360 IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Vol. 5 No.

3, June 1998

Positive Streamer Propagation in

Large Oil gaps
Experimental Characterization of Propagation Modes
0. Lesaint and G. Massala
LEMD, CNRSIUJF,Grenoble, France

ABSTRACT
This paper presents an experimental study of positive streamer propagation in mineral oil, in
large point-plane gaps under impulse voltage. A systematic investigation was done concern-
ing the influence of gap distance (<35cm), and voltage from streamer inception up to large
overvoltages. The measurements presented concern breakdown voltage measurements, time to
breakdown, visualization of streamers (streak and still photographs), electrical measurements
(transient current, charge), light emission intensity. Streamers are characterized and then clas-
sified into different modes ( k d , 3rd and 4th modes) according to their propagation velocities
up to more than 100 k d s . According to the applied voltage, transitions between modes are
observed, and correlations are established between charge, shape, and streamer velocity. The
physical mechanisms as well as practical consequences are then discussed.

1 INTRODUCTION 2 km/s) is involved in this situation. In the first studies, it was compared
to leaders in air, with a 'stepped leader channel' developing behind an
1.1 BACKGROUND AND SCOPE OF
'ionization region' 1 to 2 cm in length [4,5]. Later, it was recognized
THE PAPER
that this ionization region is in fact constituted of fine branches termi-
REBREAKDOWN phenomena in liquids have constituted a subject nating the main leader channel 161. Due to the much smaller mean free
of interest for a long time, and a large variety of phenomena has path of electrons in liquids as compared to gases, it was concluded that
been observed over a wide range of experimental conditions. Most re- processes are very different in both media, and that in liquids ioniza-
sults were obtained with small gap distances (mm to cm) and were pre- tion probably occurs in the immediate vicinity of channel heads [6,7].
viously summarized and discussed in some papers [1,21. In smaller gaps the influence of additives with a low ionization poten-
The dielectric strength of long liquid gaps constitutes a particular tial was demonstrated 1111,and also the gaseous nature of streamers via
point of interest in the insulation of HV apparatus such as transform- the influence of the hydrostatic pressure [12].
ers. The reason for this is the well known 'distance effect': the average In the past decade, other experiments done with overvoltages have
breakdown field Eb = V b / d with 6 the breakdown voltage, d the permitted observation of fast streamers in mineral oil, which velocity
gap distance, decreases when the distance is increased. In very large may exceed 100 km/s [13-171. Streamers with comparable velocities
<
rod-plane gaps, d 1m, values < 10 kV/cm have been reported [3]. were previously observed in other liquids in small gaps [l].
Streamers in long oil gaps have been characterized mainly in diver- The purpose of this paper is to present and summarize the investi-
gent fields up to the breakdown voltage, and knowledge has progressed gations carried out in this field in our laboratory Looking at streamers
along with measurement techniques since the 1950's. Detailed descrip- in the case of overvoltages is interesting for the study of both mecha-
tions of discharge propagation up to breakdown were first obtained nisms and applications: fast streamers may be responsible for break-
with rotating film cameras, with gap distances <20 cm [4,5].Later, down in devices subjected to overvoltages, e.g. during tests with light-
electronic image converter cameras allowed streak photographs with ning or switching impulses.
increased time resolution and sensitivity [6,7].During the past decade, This first paper (part 1) includes the characterization of various
experiments about long streamers in mineral oil have been again car- streamer modes by visualization e.g. streak and integral photographs,
ried out with increasing gap lengths, either with impulses (gaps <35 cm electrical measurements such as currents, charges, and optical measure-
[8,9]) or ac (gaps <SO cm [lo]). In many configurations, it is observed ments e.g. light emission intensity. In [18], measurements and calcula-
that positive streamers are the more 'dangerous' for HV insulation [3, tions will be presented with the view to establish correlation between
101. Concerning these positive streamers, experiments carried out to the the macroscopic electrical properties of streamers (voltage drop, charge,
breakdown voltage show that a unique streamer type (velocity 1.5 to field) and the way they propagate (velocity, transitions between modes).

