Characteristics of long air gap discharge current subjected to switching impulse

Measuring the pre-breakdown current of long sparks in air is important for investigating the discharge mechanism. Since the breakdown of long air gaps is conducted by a series of streamer-leader processes, the corresponding current signals cover a bandwidth of 0 to more than 20 MHz. Measurement accu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:CSEE Journal of Power and Energy Systems 2015-09, Vol.1 (3), p.49-58
Main Authors: Yue, Yishi, He, Hengxin, Chen, Weijiang, He, Junjia, Wu, Chuanqi, Zhao, Xiangen, Huo, Feng
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Air gaps
Bandwidths
Breakdown
Design optimization
Discharge
Electromagnetic interference
Insulation
Lightning protection
Optical fibers
Prebreakdown
Rod-plane
Signal processing
Switching
Waveforms
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Summary:Measuring the pre-breakdown current of long sparks in air is important for investigating the discharge mechanism. Since the breakdown of long air gaps is conducted by a series of streamer-leader processes, the corresponding current signals cover a bandwidth of 0 to more than 20 MHz. Measurement accuracy of the current from the high voltage side is affected by the displacement current and impulse electromagnetic interference. In this paper, a coaxial current sensor with a DC bandwidth of 74.45 MHz is developed. A displacement current-restrained electrode structure is proposed to reduce the equivalent capacitance between the current sensor and the ground over 30 times. Combined with the digital optical fiber synchronous acquisition unit, a current measurement system for long air gap discharge is established. For the purpose of the UHV system's external insulation optimization design, the discharge current waveform of a 6 m rod-plane air gap under positive switching impulse voltage with 250 μs and 1000 μs time to crest is obtained. Discharge images and stressed voltage are combined to analyze the continuous feature of a current waveform under critical time to crest impulse and discontinuous feature under long front duration impulse. For the purposes of a lightning protection study, the current waveform of a 10 m rod-plane air gap is subjected to negative switching impulse. Finally, the pulse characteristics of the current corresponding to the single channel and branching stepped negative leader are discussed.
ISSN:2096-0042
2096-0042
DOI:10.17775/CSEEJPES.2015.00035