longer gaps is much reduced, being about 10 kV/cm at a spacing of 10
cm.
02. Electrode Effect: Conditioning
The breakdown voltage of a gap increases on successive flashovers,
until a constant value is reached. The electrodes are then said to be
conditioned. This increase in voltage is ascribed to the burning off by
sparking of microscopic irregularities or impurities which may exist
on the electrodes.
03. Material and Surface Finish: The electrode surfaces form
the physical boundaries between which the breakdown finally takes
place. Thus it is not surprising to find that the breakdown strength of
a given size of gap is strongly dependant onthe material of the
electrodes. In general, the smoother the surface finish, the greater the
breakdown voltage.
04. Surface contamination: Presence of contamination in the test
cell reduces the breakdown voltage sometimes by as much as 50% of
the clean electrode value.

05. Area and configuration of electrodes: Increasing the area of

the electrodes makes it more difficult to maintain a given breakdown
voltage. Thus breakdown voltage decreases slightly with increase in
surface area.

06. Temperature: The variation of the breakdown voltage with

temperature is very small, and for nickel and iron electrodes, the
strength remains unchanged for temperatures as high as 5000C.
 Corona discharge
When a gradually increasing voltage is applied across two conductors,
initially nothing will be seen or heard. As the voltage is increased, the air
surrounding the conductors get ionised, and at a certain voltage a hissing
noise is heard caused by the formation of corona. This voltage is known as
the disruptive critical voltage (dcv). A further increase in the voltage would
cause a visible violet glow around the conductors. This voltage is the visual
corona inception voltage.
Mechanism of corona discharge:
The stress surrounding the conductor is a maximum at the conductor surface
itself, and decreases rapidlyas the distance from the conductor increases. Thus
when the stress has been raised to critical value immediately surrounding the
conductor, ionisation would commence only in this region and the air in this
region would become conducting. The effect is to increase the effective
conductor diameter while the voltage remains constant. This results in two
effects.
01. Firstly, an increase in the effective sharpness of the
conductor would reduce the stress outside this region, and
02. secondly, this would cause a reduction of the effective
spacing between the conductors leading to an increase in stress.
Depending on which effect is stronger, the stress at increasing
distance can either increase or decrease. If the stress is made to
increase, further ionisation would occur and flashover is inevitable.

Under ordinary conditions, the breakdown strength of air can be taken

as 30 kV/cm. Corona will of course be affected by the physical state
of the atmosphere. In stormy weather, the number of ions present is
generally much more than normal, and corona will then be formed at
a much lower voltage than in fair weather. This reduced voltage is
generally about 80% of the fair weather voltage.
CRITICAL DISRUPTIVE VOLTAGE: The minimum voltage at
which the ionization takes place is called the critical disruptive
voltage.
For ideal condition:

But in practical :

Where where δ is the air density factor and m0 is the irregularity

factor and
VISUAL CRITICAL VOLTAGE: The minimum voltage
at which the corona becomes visible is called the
visual critical voltage.
Power loss due to corona: There is a power loss due to the
formation of corona that affects the transmission efficiency of the
lines. Its effect on regulation, however, is less. This power loss is
affected by the atmospheric and line conditions too. Power loss due
to corona under fair weather condition is given by
 Methods for reducing corona:
The corona loss can be reduced by using:
Conductors with large diameters: The voltage at which the
corona occurs can be increased by increasing the size of the conductor
and hence, the corona loss can be reduced.
Hollow conductors: These are used to increase the effective
diameter of the conductor without using any additional material.
Since, corona loss is inversely proportional to the diameter of the
conductor, corona loss decreases with an increase in the diameter.
Bundled conductors: These are made up of two or more sub-
conductors and is used as a singlephase conductor. When using two or
more sub-conductors as
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF CORONA
Advantages
1. It acts as a safety valve by reducing the magnitude of high-voltage
steep-fronted waves that may becaused by lightning or power
switching.

2. With the formation of corona, the air surrounding the conductor

becomes conductive and there is a virtual increase in the effective
diameter of the conductor. Due to increased diameter, the
maximum voltage gradient between the conductors is reduced.
 Disadvantages
1. Transmission efficiency is affected due to corona loss.
Even under fair weather conditions some lossis
encountered.
2. Inductive interference to neighboring communication lines
due to the non-sinusoidal voltage drop that occurs in the
line.
3. With the appearance of the corona glow, the charging
current increases because the corona introduces harmonics.
4. Due to the formation of the corona, ozone gas is generated
which chemically react with the conductor and causes
corrosion.