1070-9878/98/ $3.00 0 1998 IEEE

IEEE Transactionson Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Vol. 5 No. 3, June 1998 361

1.2 TERMINOLOGY

In gases, the term ‘streamer’is used for prebreakdown processes with

defined physical properties. In liquids, it is used to designate all prop-
agating phenomena, whatever their polarity, shape, velocity, etc. This
obviously leads to a confused situation. As pointed out by different au-
thors [I, 2,13,14] there exists a great need for more precise terminology
in liquids, to avoid the frequent lack of understanding about adjectives
such as ’fast’, ’slow’, ’bush-like’,the meaning of which varies according
to authors. Also the use of loan words from the nomenclature of gas dis-
charges (’secondary streamers’, ’leaders’, etc.) does not result in a better
situation, since they are used to describe different phenomena. For in-
stance, the term ’leader’ was used for either slow discharges in oil below
the breakdown voltage [19], or very fast with overvoltages [13].
A classification was proposed by Hebner [l], in which phenomena
were separated into lst, 2nd, 3rd modes according to the measured
propagation velocities, that increase by a factor of nearly 10 between
each mode. Since these categories roughly fit the phenomena observed Figure 1. Experimental setup.
in long gaps with overvoltages, we will adopt here this terminology. Al-
though it is not strictly appropriate, we will however keep on using the (50 k) was very important for the proper recording of streamer cur-
widely accepted generic term ’streamer’ to designate all propagating rent and light emission, usually consisting of fast pulses (10 ns width)
discharges in liquids. distributed over a long period of time (-100 ps). With less memory,
or with a conventional analog memory oscilloscope, many pulses are
2 EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES missed.

The experimental system (Figure 1)is similar to that previously de- 3 BREAKDOWN PROPERTIES
scribed in [8]. Two test cells made of transparent boxes (PMMA) con- Breakdown properties of the oil in point-plane geometry were first
taining the point-plane electrode system were used: a small one for gap measured at different distances. In these experiments, the breakdown
distances < l o cm (volume 131, plane diameter 20 cm) and a larger one probability and time to breakdown t b were measured from zero break-
for gaps <35 cm (volume 1501, plane size 50x 50 cm2). Plane electrodes down probability to large overvoltages. The term overvoltage will be
were connected to the ground, and point electrodes to the HV; the point used here for applied voltages V exceeding the breakdown voltage v b
tip radius of curvature was 100 pm. The point holder contained a cur- (50%breakdown probability). For a fixed gap distance d, measurements
rent or charge sensor, constituted of a measuring impedance located at
the holder extremity and directly connected to the point to minimize
circuit inductance [8]. The measured voltage across the impedance was
-
were taken with increasing applied voltage, until breakdown occurred
immediately after the impulse rise (time to breakdown t b 1ps). An-
other limitation was the 500 kV maximum voltage of the impulse gen-
transmitted to the oscilloscope via an optical fiber link. Protections al-
erator.
lowed the system to withstand breakdown. The measured system band-
On Figure 2 is shown the breakdown probability at different dis-
width was -35 MHz.
tances d, determined by counting the number of breakdown produced
Positive-polarity 0.4/1400 ps impulses were produced by a 500 kV during series of 25 shots applied at a fixed voltage level. The oil was re-
Marx generator. Due to the long tail of the impulse, the voltage drop newed after 20 breakdown events. These curves allowed to determine
during the propagation of streamers was negligible (< 10%).A 3200 the 50% probability breakdown voltage v b reported in Figure 3.
resistor was placed in series with the test cell to limit the breakdown From the measurement of time to breakdown t b an average break-
current. Such a resistance had no influence on measurements, even for down velocity V = d / t b was defined. The variation of V us. voltage V
the fastest streamers with transient currents -10 A. Conversely, a 2 k 0 in a 10 cm gap is presented in Figure 4. From 1.0& to -2.2Vb, the ve-
resistance was found to slow down fast streamers at large overvoltages, locity increases only slightly (2.5 to 3.5 km/s). Within this range, the
resulting in slightly longer time to breakdown. All results were ob- scatter of t b is low, typically < 10%.Above a critical voltage (accel- v,
tained in the same mineral oil, containing 50%carbon atoms in paraffinic eration voltage) a discontinuity is observed ?T jumps to much higher
molecules, 40% naphtenic, 10%aromatic. values (310 km/s), and increases steeply with V to > 100 km/s
Integral images of the light emitted by streamers (taken with a gated (i.e. t b < 1 ps). This behavior results from the existence of various
image intensifier) and streak photographs were recorded by charge cou- streamer modes (2nd, 3rd and 4th modes) according to the applied volt-
pled device (CCD) cameras and stored in a digital video frame memory. age. Within the 500 kV voltage limit, the same behavior was recorded for
The emitted light intensity was recorded by a photomultiplier (56 AVP). 2.5<d< 12.5 cm (Figure 5). Accelerationvoltages V, determined from
All signals were stored with a Tektronix TDS 544A digitizing oscillo- these curves are reported in Figure 3. Within the investigated range, V,
scope. The use of a high sampling rate (250 Ms/s) and large memory is close to 2.2vb.
362 Lesainf et al.: Positive Streamer Propagation in Large Oil gaps

Breakdown probability (9%)

100

KO -.

