IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Vol. 5No.

3, June 1998 351

Streamer Propagation and Breakdown under

ac Voltage in very Large Oil Gaps
0. Lesaint, A. Saker, P. Gournay, R. Tobazeon
LEMD, CNRS/UJF, Grenoble, France

J. Aubin
IREQ, Varennes, Quebec, Canada

M. Mailhot
Jeumont-Schneider Transformateurs, groupe Schneider, Lyon, France

ABSTRACT
This paper presents a study of prebreakdown and breakdown phenomena under ac voltage in
mineral oil in very large gaps (<BO cm). The investigations presented concern the measure-
ment of breakdown voltages together with the recording of streamers in rod-plane and sphere-
plane electrode systems, at different gap sizes. A breakdown mode specific to ac voltage is
found, in which 'bursts' composed of streamers initiated at each half cycle appear. This mode
leads to the lowest breakdown fields recorded under ac. Values of the average stress required
for burst or direct breakdown modes are deduced from the experiments. Positive streamers are
responsiblefor breakdown in large gaps: their propagation is easy and does not depend on the
gap geometry and on the presence of particles. On the other hand, the propagation of negative
streamers is quenched when not very divergent fields are used.

1 INTRODUCTION
T HE risk of breakdown in long gaps in mineral oil constitutes a crit-
ical part in the insulation of HV apparatus such as transformers.
In mineral oil, it has been known for a long time that the average break-
down stress & = V b / d decreases with gap distance d. With divergent
fields, values < 10 kV/cm are reported in very large gaps [l]. Thus,
the nominal ac field used in practice for the design of HV insulation de-
creases with gap distance [2].
In order to get a better knowledge of this phenomenon, experiments
were carried out during the last decade by studying streamers with ex-
perimental parameters more relevant for real applications than those
used in previous work. Streamer propagation was studied with ac volt-
age and gap lengths 6 2 5 cm [3-51. At large gaps, highly divergent
fields were mainly used (point-plane gaps). Some experiments with ac
voltage in a 'semi-uniform' geometry (a uniform field with a triggering
needle electrode [4]) were also reported in smaller gaps (d < 5 cm).
Experiments were also done with impulse voltage with cl ,< 35 cm,
which offered the possibility to study streamer propagation in over-
volted point-plane gaps. With such conditions, different propagation
modes in mineral oil were observed, with propagation velocities rang-
ing from 2 to > 100 km/s [6,7].
In this paper, a study of streamers and breakdown is presented, deal-
ing with the influence of several parameters actually present in HV sys-
tems, i.e. ac voltage, large gaps (d 6 80 cm), moderately divergent fields
(sphere-planegaps), presence of particles (cellulose, carbon, copper).
Sphere-plane gaps were used to produce field distributions compa-
rable to those present in HV transformers around electrostatic shields
located at the bottom end of bushings. Two typical basic configura-
tions were defined. The first has a gap distance d = 30 cm, voltage
V = 325 kV, sphere diameter 14 cm, and field enhancement factor
(maximum/average field) 3.7. The second d = 60 cm, V = 625 kV,
sphere diameter 28 cm, field enhancement factor 3.3.
In order to study streamer propagation and breakdown with condi-
tions close to those listed above, a thin tungsten wire attached to the
sphere was placed to initiate streamers at the desired voltage level.
For easier comparison with the instantaneous streamer inception
voltage V,,the voltage V is expressed as the peak value of the applied
voltage throughout the paper.
2 EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES
Two test cells were built to study streamers under ac voltage. The
first one was designed for medium-scale experiments at LEMD (vol-
ume 150 1, voltage V < 400 kV, distances d 6 35 cm, plane size 5 0 ~
50 cm2), and the other for full-scale measurements at IREQ (volume
<
11 m3, d 80 cm, V 6 1200 kV, plane diameter 1.5m). Both cells con-
sisted of an insulating tank equipped with a HV bushing and containing

