TC HIGH VOLTAGE ENGINEERINGINA Tata McGraw-Hill Published by the Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited, 7 West Patel Nagar, New Delhi 110 008. High Voltage Engineering Copyright © 2009, by Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise or stored in a database or retrieval system without the prior written permission of the publishers. The program listings (if any) may be entered, stored and executed in a computer system, but they may not be reproduced for publication. This edition can be exported from India only by the publishers, Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited ISBN (13): 978-0-07-066928-4 ISBN (10): 0-07-066928-7 Managing Director: Ajay Shukla General Manager: Publishing-SEM & Tech Ed: Vibha Mahajan Sponsoring Editor: Shukti Mukherjee Editorial Executive: Suman Sen Executive—Editorial Services: Sohini Mukherjee Production Executive: Suneeta S Bohra General Manager: Marketing —Higher Education & School: Michael J. Cruz Product Manoger: SEM & Tech: Ed: Biju Ganesan Controller—Production: Rajender P Ghansela Asst. General Manager—Production: B L Dogra Information contained in this work has been obtained by Tata McGraw-Hill, from sources believed to be reliable. However, neither Tata McGraw-Hill nor its authors guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein, and neither Tata McGraw- Hill nor its authors shall be responsible for any errors, omissions, or damages arising out of use of this information. This work is published with the understanding that Tata McGraw-Hill and its authors are supplying information but are not attempting to render engineering or other professional services. If such services are required, the assistance of an appropriate professional should be sought. Typeset at Te) Composers, WZ-391, Madipur, New Delhi - 110 063 and printed at Avon Printers, Plot No. 16, Main Loni Road, Jawahar Nagar Industrial Area, Shahdara, Delhi - 110094 Cover Printer: SDR Printers RYLYCDRFRAQDZ lee eredContents Preface vii a.tIntroduction 1d Electric Fi 1.2 Gas/Vacuum as Insulator 2 1,3 Liquid Dielectrics _3 1.4 Solids and Composites 4 15 Fstimatl - f Electria S 5 1,6 Numerical Methods for Electric Field Computation 9 1.7 Surge Voltages, Their Distribution and Control 20 Key Terms 21 Multiple-Choice Questions 21 Review Questions 23 Short Questions _23 References 24 . 3 e inc 6 2.1 Gases as Insulating Media _26 : ca pieseee 19 23 Ionization Processes 29 2.4 Townsend’s Current Growth Equation _ 33 2.5. Current Growth in the Presence of Secondary Processes _33 2.6 Townsend’s Criterion for Breakdown 34 2.7 Experimental Determination of Coefficients @and y_35 2.8 Breakdown in Electronegative Gases 38 2.9 Time Lags for Breakdown 39 2.10 Streamer Theory of Breakdown in Gases _42 214 Pasched'staw: 45 2.12 Breakdown in Non-Uniform Fields and Corona Discharges 48 2.13 Post-Breakdown Phenomena and Applications _53 2.14 Practical Considerations in using Gases and Gas Mixtures for Insulation Purposes _54