61) -
modes

40 -
-

2o
0 0 i
Figure 4. Breakdown velocity Vvs. applied voltage V (d = 10 cm).

Average velocity7 ( h i s )
Figure 2. Breakdown probability vs. applied voltage V. 100
Voltage (kV)
500 j I
xc)

400 -.
60

300 -
40

200 - 20

100 -
r 0
0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Gap distance d (cm)
Figure 3. Breakdown and acceleration voltages vs. gap distance d
4 CORRELATION BETWEEN
SHAPE, CHARGE AND
VELOCITY OF STREAMERS
Among the measurements performed, some of them correspond to
integrated quantities throughout the streamer propagation: the average
velocity U; the integrated light emission from the streamer recorded on
still photographs from inception to the moment at which either it stops
(below V b ) , or reaches the plane (above &);and charge measurements
corresponding to the integration of the streamer current.
From such data, global streamer properties valid for the different
streamer modes can be obtained. Still images (Figure 6) were obtained
with the gate of the image intensifier opened synchronously with the
voltage rise, for a duration slightly shorter than the average time delay
to breakdown t b . Between V b and Vu, t b is reproducible and it was easy
to preset the intensifier to close a short time before breakdown. Beyond
0
100 200 300 400
Applied voltage (kV)
Figure 5. Breakdown velocity V vs. voltage; mean values, 2.5 <d <
10 cm.
V,, t b becomes much more erratic, and it was difficult to obtain images
of fast streamers with an exposure time interrupted just before break-
down. The maximum streamer charge Qm corresponds to the charge
measured immediately before breakdown on oscilloscope traces, as in-
dicated on Figure 7.
4.1 SHAPE OF STREAMERS
All observed positive streamers are composed of filaments. Below
V,, streamers are composed of 1 or 2 main luminous trunks with some
ramifications surrounded by a less luminous zone (photograph A in
Figure 6). The streamer develops mainly along the point-plane axis.
When the voltage is increased, the number of main trunks and rami-
fications increase and many branches propagate laterally. Slightly be-
low Vu,the whole streamer is comprised within an envelope that tends
to be roughly spherical (photograph B). Above Vu, the streamer shape
changes considerably (photograph C). It consist of 1or 2 very luminous
filaments with few ramifications. Photograph C was obtained with the
IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Vol. 5 No. 3, June 1998 363

Light intensity (arb. unit)

Breakdown
Figure 7. Typical charge recording of a 2nd mode streamer, d = 20 cm.
V = 300 kV, 10 psldiv.
Streamer charge Q ( p C )
6 , m

67 d=10 cm

44
3

2
/ /- /.Jb

Figure 6. Streamer charge Qm vs. voltage and still photographs, d = 0

10 cm.
gain of the intensifier much reduced as compared to photographs A and
B, since fast streamers occurring above V, are much more luminous.
4.2 CHARGE OF STREAMERS
Between Vb and V,, the maximum streamer charge Qm increases
regularly, and then tends to saturate close to V, (Figure 6). When fast
streamers appear, Qm drops suddenly to a value comparable with that
recorded at Vb.A similar behavior was observed for all distances inves-
tigated (Figure 8).
Figure 6 shows the correlation that exists between the streamer
charge Qm and its shape. Between V b and V,, the increase of Qm is
clearly related to the increase in streamer volume, due to the intense
branching. Above V,, &, suddenly drops although the voltage is in-
creased, due to the large reduction of the streamer volume. At V,, the
steep increase in velocity is clearly linked to the modification of the
streamer shape. In [18], quantitative relationships will be established
between Qm and streamer shapes.
Applied voltage (kV)
Figure 8. Mean values of the streamer charge Q,, us. voltage at various
distances.
5 SECOND ANODE STREAMER
MODE
Figure 9 shows schematic drawings of typical streak photographs ob-
tained in different voltage ranges in a 10 cm point-plane gap. Based on
propagation velocities measured on streak photographs (VZ,v3, U),
it is possible to distinguish three different streamer modes within our
experimental conditions. The distinction between modes on the only
basis of measured velocities constitutes a simple way to describe phe-
nomena. Also, such a classificationcan be easily made since a large ve-
locity variation (approximately one decade) occurs when the streamer
switches from one mode to another. Thus, transttions between modes
during streamer propagation are sudden and clearly visible on streak
photographs. In mineral oil, the slowest positive streamer mode (1st
mode, velocity u1 = 100 m/s) was observed at low voltage ( ~ 1 kV) 0
in short gaps with very thin points [20]. It does not consist of filaments,
and gets features comparable to those of negative discharges observed
364 Lesaint et al.: Positive Streamer Propagation in Large Oil gaps

in similar conditions. This 1st mode is not relevant of breakdown in long

gaps at HV.
Average velocity V ( h i s )
100
80
60

40

(- J I-
Figure 9. Schematic drawings of streak photographs, d = 10 cm.