1070-9878/98/ $3.00 0 1998 IEEE

352 Lesaint et al.: Streamer Propagation and Breakdown under ac

the electrode system (Figure 1). The lower electrode was a grounded
plane, and different types of HV electrodes were used: either spheres
described above, or stainless steel rods with a hemispherical end (rod
radii T = 1,2, 4,10 or 20 mm). Rod electrodes were supported by
an electrode holder containing a current or charge probe, linked to an
oscilloscope via a fiber optical link, as described in [5,6]. A triggering
tungsten wire (length 1, diameter a = 0.1,0.5 or 1mm) was fixed on
sphere electrodes as illustrated in Figure 1.
a four-channel digitizing oscilloscope (TektronixTDS 544 A, 250 Msam-
ples/s, 50 K memory/channel).
Some experiments were also made with 0.4/1400ps impulses with
the experimental setup described in [6]. Throughout the work, different
oil conditions were used. The precise particle content is not indicated in
the text since it was not known in all cases. However, it is observed that
particles have no significant influence on streamer propagation, which
constitutes the main concern of this paper.
3 STREAMER INCEPTION
UNDER AC VOLTAGE
Under ac voltage, streamer inception depends on many parameters:
electrode shape, particles, water, etc. In order to study streamer propa-
gation at different voltage levels, different electrode shapes have been
used in this work, either the rod radius was changed, or the size of
the triggering wire was adjusted in the case of sphere-plane geome-
try Nevertheless, even with fixed conditions the random character of
streamer initiation under ac was always observed. Inception times are
randomly distributed: the appearance of streamers is not regular but
takes the form of bursts alternating with periods of inactivity. Instanta-
neous streamer inception voltages V ,are also distributed over a voltage
range below the crest applied voltage V
f (streamersimiiiute)

r = 2.51run
Figure 1, Schematicdrawing of test cells (LEMDcell h = 0.7 m, IREQ
cell h = 3.8 m),
4mm
Stirring propellers were placed at the bottom of cells to prevent the
sedimentation of particles and get an homogeneous and stable particle
content. This was efficient for low density particles such as cellulose
and carbon, but not for copper particles. After NI h ,copper particles
accumulated at the bottom of the cell, in regions where the oil motion
was not strong enough to expel them. In order to monitor the oil con-
dition (particle and water content), a sampling tube, opening -10 cm
above the grounded plane, was installed. The oil was periodically fil-
tered, dried and degassed by circulating it through a treatment unit. 200 250 300
V (kV)
Two ac voltage sources with a maximum amplitude V = 420 kV
(LEMD)and V = 1400 kV (IREQ) were used. In the second case, a Figure 2. Streamer inception frequency f us. applied voltage V for var-
30 kR resistance was placed in series with the cell to limit the energy ious rod radii (d = 30 cm, fixed oil condition).
dissipated during breakdown. A device in the transformer primary pro- Figure 2 shows an example of average streamer inception frequency
vided a means of interrupting the voltage with an approximately one- f recorded in a rod-plane gap with a fixed oil condition and different
cycle delay. This system, which can be triggered by the appearance of rod radii T . These measurements were obtained by counting the num-
either a breakdown or a streamer, is designed to avoid the occurrence of ber of cumulative negative and positive streamers generated by a 10 min
a large number of streamers or breakdowns, which would cause rapid voltage application. The maximum applied voltage was limited either
degradation of the oil. when a large number of streamers was generated (> 103/min), or by
Streamer propagation was observed with a streak camera (Thomson breakdown. In all experiments, the frequency f increased quasi expo-
TSN 506) coupled to a digital video frame memory. The streamer light nentially with voltage V. f decreased when the rod radius T and/or
emission was recorded with a photomultiplier (PMT). The PMT was con- the distance d was increased. As shown in Figure 3, measurements per-
nected either to a 50R resistor to record streamer light at high band- formed with a fixed radius T at different distances group together to
width, or to a 105R resistor to integrate the light signal with a time form a unique plot f(E,). E, is the electric field at the rod apex cal-
constant -3 ms. In the latter case, each pulse delivered by the PMT cor- culated with
responded to one propagating streamer. This signal was used to count
I 2V
E, =
streamers with a digital counter. All electrical signals were recorded by r log (F)
IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Vol. 5 No. 3, June 1998 353

1 o4
f (streamers/ininute) 4 BREAKDOWN
3 d=lOcm r=2.Smm MEASUREMENTS
+ d=20cin
4.1 DIRECT AND BURST
BREAKDOWN MECHANISMS
Figure 5 presents typical luminous traces of events detected by the
3 ..J / photomultiplier prior to breakdown (upper traces), together with the
applied voltage (lower traces). In these experiments, the photomulti-
plier was used with a low bandwidth and each impulse on traces corre-
sponds to the propagation of one streamer.

