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High Voltage Breakdown in Liquids

1. Liquid dielectrics like oils are used for insulation, cooling, and protection in electrical equipment. However, their breakdown strength is low due to contamination by solids, other liquids, and dissolved gases. 2. In solid dielectrics, breakdown can occur through electromechanical breakdown as the electric field exerts force on the dielectric, cavity discharge within voids in the material, or thermal breakdown if heat generated exceeds heat lost. 3. The main types of breakdown in both liquids and solids are influenced by temperature, pressure, electrode geometry, voltage application duration and frequency, as well as impurities that distort the electric field.

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Kokila Chezian
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67 views26 pages

High Voltage Breakdown in Liquids

1. Liquid dielectrics like oils are used for insulation, cooling, and protection in electrical equipment. However, their breakdown strength is low due to contamination by solids, other liquids, and dissolved gases. 2. In solid dielectrics, breakdown can occur through electromechanical breakdown as the electric field exerts force on the dielectric, cavity discharge within voids in the material, or thermal breakdown if heat generated exceeds heat lost. 3. The main types of breakdown in both liquids and solids are influenced by temperature, pressure, electrode geometry, voltage application duration and frequency, as well as impurities that distort the electric field.

Uploaded by

Kokila Chezian
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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HIGH VOLTAGE

Breakdown in liquids
Assistant Professor Suna BOLAT KRÖGER

Eastern Mediterranean University


Department of Electric & Electronic Engineering
Liquid dielectrics

• Insulation oil
• Transformer oil
• CCl4
Where to use them?

1. Insulation
2. Coolin systems
3. Protection
Breakdown in liquids

• In highly purified liquid dielectrics, breakdown is controlled by


phenomena similar to those for gasses and the electric
strength is high (of the order of 1 MV/cm).
• Unfortunately, liquids are easily contaminated, and may
contain solids, other liquids in suspension and dissolved
gasses.

• LOW BREAKDOWN STRENGTH!!!


• Because, of the tendency to become contaminated, liquids
are not usually used alone above 100 kV/cm in continuously
energised equipment.
• They are used at much higher tresses (up to 1 MV/cm) in
conjunction with solids, which can be made to act as barriers,
preventing the line-up of solid impurities and localising of any
bubbles which may form.
• The main function of the liquid in such arrangements is to fill
up the voids.
• The effect of these impurities is relatively small for short
duration pulses (10 s).
• However, if the voltage is applied continuously, the solid
impurities line up at right angles to equipotentials, and distort
the field so that breakdown occurs at relatively low voltage.
• The line up of particles is a fairly slow process, and is unlikely
to affect the strength on voltages lasting for less than 1 ms.
Factors effecting breakdown in liquids

1. Temperature
2. Humidity
3. Pressure
4. Solid impurities
5. Gas bubbles
6. Electrode geometry
7. Voltage type, application duration
8. Frequency
Breakdown types in liquid dielectric

1. Electronic breakdown
2. Electromechanical breakdown
3. Thermal breakdown
Breakdown strength of liquid dielectrics

• The breakdown strength will depend more on the nature of


impurities it contains than on the nature of the liquid itself.

• These impurities which lead to the breakdown of commercial


liquids below their intrinsic strength.
Impurities

• Impurities which have a breakdown strength lower than that


of the liquid itself (ex: bubbles of gas). Breakdown of the
impurities may trigger off the total breakdown of the liquid.
• Impurities which are unstable in the electric field (ex: globules
of water). Instability of the impurity can result in a low
resistance bridge across the electrodes and in total
breakdown.
• Impurities which result in local enhancement of electric field
in a liquid (ex: conducting particles). The enhanced field may
cause local breakdown and therefore initiate complete
breakdown.
Breakdown due to gaseous inclusions

• Gas or vapour bubbles may exist in impure liquid dielectrics,


either formed from dissolved gasses, temperature and
pressure variations, or other causes.

3𝜀1
𝐸= 𝐸0
2𝜀1 + 1
Field in the
gas bubble Field in the
Permittivity of liquid in the
the liquid absence of gas
dielectric bubble
Breakdown due to gaseous inclusions

• The electrostatic forces on the bubble cause it to get


elongated in the direction of the electric field.
• The elongation continues, when sufficient electric field is
applied, and at a critical length the gas inside the bubble
(which has a lower breakdown strength) breaks down.
• This discharge causes decomposition of the liquid molecules
and leads to total breakdown.
Breakdown due to liquid globule

• If an insulating liquid contains in suspension a globule of


another liquid, then breakdown can result from instability of
the globule in the electric field.

3𝜀1
𝐸= 𝐸0
2𝜀1 + 𝜀2
Field in the Field in the
globule liquid in the
Permittivity of absence of the
the liquid globule
dielectric Permittivity of
the spherical
globule
Breakdown due to solid particles

• In commercial liquids, solid impurities cannot be avoided and


will be present as fibres or as dispersed solid particles.
• If the impurity is considered to be a spherical particle of
permittivity ε2 and is present in a liquid dielectric of
permittivity ε1, it will experience a force

𝜀2 − 𝜀1
𝐹= ∆𝐸 2
𝜀2 + 2𝜀1
• Generally 𝜀2 > 𝜀1 , so that the force would move the particle
towards the 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 would be produced, which at a
critical length may cause breakdown.
HIGH VOLTAGE
Breakdown in solids
Assistant Professor Suna BOLAT

Eastern Mediterranean University


Electric and electronic department
Breakdown of solid insulating materials

• In solid dielectrics, highly purified and free of imperfections,


the breakdown strength is high, of the order of 10 MV/cm.

• The highest breakdown strength obtained under carefully


controlled conditions is known as the "intrinsic strength" of
the dielectric.
Losses in solid dielectrics

• Dielectric losses
• Dipole losses
• Hysterizis losses
• Ionization losses

Common part: material heats up!


Breakdown types in solid dielectric

• Instanteneous breakdown
• Electromechanical breakdown
• Electrical breakdown
• Cavity discharge (internal discharge)
• Treeing
• Thermal breakdown
Electromechanical breakdown

• When an electric field is applied to a dielectric between two


electrodes, a mechanical force will be exerted on the
dielectric due to the force of attraction between the surface
charges.
• This compression decreases the dielectric thickness thus
increasing the effective stress.
Electromechanical breakdown

• when the field is increased, the thickness of the material


decreases.
• increase in the field would cause the mechanical collapse of
the dielectric.
Breakdown due to internal discharges

• Solid insulating materials sometimes contain voids or cavities


in the medium or boundaries between the dielectric and the
electrodes.
• These voids have a dielectric constant of unity and a lower
dielectric strength.
• Hence the electric field strength in the voids is higher than
that across the dielectric.
• Thus even under normal working voltages, the field in the
voids may exceed their breakdown value and breakdown may
occur.
Breakdown due to internal discharges

Cavity, void
Breakdown due to internal discharges
Thermal breakdown

• Heat is generated continuously in electrically stressed


insulation by dielectric losses, which is transferred to the
surrounding medium by conduction through the solid
dielectric and by radiation from its outer surfaces.
• If the heat generated exceeds the heat lost to the
surroundings, the temperature of the insulation increases.

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