TY - JOUR
T1 - DC flashover of a dielectric surface in atmospheric conditions
AU - Krile, John T.
AU - Neuber, Andreas A.
AU - Dickens, James C.
AU - Krompholz, Hermann G.
N1 - Funding Information:
Manuscript received December 11, 2003; revised March 10, 2004. This work was supported by Sandia National Laboratories.
PY - 2004/10
Y1 - 2004/10
N2 - Surface flashover is a major consideration in a wide variety of high-voltage applications, and yet has not been studied in great detail for atmospheric conditions, with modern diagnostic tools. Environmental conditions to be considered include pressure, humidity, and gas present in the volume surrounding the dielectric. In order to gain knowledge into the underlying process involved in dielectric surface flashover, a setup has been created to produce and closely monitor the flashover event. Within the setup parameters such as geometry, material, and temporal characteristics of the applied voltage can be altered. Current, voltage, luminosity, and optical emission spectra are measured with nanosecond to subnanosecond resolution. Spatially and temporally resolved light emission data is also gathered along the arc channel. Our fast imaging data show a distinct trend for the spark in air to closely follow the surface even if an electrical field with a strong normal component is present. This tendency is lacking in the presence of gases such as nitrogen, where the spark follows more closely the electric field lines and develops away from the surface. Further, the breakdown voltage in all measured gases decreases with increasing humidity, in some cases as much as 50% with an increase from 10% relative humidity to 90% relative humidity.
AB - Surface flashover is a major consideration in a wide variety of high-voltage applications, and yet has not been studied in great detail for atmospheric conditions, with modern diagnostic tools. Environmental conditions to be considered include pressure, humidity, and gas present in the volume surrounding the dielectric. In order to gain knowledge into the underlying process involved in dielectric surface flashover, a setup has been created to produce and closely monitor the flashover event. Within the setup parameters such as geometry, material, and temporal characteristics of the applied voltage can be altered. Current, voltage, luminosity, and optical emission spectra are measured with nanosecond to subnanosecond resolution. Spatially and temporally resolved light emission data is also gathered along the arc channel. Our fast imaging data show a distinct trend for the spark in air to closely follow the surface even if an electrical field with a strong normal component is present. This tendency is lacking in the presence of gases such as nitrogen, where the spark follows more closely the electric field lines and develops away from the surface. Further, the breakdown voltage in all measured gases decreases with increasing humidity, in some cases as much as 50% with an increase from 10% relative humidity to 90% relative humidity.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=8144221233&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1109/TPS.2004.835483
DO - 10.1109/TPS.2004.835483
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:8144221233
SN - 0093-3813
VL - 32
SP - 1828
EP - 1834
JO - IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science
JF - IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science
IS - 5 I
ER -