0 0. I 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5

E (MV'cm)
Figure 3. Streamer inception frequency f us. electric field E, at the rod
extremity (fixedoil condition).
A hyperboloidal approximation without space charge [8]).However,
different plots f ( E , ) are obtained with the various radii used. For a
fixed inception frequency, E, decreases when r is increased. This effect, .. .. .. ..
described in more detail in [9] can be compared with the 'volume effect' .. .. .. ..
.........................
. . . .
reported for breakdown, since the liquid volume subjected to high stress
increases with the rod radius. With fixed conditions the addition of par-
ticles led to a more or less pronounced increase of f [9,10].

lo ^
(streamersimiiiute)
1000
. ~ . ~ v . . v . . v . . v . v ~ . ~ . . .~....;
. ,. ~ . . ~ ~
.............. . . . . . . . . .... . . ...
. .
.. .. . . . . . ,...,
.. .. - ... ...
1c1 .........................
.. .. .. .. .. . . . ..
1=2.5mrn
1
J
* ( A
0.1-3
200 250 300 350 400 Figure 5. Examples of events leading to breakdown in sphere-plane ge-
V (kV) ometry (20 ms/div., 28 cm sphere, d = 60 cm, a = 0.5 mm). (a)
Figure 4. Influence of the triggering wire length 1 on the rate of streamer long burst (1 = 10 mm, V = 552 kV); (b) short burst, ( I = 5 mm,
occurrence f (14 cm sphere-plane geometry, d = 30 cm, a = 0.1 mm, V = 565 kV); (c) direct breakdown, ( I = 0 mm,V = 890 kV).
fixed oil condition). Figure 5(a) corresponds to a comparatively low breakdown volt-
In sphere-plane geometry, the frequency f increases when the wire age (552 kV) measured when many streamers are generated with 1 =
length 1 is increased and/or its diameter a decreased (Figure 4). This is 10mm (average inception frequency at the breakdown voltage f b = 10
logical since the local field enhancement produced by the wire increases streamers/min). Breakdown is preceded by a 'burst' constituted with
with I and decreases with a [ll]. streamers generated at each half-cycle. During the experiment this last
The sphere-plane electrode configuration with a selected triggering burst was preceded by many others that did not lead to breakdown. Fig-
wire size offers a means of controlling easily the rate of occurrence of ure 5(b), is recorded at a slightly higher breakdown voltage (565 kV)
streamers under ac voltage, and also the breakdown voltage that in- with a shorter wire ( I = 5 mm,f b < 1 streamer/min). The number
creases substantially with shorter wire lengths due to the reduced dis- of streamers in the burst is lower (only one streamer is detected before
charge occurrence. Using this technique, two main breakdown modes breakdown).
were observed according to the breakdown voltage level. Figure 5(c), corresponds to a muchhigher breakdownvoltage (890 kV)
354 Lesaint et al.: Streamer Propagation and Breakdown under ac