Up to the breakdown voltage V b , the 2nd mode is the only one de-
tected (Figure 9). Between Vb and V,, it is preceded by a faster 3rd mode
described below. The 2nd mode is thus very important since it deter-
mines the breakdown voltage Vb. It has been observed to be responsible
for breakdown in very large 680cm oil gaps under ac [lo]. In mineral
Figure 10. Typical 2nd mode streamer below Vb: streak photograph
and associated signals, d = 20 cm, V = 256 kV.
oil, this mode has been the more widely observed and studied.

5.1 STREAK IMAGES AND
TRANSIENT CURRENTS FOR
v < vb
The shape of 2nd mode streamers has been described in Section 4.
Typical examples of streak images are presented in Figures 10 and
11. Second mode streamers consist of two main luminous parts (Fig-
ure 10). For V < Vb, a weakly luminous structure first propa-
gates to t = tl, forming a continuous glow on streak photographs.
Shadow-photographs show that it has numerous ramified thin fila-
ments, -10 p m in diameter [11,13,171. Then, after t = tl bright and
fast light flashes are seen to re-illuminate periodically some of these fila-
ments, with a typical time between flashes 1to 10 ps. The filaments that
are periodically re-illuminated over an increasing length become the
main 'trunks' of the discharge. Between two re-illuminations, the ini-
tial glow still propagates continuously at the streamer head, but without
luminous connection with the point electrode. Below the breakdown
voltage, the streamer stops and does not reach the plane, such as in the
example of Figure 10. In this case, the glow at the streamer head goes
on propagating for -10 ps after the last re-illumination.
Re-illuminations appear earlier when the voltage is raised. At V =
Vb,they appear at the beginning of propagation, and thus the initial
glow becomes hardly observable. Conversely, at lower voltage in short
gaps ( < 3 cm), mainly the weakly luminous filaments constituting the
glow are seen to propagate to breakdown, with very few or even no re-
illumination. This was the case in most studies of streamer propagation
in short gaps.
Because weakly luminous filaments (glow)are connected to the point
at the beginning of propagation, a continuous current is recorded,
-10V2 A in amplitude [8,13]. This continuous current produces a
smooth increase of the q ( t ) charge recording. Later, re-illuminations
accompanied by current pulses appear, the continuous component of
the current disappears, and ~ ( increases
t) in steps to breakdown (Fig-
ure 7).
Re-illuminations can be separated into two groups, as shown by Fig-
ure 11. This streak photograph was obtained with a high sweep veloc-
ity, and by triggering the camera some time after the voltage rise (30 ,us
delay). It constitutes then a 'zoom' at this moment. This picture shows
the two types of re-illuminations that exist, first the total re-illumination
when the streamer trunk is luminous from the point to its head (illumi-
nations 1 and 4), a light pulse is detected by the photomultiplier, cor-
related to a current pulse. It also shows partial re-illumination: the
streamer trunk is partially illuminated close to its head (illuminations
2,3,5,6), and a light pulse of lower intensity is detected, but no current
pulse is recorded at the point. Current pulses of total re-illuminations
are very fast (-10 ns in width), and their amplitude increases with
streamer length to > 10 A at large distances.
IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Vol. 5 No. 3, June 1998 365

. . .... .. . . ..

A'' "

Figure 1 1. Total and partial re-illuminations: streak photograph and . . . . . . . . . . . ..

current and light pulses~ 30 psr 2o cmt E
Figure 12, Still photograph of a 2nd mode streamer bridging the gap
235 kV.
without causing breakdown, and associated signals, d = 5 cm, V =
5.2 TRANSITION TO BREAKDOWN 92 kV.

