Modeling of Partial Discharges from a Spherical Cavity within a Dielectric Material under Variable Frequency Electric Fields
Partial discharge (PD) is a discharge event that does not bridge the electrodes within an electrical insulation system under high voltage stress. In high voltage components, the measurement of partial discharge is used in the performance assessment of an insulation system. Through modeling the discharge process a better understanding of the phenomena may be attained. Previous studies have considered the modeling of PD activity from a cylindrical cavity. However, this is a limited approach as the most common types of cavities found in the insulation materials are either spherical or ellipsoidal. This paper describes the development of a model for a spherical cavity within a homogeneous dielectric. The model developed has been used to study the influence of the applied frequency on partial discharge activity and obtained results are presented.
Modeling partial discharges in a cavity at different applied frequencies
A model of partial discharges (PD) in an insulated disc-shaped cavity is presented. The flat cavity walls are covered with copper foil and each PD is assumed to affect the whole cavity. The discharge process in the cavity is simulated dynamically and the model is charge consistent. The model is used to simulate the sequence of PDs in the cavity at two different applied frequencies: 0.02 Hz and 100 Hz. The simulation results are compared with measurements and good agreement is found. As the applied frequency is increased from 0.02 Hz to 100 Hz, the mean apparent charge increases and the number of PDs per cycle of the applied voltage reduces. This is interpreted as an effect of the statistical time lag of PD.
Modeling of a discharging cavity in a dielectric material exposed to high electric fields
Partial discharges are localized electric discharges that do not bridge the electrodes. For high voltage components measurements of partial discharges arecommonly used to diagnose the condition of ...