obtained with no triggering wire. In this case, a single streamer leads in Figure 5. Breakdown voltages were measured by raising the applied
to breakdown ('direct' breakdown). voltage in 10 kV steps (2 or 10 min step duration was used). As the
Breakdown has thus gradually changed from burst to direct type, voltage was increased, streamers were counted and f ( V )plots such as
while the wire length I was decreased. In the direct type, breakdown Figures 2 and 4 were obtained. Measurements were done with sphere-
always resulted from the propagation of a positive streamer. This is ex- plane gaps at different wire lengths, and in rod-plane gaps with differ-
plained by the fact that positive streamers propagate much further than ent particle contents.
negative streamers in this situation (see Section 5). Voltage (kV)
During bursts, streamers of opposite polarity are systematically gen-
erated at each half-cycle close to the maximum voltage. The maximum
duration of a burst is usually < 10cyclesbefore breakdown, and this, as
well as the number of streamers in the burst, decreases as direct break- 400
down conditions are approached. The large majority of bursts begin
with a positive streamer and end with either positive or negative stream-
ers.
When the voltage is raised, single small negative streamers are usu-
ally first initiated since their inception field is slightly lower [3,9]. When
Breakdown voltage V,
bursts triggered by positive streamers appear at higher voltage, almost Voltage VI (1 streamedminute)
the same number of positive and negative streamers are initiated on av- 1so
erage since both types alternatively propagate within bursts.
100
These two breakdown types under ac voltage were observed in the 0 5 10 15 20 25
rod-plane and sphere-plane configurations. An important point is that Wire length I (mm)
a permanent defect such as a fixed triggering wire, is not necessary to Figure 6. Breakdown voltage v b and vs. triggering wire length 1
initiate a streamer burst. Bursts also have been observed with rods and (14 cm sphere-plane, d = 30 cm, a 1mm,10 kV/2 min. steps, fixed
spheres without triggering wire, when streamer initiation and break- oil condition).
down occurred at low average fields in the presence of numerous parti-
An example is presented in Figure 6. This Figure also contains the
cles in the oil. Thus, experiments conducted with an attached triggering
voltage VI deduced from f ( V )plots, and corresponding to an arbitrary
wire (Figures 4 and 5) are considered to constitute a reasonable model
inception frequency f = 1streamer/min. When I is increased, VI and
of a particle-initiated burst.
the measured breakdown voltage v b decrease. Since f varies exponen-
4.2 MECHANISMS INVOLVED IN tially with voltage (Figure 4), the inception frequency at the breakdown
BURSTS voltage f b also increases exponentially with ( v b - VI), i.e. when the
wire length I is increased. On the other hand, at the left extremity of
The rapid succession of streamers at each half-cycle in a burst allows Figure 6, VItends to equal vb. With such conditions breakdown occurs
them to propagate to breakdown, even though the average field in the as soon as a streamer is initiated, and the inception frequency f can-
gap is low. The reason for this is that a preferential path gradually builds not any more be measured. Thus the breakdown mechanism gradually
up during each streamer, facilitating the propagation of the next one. changes from burst to direct type when the wire length I is decreased.
Two mechanisms may contribute to this effect.
In rod-plane geometry a similar tendency is observed (Figure 7) when
First, space charges deposited in the oil by a streamer may persist the oil condition is changed by increasing the concentration of particles
until the next half-cycle. After voltage reversal, this homocharge then
and water, leading to a decrease of the voltage VI.
becomes a heterocharge which enhances the field around the electrode,
promoting the appearance of a streamer. This mechanism may explain In Figure 8, the average breakdown stress E b = V b / d measured in
the systematic succession of streamers of opposite polarity which build a variety of conditions is plotted vs. f b . Measurements in rod-plane ge-
up on each other during bursts. Sometimes, streamers within bursts are ometry were obtained with different oil conditions as in Figure 7. Mea-
initiated although the applied voltage is close to zero. This is the case surements in sphere-plane were obtained with different wire length I in
for the 4th small streamer in the example of Figure 5(a). This confirms filtered oil, and also (at d = 30 cm) in oil containing a large quantity
the presence of a high space charge density in the liquid. of cellulose particles.
Second, the gas generated during the propagation of a streamer may For a fixed gap distance there is a clear correlation between the aver-
linger until the next half-cycle and leave a preferential track in which age breakdown stress Eb and the inception frequency of streamers f b .
the next streamer will propagate. This means that the probability for a streamer burst to lead to break-
down increases with the number of streamers initiated. Several conclu-
4.3 BREAKDOWN MEASUREMENTS sions can be obtained from this Figure.
The conditions required for the appearance of either the burst or di- Breakdown stress for d = 60 cm are -25% lower than those mea-
rect mechanism can be deduced from breakdown measurements made sured for d = 30 cm. This reflects the relative degradation of the oil
together with the detection of streamers by the photomultiplier such as performance as the gap distance increases. Measurements performed at
IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation .
500 , Voltage (kV)
200 -
- Voltage V, (lstreamer/minute)
100 - a
0 I I 1 1 1 1 1 1 ~ I I 1 1 1 1 1 1 ~ I I
sphcrc (14cm, d=30cm, filtcrcd oil)
sphere (14cm, d=30cm, oil + cellulose)
sphere ( B c m , d=60cm, filtered oil)
comparable distances (30 and 35 cm) in a variety of conditions (sphere
or rod electrodes, filtered or polluted oil) group in a unique plot. This
shows that once streamers have been generated they propagate in bursts
in exactly the same way, whatever the electrode geometry and oil con-
dition.
This result is interesting since it supports the use of the average elec-
tric stress E = V / d as a simple and valuable parameter to cham-
terize streamer -propagation
~.
up to breakdown in large gaps. That posi-
tive streamer propagation does not depend on electrode geometry and
oil pollution will be confirmed in Section 5.1. Thus, when a quite large
number of streamers are initiated, the streamer inception frequency f
mainly determines the breakdown voltage.
An estimate of direct breakdown conditions under ac voltage may
be obtained from Figure 8 by extrapolating the curves to frequencies for
which a single streamer is generated when the voltage is applied (i.e. 0.1
discharge/min. for 10 min. steps). The extrapolation yields the follow-
ing values: 12.5kV/cm at d = 30 cm and 10.3kV/cm at d = 60 cm.
Vol. 5 No. 3, June 1998 355
It is also possible to deduce minimum values of breakdown fields
measured with a very high discharge frequency With f arbitrarily set
at 1000 streamers/min, the values are 10.5 kV/cm at d = 30 cm;
7.5 kV/cm at d = 60 cm, and 7.2 kV/cm at d = 80 cm.
These values show the degradation of breakdown stress due to the
existence of the streamer burst mechanism under ac voltage. At d =
30 cm, this discharge mode led to a 15%reduction in the breakdown
An stress compared to the value for direct breakdown. The reduction dou-
bled when d = 60 cm. This indicates that the influence of the burst
breakdown mechanism increases significantly with distance.
These values for direct and minimum breakdown stress were found
in very good agreement with more than 200 breakdown measurements
I 1 1 1 1 1 performed under a variety of conditions (rod or sphere-plane configu-
rations, addition of various pollutants).
5 STREAMER PROPAGATION
The streamer propagation was characterized by visualization (streak
camera), recording of currents and emitted light. The camera and os-
cilloscope were triggered by the signal of the photomultiplier. Most ex-
periments were done by recording the first initiated streamer following
voltage application, and then interrupting the voltage in the next cy-
cle. Some measurements were also done on streamers within bursts, i.e.
preceded by others initiated at each half cycle. Since streamers within
bursts are quite different, we will make here a distinction between them
and 'single' streamers (i.e. those not immediately preceded by others).
1. : . . . : ... .f., .I . . A
. . . .
Figure 9,Streakimage of apositivestreamer (2:20ps/cm, y: 8 cm/cm),
and corresponding signals (20 psldiv., V , = 380 kV, rod-plane geometry,
T = 1cm, d = 60 cm).
5.1 SINGLE POSITIVE STREAMERS
-
A typical streak photograph of a single positive streamer in rod-plane
geometry is presented in Figure 9. This streamer is identical to the '2nd
mode' streamer described in more detail under impulse voltage in [6].
<
In all experiments with distances of d 80 cm and voltage V 900 kV, <
only this streamer mode was observed. None of the faster 3rd and 4th
modes observed with overvoltages [6,7] were observed here. All fea-
tures previously described up to the breakdown voltage with impulses
~