In most experiments, breakdown immediately follows when the

streamer touches the plane electrode. However, in rare cases corre- gap In Figure13, 250measurements performedat = 35 cm
spending to experiments carried out at a low breakdown probability are reported. For a fixed voltage, the scatter of Is is quite large and data
(1 to loyo), positive streamers touching the plane without inducing are distributed within an area comprised between the lower and up-
breakdown Were seen, as previously reported in Somepapers [6,8, per limits indicated on the Figure. A trace corresponding to the aver-
211. Figure 12 shows a typical still image, current and light intensity age length is indicated. t' the average stopping length
-d/31

recorded in such cases. During streamer propagation, the continuous
current (20 mA) associated with weakly luminous filaments is detected,
followed by two total re-illuminations (at t = 15 and 18 ps), When
the streamer touches the plane at = 25 a partial re-illumination
occurs. A luminous spot at the streamer head is seen, correlated with a
light pulse on the photomultiplier signal, but no conduction current is
detected in the point. Similar observations are reported in [lo, 211.
On Figure 12, we see that the weak glow propagating at the streamer
head reached the plane. The fact that no current is detected at the mo-
ment of contact shows that streamer filaments between the point and
the Plane can be 'Onsidered as at this moment. To in-
duce breakdown, total re-illumination of the streamer is then necessary
It may occur with a delay 510 ps after the contact [4,6,13].
5.3 STOPPING OF STREAMERS
FOR V < V b
As described in earlier publications [8,9,20], streamers initiated be-
low the breakdown voltage V, stop at some length 1,. Figures 13 and
14 show measurements of stopping length 1s versus voltage for different
increases almost linearly With voltage. Then 1 s increases more rapidly
with voltage until breakdown. At different distances, a similar shape
of IS (v)plots is observed, as shown in Figure 14. For clarity, only the
average length is reported on this Figure. The horizontal lines at the top
Of plots show the range from to 95'0 breakdown probability
In earlier papers [8,9,19Ir the existence of a 'critical' length above
which streamers never stop has been reported (for example 2, > 27 cm
in Figure 13). However, a deeper examination shows that the existence
of this stop in fact depends on the experimental system used
to measure I,, Figure 10 shows that when a str-!amer stops, the weak
glow at its head continues for ps after the last re-illumination.
With a camera of medium sensitivity (i.e. a single image intensifier) the
measured stopping length corresponds to thelengthof the last bright
re-illumination, and a no stop zone is visible on I , ( V )plots. With a
very sensitive camera (i.e. two image intensifiers in series) the glow i s
recorded, leading to longer 1, that may extend up to the plane. In some
rare cases such as in Figure 12, the glow may even reach the plane with-
out breakdown.
366 Lesaint et al.: Positive Streamer Propagation in Large Oil gaps

Stopping length ls (cm)

40
35
30

25
20
15
10
5
0
0 100 200 300 400
Applied voltage (kV)
500
(4OOkVldiv.) . . f . . . . .:~ , _ .. . . , ... ,
I .,

.c
, .
;. . .;. .
,

.I
Figure 13. 2nd mode streamer stopping length I , us. voltage, d =
35 cm.
44-.w3.tlin +

Stopping length 1- (cm)

40
35
30 urrent (lA/&v )

25
Figure 15. Typical streak photograph of a 3rd t 2nd mode streamer for
20 Vb < V < V, and associated signals, d = 10 cm, V = 280 kV. The
15 camera shutter was closed 4 ps before breakdown.
5.5 PROPAGATION VELOCITY
10
5 A remarkable feature of 2nd mode streamers is the small variation of
the propagation velocity v2 over wide ranges of applied voltage and gap
0 distance. Figure 16 shows the measured velocity of 2nd mode stream-
0 100 200 300 400 500 ers with a fixed gap distance d = I O cm. The Figure includes mea-
Applied voltage (kV) surements performed on streamers that either stop (below Vb),or lead
Figure 14. 2nd mode streamer stopping length 1, us. voltage (meanval- to breakdown (Vb < V < Va).The propagation velocity v2 varies
ues). only from 1.7 to 3.5 km/s, whereas the voltage V is increased by more
than a factor of 5. Also, streak recordings (Figures 10 and 15) show that
v2 is nearly constant during the propagation. The nearly constancy of
5.4 SECOND ANODE MODE FOR
u2at V = v b when the gap is changed from 2.5 to 30 cm is illustrated
v vb> by Figure 17. This fact was also observed either in smaller gaps (down
to N mm)
I and in very large ones [lo]. This shows that a very efficient
regulating mechanism exists in the second mode streamer. This point
For applied voltage above V b and up to V,, an initial more luminous
will be discussed in [18].
and faster 3rd mode streamer appears (Figure 9). An example of streak
photograph and transient current recorded for Vi < V < V, is shown 6 THIRD AND FOURTH ANODE
in Figure 15. The number of main luminous trunks in the streamer in- STREAMER MODES
creases (Figure 6), they propagate laterally and are in turn subjected to
re-illuminations. Thus the shape of streak photographs becomes very When the applied voltage exceeds the breakdown voltage vb,the
complex. The two parts (glow at the head and re-illuminations) are how- propagation becomes composed of two distinct modes. The first of short
ever still observable. The series of pulses associated to the propagation duration (<1,us)is constituted with a fast 3rd anode mode (ua= 10 to
of each main trunk (as in Figure 10) are superimposed in the recorded 20 km/s) that propagates to some length 13 (Figures 9,15). The streamer
transient currents. Thus the total number of recorded current pulses in- then switches to a slower 2nd mode. Above V,, instead of slowing
creases due to the multiplication of branches. down to a 2nd mode, the streamer switches to a much faster and very
IEEE Transactionson Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Vol. 5 No. 3,June 1998 367

