Flashover of non-uniform (NU) gaps: the polarity effect

V-I characteristics of electrical discharge

• V-I graph is strictly valid for DC discharges in gas discharge tubes

• however, similar phenomenon occur in case of AC flashover in air

• not realizable in one single setup

• explains different stages of discharge with I ranging from nA to kA

 V-I characteristics of electrical discharge

• electrons from cosmic radiation accelerate & cause

ionization

• electron avalanche—>secondary emission—> Townsend

discharges

• space charge effect is initially negligible

• with increasing current, space charge becomes important

• space charge sheaths formed & transition to glow occurs

 V-I characteristics of electrical discharge

• glow transition is often referred as ‘breakdown’

• With increase in current, transition from a normal glow to an

abnormal glow occurs

• plasma heating & transition to an arc discharge occurs

• Arc is marked by -ve resistance region (low V and high I)

 Corona discharges
• In uniform gaps, V at which ionisation starts = BDV (3 kV/mm
for air)

• in non uniform gaps, the Emax occurs near electrodes of

smaller ‘r’; ionization threshold gets exceeded only in these
areas

• Partial discharge or ‘corona’ occurs thereafter

• Corona is a self- sustaining discharge (f = 20 Hz to 20 kHz)

• it is visible as bluish/violet colour and audible with a hissing

noise
 Corona discharges
• Corona is a luminous discharge formed due to ionization of
the air surrounding an electrode, caused by a voltage gradient
exceeding a certain critical value.

• These discharges generate light, audible noise, radio noise,

and energy loss among other things.

• undesirable effects of corona

‣ pre-cursor to flashover
‣ radio interference
‣ additional power loss
‣ insulation degradation due to UV radiation from corona
Corona discharges

More details
A variety of forms of corona discharge, from
various metal objects. Notice, especially in the
last two pictures, how the discharge is
concentrated at the points on the objects.
Corona on cylindrical conductors

a : 2cm, b: 12 cm, V: 150 kV

- gap between conductors: 10 cm
- avg. E: 15 kV/cm
- actual field variation Ea is

field strength exceeds 30 kV/cm

in the shaded region
- In this region the air gets ionized
- partial breakdown or corona
starts
 Peek’s empirical equation for visible corona onset at the surface of
the HV conductor in coaxial cylinders:

E =E0mδ(1+K (δ.a)−s) kV/cm

where E0 = 30 (units: kV/cm)

m = surface roughness factor (0.7 to 1)
a = radius of the inner conductor
K and s are constants (K=0.3, s=0.5)
and δ is air density factor given by

Corona at sharp points

A sharp point can be
modelled as a small
sphere (radius a) where,
p: ambient pressure
If ground is very far from p0: normal pressure (1 bar)
the sharp point, then t: ambient temperature
Esharp point = V/a
t0: normal temperature (20°C)
 Problems caused by corona
Corona in air appears as bluish luminous discharge with ozone
formation

Corona Interference (Radio Interference Voltage, RIV):

- Corona current pulses produce magnetic and electrostatic fields
- the fields in turn induce high frequency voltage pulses in nearby
radio antennas (Radio interference in the range 0.2 to 10 MHz)

Corona Losses:
- Corona current causes power loss on the line
- During rain, corona forms on droplets on the conductor
- losses of tens of MW can occur on a 500 kV line
 Measures to curb Corona
Corona is caused by field intensification at sharp points
(small r)

- Sharp edges and points on HV hardware must be avoided

- For EHV lines bundled conductors (4 per phase) are used

- On the 800 kV lines (UHV) 6 or 8 conductors are used

- bundle conductors result in large radius thus minimizing

losses

- Grading rings fitted at insulator-Line joints reduces corona

Measures to curb Corona
 Breakdown in Vacuum as Electrical Insulator

Conductive matter that enables breakdown in vacuum

insulation can come from several sources

• Semi-conductive surface oxides from the inner surfaces

of the vacuum chamber
• Impurity concentrations, such as, adsorbates, dust
• Organic vapours from, e.g., grease and rubber O-rings

The breakdown strength of vacuum depends strongly

upon the magnitude of pressure.
Breakdown characteristics with ac power frequency voltage, measured at
different pressures for an electrode system with weakly non-uniform field
 Generation of High Voltages (AC)in lab

- HVAC is ge ne rat e d in lab for insul ati on t e st i ng purpose

- pri ma r y source of powe r is at 2 3 0 V ( 120 V), 5 0 Hz ( 6 0 Hz)

- load impe dance s involved are in Mega ohm range and curre n t s
<1 A

- hence , High Voltage t e st i ng ne e d not re qui re high powe r rat i ngs

 Generation of High Voltages (AC)in lab

Me thods to ge ne rate hig h AC voltages

are :

• Cas c ade trans formers (pow e r fre q )

• Re s onant trans forme r (pow er fre q)
• Res onant trans forme r (high fre q:
Tes la Coil)
 Cascade Transformers