356 Lesaint et al.: Streamer Propagation and Breakdown under ac

were also found here, in particular the constant propagation velocity, in oil heavily polluted by cellulose particles (Figure 11).To do this exper-
nearly independent of voltage and close to 2 km/s [6]. Also, in some iment, a large amount of cellulose fibers was added to the oil (particle
rare experiments, single positive streamers were seen to propagate up content > 3x104particles/100 ml in the 5 to 50 pm size range, water at
to the plane without inducing breakdown (Figure 10). In this case, as l4ppm). Similar results were obtained with large concentrations of car-
described in [6], a partial re-illumination occurs within the streamer as bon black powder (the oil was black), and copper particles (8 p m in size,
it touches the plane electrode. At this moment, there is no more visible content > 5x105particles/100 ml). This shows that the propagation
continuity between the luminous streamer and the rod electrode. In ad- of single 2nd mode streamers is not influenced by particles.
dition, some parameters of practical interest were investigated here: the
influence of particles and electrode geometry. 35 L

30 - +*.+ 4 t
I. + Filtered oil
25 i Oil + cellulose
. + +*

20

15

10

200 250 300 400

350 Vi (1CV)

Figure IO. Positive streamer propagating to the plane without causmg Figure 12. Positive streamer stopping length 1, us. instantaneous incep-
breakdown (z. 31 ps/cm, y: 8 cm/cm, rod-plane geometry, I/, = 340 kV, tion voltage V, in a sphere-plane geometry (d = 30 cm, 5 < 1 < 10 mm,
T = 4mm,d = 35cm) a = 0.1 mm)

Stopping length Is (cm)