Propagation velocity v2 (km/s)

total propagation
stopped propagation

0
5 Light intensity (Ukb.) '

average breakdown Breakdown

4 velocity V ( k m i s ) z ~ 5 0 0
3.5
400
3
2.5 300
2
1.5 200
Figure 18. Typical streak photograph of a 3rd t 4-thmode streamer for
1 V > V, and associated signals, d = 10 cm, V == 420 kV. The streak
100
0.5 camera shutter was closed 300 ns before breakdown.

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Gap distance d (cm) 4
Figure 17. Average breakdown velocity V at V = vb and breakdown 3.5
voltage V b us. gap distance.
3
different 4thmode (wd > 100 km/s) that quickly bridges the remaining
gap (Figure 18). 2.5
2
6.1 THIRD STREAMER MODE
1.5
The maximum length Z3 of 3rd mode streamers measured on streak
1
photographs is presented in Figure 19. On average, Z3 increases slowly
with voltage, passes through a maximum at the acceleration voltage V,, 0.5
and then decreases. The scatter of Z3 is quite large, particularly around
0
V,. For a fixed voltage there exists a clear correlation between Z3 and
the time to breakdown t b (the longer Z3, the longer t b ) . Thus the scatter
of Z3 explains the increasing scatter of time to breakdown t b above V,. VbApplied voltage (kVYa
As concerns streak photographs and transient currents, most charac- Figure 19. Maximum length 23 of 3rd mode StreamersZIS. voltage, d =
teristics quoted above for 2nd mode streamers still hold, excepted for the 10 cm.
velocity which is not any more constant. Propagation velocities v3 mea-
sured on streak photographs vary between 7 and 18 km/s. As in the 2nd
mode, 3rd mode streamers consist of a flashing main trunk (Figure 18) photographs of 3rd mode streamers (Figure 20) show that the glow sur-
surrounded by a glow. Currents are also pulsed (55 A in amplitude), rounding the trunks consist of a considerable number of thin filaments,
but with a much higher frequency (typical pulse period lop7 s). Still as previously observed with high definition shadow-photographs [13].
368 Lesaint et al.: Positive Streamer Propagation in Large Oil gaps