- for V < 400kV, a single t ran s fo rme r can be u s ed for t es t i n g

- for voltage > 4 0 0 kV, single t ran s fo rme r is usually avoided

‣ insulation p ro b l ems

‣ ex p en s i ve

‣ Tran s p o rt at i o n an d as s emb l y become difficult

- Cascade o r s eri es connection of t ran s fo rme rs is a b et t er choice

 Cas c ade Trans form ers

• 2 o r 3 identical t r a n sfo r me r s in
cascade
• se c o n da ry HV windings in series
 Circuit configuration

- E ach t ran s fo rme r h as LV, HV an d t ert i ary o r excitation windings

- t an k of 1 s t t ran s fo rmer, T1, is at gro u n d potential

‣ Excitation winding of T1 is co n n ect ed to LV winding of T2

‣ Rat i n gs of E xc.winding (p rev T) an d LV winding (n ex t T) are

similar

‣ HV winding an d excitation winding are t ak en t h ro u gh a b u s h i n g

 Circuit configuration

- HV of T1 an d s eco n d ary of T2 co n n ect ed to t an k of T2

- Tan k potential of T2 is V an d hence, it is k ep t o n a n i n s u l at o r

- HV of T2 an d s eco n d ary of T3 co n n ect ed to t an k of T3

- Tan k potential of T3 is 2V an d k ep t o n a mu ch h i gh er
i n s u l at o r
- All th ree HV windings a re in s eri es
- The o u tp u t Voltage a t T3 s eco n d a ry is 3V w.r.t. g ro u n d
 Load distribu tion in Ca sca de
Tra nsformer

If P is t h e r a t e d KVA o f t h e c a sc a d e se t , t h e n P = 3 VI

e a c h o f t h e HV win d in gs wil l t h u s c a r r y a c u r r e nt o f, I = P/3V

E a c h o f t h e se c o n dar y win d in gs c a r r y 1 / 3 rd p o we r i. e . P / 3
 - Lo ad d i s t ri b u t i o n i n C as cad e Tran s fo r m er

- P ri mary of T3 is loaded wi t h P / 3 —>supplied by exc winding of T2

- Next, p ri mar y of T2 supplies 2 / 3 r d P (P / 3 of sec + P / 3 of ex c)

- Finally, p ri mar y of T1 supplies full power P

- i.e. h eavy loading of p r i ma ry an d ex citation windings fo r lower

stages; a factor to be co n s i d ered in designing the cascade set
 Ou t p u t Vo l t age o f C as cad e Tran s fo rmer: rat i o effect

Unity P F

Lag

Le a d

- o/p voltage at T3 =
C as cad e r a t i o ( R ) x M e a s u r e d vo lt a ge a t T1
s eco n d ary (k V)
- In the three stage transformer case discussed, R=3 (practically,
slightly >3)
- Usually, load t h a t comes o n cas cad e s et is capaciti ve
- for capaciti ve load, full load voltage > no-load voltage
- for a cas cad e set, t h i s “loading effect” will be more
 Ad van t ages an d Di s ad van t ages of Cascade Tran s fo rmer

• Disadvant age
- E x p en s i ve an d req u i res mo re s p ace

• Ad van t ages
- Nat u ral cooling is sufficient

- The t ran s fo rme rs are light an d co mp act

- Tran s p o rt at i o n an d as s emb l y is eas y

- Constructio n is identical for individual u n i t s

 High Voltage Lab, IISc
1963 2023

Each transformer is rated at 50 Hz, 2.3 kV/350 kV

Secondary of each transformer has a measurement winding (1:1000)

An alternator (1 MVA, 2.3 kV) feeds primary of first transformer

Ca sca de Tra nsfo r me r connection a t High Voltage Lab, IISc
Ge ne rationof High Alternating Voltage s in Lab

M e t h o d s t o g e n e ra t e h i g h A C v o l t a g es a r e :

• C a s c a d e t ra n s f o r m e r s
• Resonant transformer (po wer f r e q)
• R e s o n a n t t ra n s f o r m e r ( h i g h f r e q : T E S L A C O I L )
 S er ie s Reso na nt Tra nsfo r m er
Circuit basically consists of

• a n H V t ra n s f o r m e r ( t e s t t ra n s f o r m er )

• a d ju s ta bl e i n d u ct an ce

• S h u n t ca p a c i t a n c e a cr o s s o u t p u t t e rm i n a l ( b u s h i n g + t es t
object)
 S e r i e s R e s o n a nt Tra n s f o r me r

G e n e ra l l y u s e d f o r

• testing cables

• d i e l e c t r i c l o s s m e a s u r em e n t

• ca p a ci t i ve l o a d t es t s
 S e r i e s R e s o n a nt Tra n s f o r me r