100

80
30
25 re+

40

20

0 100 200 300 400 500
Iiiception voltage ?Ti jkV)
Figure 11. Positive streamer stopping length 1, us. instantaneous incep-
tion voltage Vi in a rod-planegeometry (d = 35 cm, T = 1,2 and 4 mm).
The influence of particles on streamer propagation was studied by
making comparative measurements of streamer stopping length I , V S .
inception voltage V , in clean oil, and by adding large amounts of cop-
per, cellulose and carbon particles. An example of measurements in the
case of cellulose is presented on Figure 11. To measure I, over a wide
voltage range, different rod radii were used to initiate streamers at dif-
ferent voltage levels.
In both cases, the plots I s ( & ) get an overall shape identical to that
described under impulse voltage [6]. In addition, no significant differ-
ence was found between measurements performed either in clean oil, or
0
0 100 200 300 Voltage
400 500
(kV)
Figure 13. Comparison of breakdown probability in point-plane
(0.1 mm tip radius) and sphere-plane geometry (trig. wire 1 = 10 mm,
a = 0.1 mm) (0.4/1400ps impulses).
The influence of the gap geometry was studied by comparing mea-
surements performed with rod or sphere-plane geometry. In sphere-
plane, streak photographs were very similar to those observed in rod-
plane (Figure 9). However, the shape of I,(V,) plots is somewhat dif-
ferent as compared to rod or point-plane gaps (Figure 12). On average
I , increases with inception voltage V,,but the scatter is still larger than
in divergent fields. At V, = 320 kV in Figure 12, stopping lengths are
evenly distributed over the full gap ( 2 to 30 cm).
However, the influence of the geometry on the breakdown voltage
IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation
: :
is low. A comparative study of the breakdown probability with posi-
tive 0.4/1400 ps impulses with the same geometry as in Figure 12 and
in point-plane geometry was done (Figure 13). In sphere-plane geom-
etry, a triggering wire was chosen in such a way that a streamer is ini-
tiated at each shot, even at the lowest voltage investigated. Thus in all
cases the measured breakdown probability represents the probability
that a streamer, once initiated, propagates up the plane electrode. Break-
down probability was determined by counting the number of break-
down events produced during series of 25 shots applied at a fixed volt-
age level.
As can be seen on Figure 13, at d = 10 cm, breakdown probabili-
ties are identical in both geometries. At d = 30 cm, only a small dif-
ference (-5%) is recorded. This shows that in large gaps close to the
breakdown voltage, streamer propagation is identical in very divergent
fields (point-plane) and in a moderately divergent field (field enhance-
ment factor 3.7 at d = 30 cm). A good agreement is found between the
50% average breakdown stress at d = 30 cm measured with impulses
with the sphere (13 kV/cm), and direct breakdown conditions deduced
from ac measurements on Figure 8 (12.5 kV/cm).
5.2 SINGLE NEGATIVE
STREAMERS
As noted in Section 3, positive and negative streamers were detected
in most experiments. However, negative streamers were observed to
behave in a very different way compared to positive ones.
.. . . . . . . . ,
I .
. . . . :.. . ;
i . . . : j ? : : . j : . > . I . : : (
Figure 14. Streak photograph of a negative streamer (x:13 ps/cm, y:
7 cm/cm) and light intensity (20 Psldiv.) in rod-plane geometry (d =
35 cm,T = 4 mm, V = 315 kV).
In rod-plane geometry, negative streamers were observed to propa-
gate as well as positive, but with comparatively shorter stoppinglengths
for a fixed voltage. Figure 14 shows a streak photograph of a negative
streamer. This image is very similar to those observed with impulses
up to the breakdown voltage [7,12]. Most streamer features are com-
parable to those observed in positive polarity, excepted for the intensity
Vol. 5 No. 3, June 1998 357
Stopping length Is (cm)
25
30
..
20
15
10
5
0
0
Figure 15. Negative streamer stopping length 1, vs. instantaneous in-
ception voltage V , in a rod-plane geometry (d = 35 cm, r = 1 , 2 and
4 mm).
of the light emitted at the streamer head which is much more intense in
negative polarity. Their propagation velocity is also comparable and in-
creases slightly with voltage from 1to 2 km/s between 100and 400 kV at
d = 35 cm. As observed with impulses, the stopping length increases
on average with inception voltage V,, as can be seen on Figure 15.
These experiments were done with the same conditions as in Fig-
ure 11. The comparison of both Figures shows that for a fixed incep-
tion voltage, negative streamers propagate over a shorter length than
positives ones. At V , = 300 kV breakdown may occur with positive
streamers, whereas in the same conditions the maximum length of neg-
ative streamers did not exceed 15 cm. In fact, all breakdowns due to
single streamers in these experiments occurred due to positive stream-
ers.
Also, as observed for positive streamers in Figure 11, no significant
influence of particles (carbon, cellulose and copper) was found for neg-
ative streamers. In contrast, a considerable effect of the electrode ge-
ometry on negative streamer propagation was observed. In the con-
ditions of Figure 12 (sphere-plane geometry with a triggering wire), a
large number of negative streamers was observed (> 300). However,
no one of them exceeded -3 cm in length, whereas in rod-plane geom-
etry stopping lengths of <20 cm were recorded at comparable distance
and voltage (Figure 15). It is remarkable to note that positive stream-
ers are not affected by the electrode geometry (Figures 11/12, and 13),
whereas the propagation of negatives is strongly quenched when chang-
.... ing from divergent fields (point or rod to plane) to more uniform (sphere
I...
i
to plane). This effect further supports the conclusion that direct break-
down in large gaps is determined by positive streamers.
5.3 POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE
STREAMERS WITHIN BURSTS
As noted in Section 4.2, during a burst a preferential path is gradually
built up by each streamer that facilitates the propagation of the next one.
Thus streamer propagation occurs in a medium strongly modified by
the preceding discharges (space charges and bubbles). A consequence is
that negative streamers are seen to propagate within bursts in conditions
358 Lesaint et al.: Streamer Propagation and Breakdown under ac