7.1.2 STREAMERS ABOVE THE

BREAKDOWN VOLTAGE
A description of fast streamers with overvoltages (streaks, currents
of 3rd and 4th modes, was presented in [14] (d = 6.7 cm) and [22]
(d = 15 cm). Most of our results agree with these findings. The steep
decrease of the time to breakdown correlated to the inception of a fast
event (4th mode) was observed in [14,17]. Between Vb and V,, an ini-
tial hump with a higher velocity (corresponding to the 3rd mode) was
reported in [14]. A description of the 3rd mode (called a leader) includ-
ing high definition shadow-photographs was presented in a short gap
(2.7 cm) [13]. Shadow-photographs of the various modes (called pri-
mary, secondary, etc.) were produced to gap length of 7 cm [17].
In this study, the investigations carried out about the influence of
Figure 20. Photograph of the initial 3rd mode, d = 10 cm, V =
distance and voltage allow us to get a more general description and to
280 kV,exposure time 4 ps.
observe some additional facts. Charge recordings q ( t ) have been ob-
6.2 FOURTH ANODE MODE tained, and a correlation has been established between the shape, charge
and velocity of streamers (Figure 6). The transition of the charge Q, at
Due to its high velocity and to the proximity of breakdown, it is dif- V = V, has been demonstrated, and acceleration voltages have been
ficult to obtain a detailed characterization of the 4th mode. Its velocity determined as a function of distance (Figure 3). Between Vb and V,, an
u4 can be estimated from transient currents and streak recordings to be initial fast 3rd mode has been characterized (Figures 19,20). Measure-
> 100 km/s. This mode consists of 1to 2 very luminous filaments with ments of the voltage drop within streamers will be presented in [18].
few lateral branches (Figure 6). The few streak photographs obtained
indicate that filaments are uniformly luminous and start propagating 7.2 MECHANISMS
from the tip of the preceding 3rd mode streamer in both backward and
The formation process of gaseous filaments identical to those consti-
forward directions, as previously reported in [14]. The transient cur-
tuting the glow (weakly luminous filaments at the streamer head) was
rent consists of a large current that rapidly increases as the streamer ap-
evidenced in various liquids in small gaps, via time-resolved measure-
proaches the plane (Figure 18). The shape of light intensity recordings ments of filament diameter us. hydrostatic pressure < l o MPa [23,24].
is similar.
Due to charge injection in the very high field at the filament tip, a fast,
intense and localized injection of thermal energy occurs. This brings the
7 COMMENTS AND liquid into a supercritical state and a shockwave is radiated. Also, a va-
CONCLUSIONS por phase instantaneously develops, that afterwards expands while its
pressure and temperature decrease. Thus, the filament tip acts as a mov-
7.1 CONTRIBUTION TO THE ing point source of heat of -10 W in power, and the streamer filament
STREAMER is formed by the expanding vapor track left behind. The pressure within
CHARACTERIZATION IN LONG filaments is not uniform, and is a function of space and time. It is high
GAPS immediately behind the filament head, and decreases while the filament
7.1.1 STREAMERS BELOW THE expands. The liquid motion induced by the propagation of the filament
BREAKDOWN VOLTAGE (2ND results from its radial expansion, mainly determined by the liquid iner-
MODE) tia. The maximum velocity of the liquid is more than one order of mag-
nitude smaller than the streamer propagation velocity [23].
The basic optical features, continuous glow, re-illuminations, veloc-
ity, were described since the first time-resolved observations [4-71. More In transformer oil, the measurement of filament lifetime, 20 p m in di-
recently, fast and large memory digitizing oscilloscopes allowed the ameter, lead to values of 5 ps at atmospheric pressure [24]. This value is
proper recording of transient currents [8,14] The continuous current much shorter than the propagation time of streamers at large distances.
associated with the glow was first measured in small gaps (625mm This explains that most thin filaments created at the beginning of the
[11,13,20]), then in larger ones (<20 cm IS]). Partial and total re- propagation die out while the streamer still propagates (they collapse
illuminations and stopping lengths were described for 5 < d < 35 cm and form strings of bubbles). The propagation over long distances is
with integral [8] or streak [9] images, together with charge recordings. possible only for those few filaments in which enough electrical energy
The systematic investigation vs. distance and voltage presented here is dissipated, leading to vaporization, increase of filament diameter, and
confirm most of the descriptions already presented, and lead to a more thus enhanced lifetime. This is the case for filaments subjected to re-
precise description of partial/total re-illuminations (Figure ll), stop- illuminations (i.e. the streamer trunk), which diameter is > 100 pm.
ping of streamers (Figures 10,13,14), and transition to breakdown (Fig- Second mode streamers are entirely gaseous (glow and flashing
ure 12). Data concerning the electrical behavior of 2nd mode streamers trunk). This implies that most of the emitted light comes from a gas
(voltage drop, charge) will be presented in [18]. phase. The statement that the glow constitutes an 'ionization zone' in
IEEE Transactionson Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation
the liquid is clearly incorrect. The only locations where high field pro-
cesses occur in the liquid phase are of microscopic size ("1 pm) in front
of filaments heads. Ionization and charge multiplication probably take
place in this region. The different luminous parts of the streamer (flash-
ing trunk, glow) are clearly related to different types of electrical phe-
nomena occurring within gaseous filaments. The shape of currents asso-
ciated to weakly luminous filaments (glow) indicate a permanent con-
ductivity, with an estimated longitudinal field -20 kV/cm [8,13,20,
251. The intensity of recorded currents (lop3to 10W2A) suggests that
a process similar to a glow discharge in gases could be involved within
thin filaments. Afterwards, within main trunks of larger size and lower
pressure, this mechanism is replaced by regular bright flashes. The in-