where they cannot propagate as single streamers Although a systematic either direct or by streamer burst. This second mode, which is specific
study of streamers within bursts was not carried out, some indications to ac voltage, has not been described previously.
can be obtained from luminous signatures of streamers within bursts. In the case of direct breakdown, the propagation of single positive
I I i-t-i , t streamers is comparable to that described at lower distances, and is not

i
I-, I i i i I- I I I I 1 I

20ps significantly affected by the presence of particles or by the electrode ge-

- ometry. This latter point can be explained by considering that a positive
streamer behaves as a rather conductive extension of the electrode [6].
Indeed, the field ahead of a long conductive streamer does not depend
significantly on the shape of the electrode on which it was initiated.
In contrast, the propagation of single negative streamers is found to
depend strongly on the electrode geometry. That the propagation of
Figure 16. Light emission of a last positive streamer in a burst leading to
negative streamers is quenched in low divergent fields reinforces the
breakdown (rod-plane, d = 35 cm, T = 2 mm,V = 410 kV,20 ps/div.). conclusion that positive streamers determine breakdown in large gaps:
either they produce direct breakdown, or they trigger a streamer burst.
in
. Streamer number Under ac voltage, streamer bursts are triggered by positive stream-
I T

ers which stop before reaching the opposite electrode (they would not
have lead to breakdown as single streamers). Once a burst is initiated,
its propagation is affected neither by the presence of particles, nor by the
10
l2I electrode configuration. The streamer burst mechanism induces a fur-
ther decrease of oil performance under ac voltage at large gaps, lead-
ing to very low breakdown fields (< 10 kV/cm). This explains why
ac breakdown voltages in very large rod-plane gaps are significantly
lower than those measured under the same conditions with switching
impulses [l]. Indeed, with switching impulses breakdown results from
the propagation of single streamers. In the case of 1/40 ps lightning im-
pulses the duration is too short to allow streamers to cross the gap, and
higher breakdown voltages are recorded.
In these experiments, carried out close to the minimum breakdown
0 50 100 150 200 voltage, fast streamers as seen with overvoltages [6,7], were not ob-
Time duration 0.s)
served. The relevance of such fast discharges in applications is not
Figure 17. Histogram of the time duration of the last streamer leading clearly established. Their propagation is strongly quenched in quasi-
to breakdown in a burst (rod-plane gap, d = 35 cm, T = 2 mm, V = uniform fields [13],but on the other hand it is greatly favored when solid
320 kV). insulating materials are present [14,15].
Figure 16 shows a recording of the light emitted by the last streamer This allows us to understand the relative fragility of mineral oil insu-
leading to breakdown (i.e. at the end of a burst). A strong light emission lation in extra high voltage (EHV) applications. A 400 kV insulation with
occurs at the beginning of the propagation which saturates the photo- a typical gap d = 30 cm and average stress E = 11kV/cm is close to
multiplier. This signal is quite different from that of a single streamer the extreme value for which breakdown only can occur with a very high
(Figures 9 and 14), and could be due to either gas discharge in bub- discharge frequency, i.e. in the presence of a low-probability permanent
bles or to propagation of fast streamers in oil. Also, the time duration flaw. A 800 kV insulation with d = 60 cm and E = 10.4 kV/cm is
of the streamer leading to breakdown is different. In the case of single in a range where direct breakdown can occur as soon as a discharge is
streamers this time has a low scatter and indicates a propagation veloc- initiated. Controlling the conditions of streamer inception (presence of
ity close to 2 km/s (typical propagation time 175 ps for d = 35 cm). particles, electrode coating with insulating solids) is therefore a deter-
Figure 17 shows an histogram of the duration of the last streamer in the mining factor in these circumstances.
case of burst breakdown (positive and negative streamers). The propa-
gation time is much more scattered, and lower on average than for single ACKNOWLEDGMENT
streamers. Also, the minimumvalues recorded (down to 30 ps)indicate
The authors wish to express their sincere thanks to l? Kieffer and M.
equivalent propagation velocities > 10 km/s, a value never observed
Hilaire for their technical assistance, G. Massala that carried out some
for single streamers.
experiments presented here, C. Boisdon, N. Giao Trinh, C. Vincent and
6 COMMENTS AND E Rizk for their valuable advice’s throughout this project, IREQ and Jeu-
CONCLUSIONS mont Schneider Transformers that both supported this study. This pa-
per constitutes an extended version of paper 822 presented at the ICDL
This study of prebreakdown processes under ac voltage in large gaps conference in Roma (July 15-19,1996). Some results also appeared pre-
has permitted us to observe and characterize two breakdown modes, viously in the IEEE Int. Symposium on Elec. Insul. (Montreal, 1996).
IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation
REFERENCES
[l] Y Kamata and Y Kako, "Flashover Characteristicsof Extremely Long Gaps in Trans-
former Oil under Non-Uniform Conditions", IEEE Trans. Elec. Insul., Vol. 15, no. 1,
pp. 18-26,1980.
[2] H. E! Moser, Transformerboard,Scientia Electrica, 1979.
[3] 0.Lesaint and R. Tobazion, "Streamer Generation and Propagation in Transformer
Oil under Ac Divergent Field Conditions", IEEE Trans. on Elec. Insul., Vol. 23, no. 6,
pp, 941-954,1988.
[4] l? Rain, C. Boisdon, 0. Lesaint and R. Tobazion, "Behavior of Streamers under Di-
vergent ac Fields in Transformer Oils at Large Gaps", IEEE Trans. on Elec. Insul., Vol.
26, no. 4, pp. 715-725,1991.
[5] l?Rain and 0. Lesaint, "Prebreakdown Phenomena in Mineral Oil under Step and ac
Voltages in Large Gap Divergent Fields", IEEE Trans. on Diel. and Elec. Lnsul., Vol.
1, no. 4, pp. 692-701,1994,
[6] 0. Lesaint and G. Massala, "Positive Streamer Propagation in Large Oil Gaps, Part
I: ExperimentalCharacterizationof PropagationModes, Part I1 Electrical Properties
of Streamers", accepted for publication in IEEE Trans. on Diel. and and Elec. Insul,
Vol. 5,1998, (this issue).
[7] D. Linhjell, L. Lundgaard and G. Berg, "Streamer Propagation under Impulse Volt-
age in Long Point-Plane Oil Gaps", IEEE Trans. on Diel. and Elec. Insul., Vol. 1, no.
3, pp. 447458,1994.
[8] R. Coelho and J. Debeau, "Properties of the Tip-Plane Configuration", J. Phys. D.
Appl. Phys., Vol. 4, pp. 1266-1280,1971.
[9] T. Van Top and 0.Lesaint, "Effect of Electrode Geometry and Cellulose Particles on
Streamer Initiation In Oil under Divergent ac Fields", pp. 178-181,5th Int. Conf. on
Prop. and App. of Diel. Mat. (ICPADM97),Seoul (Korea),May 25-30 1997.
Vol. 5 No. 3,June 1998 359
[lo] 0. Lesaint, l? Gournay, A. Saker, R. Tobazkon, J. Aubin and M. Mailhot, "Streamer
Propagation and Breakdown under ac in Mineral Oil for Gaps up to 80 cm", Proc.
of the 12th. Int. Conf. on Cond. and Break. in Diel. Liq. (ICDL), IEEE Pub. no. 96
CH35981, pp. 251-254, Roma (Italy),July15-19,1996.
[ll] E Carraz, I? Rain and R. TobazCon, "Particle-Initiated Breakdown in a Quasi-
Uniform Field in Transformer Oil", IEEE Trans. on Diel. and Elec. Insul., Vol. 2, no.
6, pp. 1052-1063,1995,
[12] A. Saker, 0. Lesaint and R. Tobazion, "Propagation of Streamers in Mineral Oil at
Large Distances", CEIDE IEEE Pub. no. 94 CH3456-1, Arlington (USA),October 23-
26, pp. 889-894,1994.
[13] G. Massala and 0. Lesaint, "Streamer Propagation and Breakdown in Transformer
Oil under Overvoltage in Semi-uniform Gaps", Int. Conf. on Elec. Insul. and Diel.
Phen., CEIDP, IEEE pub. no. 97 CH36046,pp. 676-679, Minneapolis, USA, 19-22 Oc-
tober 1997.
[14] 0.Lesaint and G. Massala, "Transition to Fast Streamers in Mineral Oil in the Pres-
ence of Insulating Solids", IEEE Int. Symp. on Elec. Insul., IEEE pub. no. 96 CH3597-
2, pp. 737-740, Montreal (Canada), 16-19 June, 1996.
[15] L. Lundgaard, D. Linhjell, G. Berg and S. Sigmond, "Positive and Negative Stream-
ers in Oil Gaps with and Without Pressboard Interfaces", Proc. of the 12th.Int. Conf.
on Cond. and Break. in Diel. Liq. (ICDL), IEEE Pub. no. 96 CH35981, pp. 175-180,
Roma (Italy),July15-19,1996.
This paper is based on a presentation given at the 12th International Confer-
ence on Conduction and Breakdown in Dielectric Liquids, Roma, Italy, 15-19
July 1996.
Manuscript was received on 5March 1997, in revised form 3 February 1998.