tensity of current pulses (<a0 A in large gaps [lo]) together with the
strong light emission are reminiscent of electric arcs. However, compar-
isons with classical gas discharges must be considered as highly spec-
ulative, since strongly unusual conditions are found here. The gas is
located within a long and thin 'liquid tube', ~ 1 p m 0 in diameter, and
interactions at the liquid/gas interface (charge trapping, gas cooling)
must be very important.
There is some experimental evidence that flashing trunks are con-
ductive only during re-illuminations: the transition to breakdown (Fig-
ure 12), and the fact that no conduction current is detected between to-
tal re-illuminations (Figure 7). Between them, the necessary conditions
for the appearance of the next gaseous discharge are re-established,i.e.
electric field, pressure, etc. A spectroscopic study of the emitted light of
long discharges would probably give interesting data about conduction
processes within filaments.
In addition to the various basic processes involved in positive stream-
ers, macroscopic electrostatic effects appear to be very important. The
correlation between shape, charge and velocity (Figure 6) suggests that
the streamer global shape determines to some extent its propagation. In
particular, between Vb and V,, the intense branching may act as a reg-
ulatory mechanism that contributes to stabilize the field in front of the
streamer, and explain the remarkable quasi-constant velocity of second
mode streamers. These hypotheses will be developed in [18].
As concerns the faster 3rd mode streamers, many characteristics are
similar to the second mode (shape of currents, streak photographs) and
we can suppose that the mechanisms involved are comparable. The
main difference appears to be the propagation velocity that is no more
stable. The features of the 4th mode are very different, and certainly
reflect different propagation mechanisms. In particular, the question
raises about the possibility of generating a gas phase at such a high ve-
locity (> lOOx the velocity of sound in liquids). Also, as pointed out
in [22], since 4th mode appear to be initiated from the extremity of 3rd
mode, the problem of the continuity of the current recorded in the ex-
ternal circuit is discussed.
7.3 PRACTICAL CONSEQUENCES
As concerns plain oil gaps, it has been observed that breakdown with
conditions close to those found in large systems as transformers mainly
results from 2nd mode positive streamers [lo]. Thus 3rd and 4th modes
should only concern breakdown in the case of large overvoltages.
However, two additional parameters will contribute to make the sit-
uation more complex in practice. Experiments carried out with semi-
Vol. 5 No. 3, June 1998 369
uniform gaps, i.e. plane parallel electrodes with a small triggering point
attached a plane, show that the propagation is quite different when the
streamer is initiated close to a plane surface: the propagation of negative
streamers is quenched [lo], and the acceleration of positive streamers
occurs at a much higher voltage as compared to a point-plane gap 1261.
These effects are due to the presence of a large mei allic electrode behind
the streamer, that strongly reduces the electric field at their extremity in
the case of small streamers. Since this situation represents more closely
what may happen in a HV system, i.e. a streamer initiated by a particle
or by a surface defect in a low divergent field, this effect will tend to
hinder the propagation of fast streamers. 011the other hand, the propa-
gation of fast streamers is considerably favored when they creep along
insulating solids [22,27], or when they are forced to propagate within a
limited liquid volume [HI. Since solids are always present in devices,
this effect may counterbalance the preceding one in real insulating sys-
tems. The effects of gap geometry and insulating solids on fast negative
streamers are not known at this time.
7.4 EXTRAPOLATION TO LARGER
GAPS AND OTHER L.IQUIDS
In very large gaps, fast streamers have not been already described,
but information can be deduced from breakdown measurements in rod-
plane gaps [3]. With short duration 1/40 ps impulses and very large
gaps, breakdown can be produced only by fast 3rd and 4th mode stream-
ers. Thus the measured breakdown voltage must be close to the ac-
celeration voltage V,. Indeed, times to breakdown measured under
such conditions (distances 6 1m) indicate average breakdown veloci-
ties V > 40 km/s [3].On the other hand, times to breakdown reported
for longer switching impulses (600/3600 ps) correspond to the propa-
gation of 2nd mode streamers (V M 2 km/s), and measured breakdown
voltages can be compared with those measured with 0.4/1400 ps im-
pulses. In fact, such measurements are found in good continuity (Fig-
ure 21). Breakdown voltages measured with 1/40 ps impulses indicate
that at high distances (d > 15cm) the acceleration of streamers occurs
at voltages much lower than 2.2% (Vimeasured with switching im-
pulses). As a consequence, in very large gaps insulation must be more
sensitive to overvoltages, even of short duration, than for shorter dis-
tances.
The results presented here concern specifically positive streamers in
mineral oil, and the extrapolation to other liquid:; must be considered
as highly misleading. In fact, similar experiments show that the behav-
ior of streamers can be very different according to the liquid nature. For
instance in water, the positive breakdown voltage in a 5 cm point-plane
gap (40 kV) is one third of that measured in oil (125 kV), but the aver-
age breakdown velocity is lox higher (19 km/s) [IS]. Even in non-polar
liquids, such large discrepancies can be found: in cqclohexane, the accel-
eration of streamers occurs just above the breakdown voltage (V,= vb)
[28], and in polyaromatic liquids it is recorded below Vb [29].
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors wish to acknowledge Mr. M. Hilaire for his contribution
to the building of experiments, A. Saker that performed some of the ex-
periments presented here, L. Lundgaard, R. Tobazeon and I? Rain for
fruitful discussions throughout this work. This paper (parts I and 11)
370 Lesaint et al.: Positive Streamer Propagation in Large Oil gaps

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