• Seri es res o n a nce o ccu rs a t p o w er f req u en cy i f ω L = 1 / ω C

• Current is lim it ed by circuit res is tan ce

• Vo l t a g e a c r o s s t e s t o b j e c t w i l l b e p u r e l y s i n u s o i d a l
 S e r i e s R e s o n a nt Tra n s f o r me r

—>eqt ck t —>

• where R is t he s eries res is tance of t he circuit

• I n d u c t a n c e c a n b e v a r i e d o v e r a w i d e ra n g e d e p e n d i n g o n
load C
• U n d e r r e s o n a n c e , c u r r e n t i n t h e c i r c u i t i s V/ R
• Vo u t = Vc = ( V/ R ) ( 1 /ω C)
• where V = applied voltage
• Si n ce a t res o n a nce, ω L = 1 / ω C
• Vo u t = Vc = ( V/ R ) ( 1 /ω C ) = ( V/ R ) ω L = V ( 1 / R ) ( s q r t ( L / C ) )
= V Qf

• w h ere Q f = q u a l i t y fa ct o r o f t h e ci rcu i t ( 4 0 < Q < 8 0 )

 S e r i e s R e s o nantTra n s f o r m er

we h ave Vo ut =V Qf
- Vout can be vari ed by varyi n g i n p u t voltage V

- Vout can be vari ed by varyi n g t h e i n d u ct an ce (t h u s Qf)

- if Qf = 4 0 , t h en Vout = 4 0 t i mes i n p u t AC voltage; HVAC is achieved

Typically fo r a rat ed voltage of 5 0 0 k V, c u rr e n t of 5A an d

Capacitive load of 1 0 0 0 -6 0 , 0 0 0 pF

L will be ab o u t 4 7 0 -9 5 0 0 H
S e r ie s R e so n a n t Tr a n sfo r me r
P haso r diagram fo r the po wer
at reso nance

S = Ap p a r e n t p o w e r P = R e a l
po wer
Q = Reactive po wer

w e h a ve a t r e s o n a n c e Vo u t = V Q f a n d Q f = X L/ R = X c / R
- C u r r e n t in t e s t o b j e c t is in p h a s e w it h s o u r c e vo lt a g e ( s in c e c ir c u it
is in r e s o n a n c e )
- P o w e r r e q u ir e d f r o m s o u r c e is P in = V I = a p p a r e n t p o w e r = r e a l
power
- ( a t r e s o n a n c e , a p p a r e n t kVA is = r e a l p o w e r d is s ip a t e d )
- ( R e a c t ive ) P o w e r s u p p lie d t o t e s t o b j e c t is
P o ut = Vo ut I = Q f V I = Q f P i n
- Q f is , t h e r e f o r e , = P o ut / P i n = s t o r e d e n e r gy / d is s ip a t e d e n e r g y
- if Q f = 40, t h e n r e a c t ive kVA o f lo a d is 40 t im e s t h e a p p a r e n t kVA
o f in p u t t r a n s f o r m e r
‣ i. e . s m a ll p o w e r r a t in g o f in p u t t r a n s f o r m e r is s u f f ic ie n t
 Series Re s onant Trans forme r
s o me p o i n t s to reme mb er

- Qf of s eri es res o n an t circuit is = R eact i ve power / Real power

- Qf signifies how mu ch en ergy is s t o red co mp ared to t h a t dissipated

- at res o n an ce, inductive react o r supplies capaciti ve react o r power

- real power dissipated in res i s t an ce

= (1/Q f)(Capacitan ce react i ve p o wer )

- inp u t t ran s fo rme r only n eed s to meet real power losses, which, at
res o n an ce equals t h e ap p aren t power
 Series Re s onant Trans forme r
Advantage s
- Inp u t power req u i remen t s in k VA = k VAload /Quality fact o r

- p u re sine wave output; s u p p res s i o n of h armo n i cs

- if t es t object fails, res o n an ce is lost & n o HV acro s s t es t object

- simple t es t arran ge m e n t

- l es s er weight co n s i d erat i on s co mp ared to cas cad e s et

‣ cas cad e t ran s fo rme r —>10 to 2 0 k g/KVA
‣ s eri es res o n an t circuit —>3 to 6 k g/KVA
G e n e ra t i on of High A lt e rn a t i n g Volt age s in Lab

M et h o d s to gen erat e high AC voltages are:

• Cascade t ran s fo rmers

• R es o n an t t ran s fo rme r (p o wer freq)
• Res o n a n t tra n s fo rmer (h i g h freq: TESLA COIL)
 Tesla Coil

• Tesla coil is also k n o wn as High freq u en cy res o n an t t ran s fo rmer

• High freq u en cy HV is s o met i mes n eces s ary (few kHz to MHz)

- to t es t t h e power ap p arat u s u n d er switching s u rges

- to t es t t h e i n s u l at o r fl as h o ver
- but HFHV —> causes dielectric loss and heating —> insulation failure
- n eed to p ro d u ce d amp ed high freq u en cy voltages
 Tesla Coil

Main Features……..

- ab s en ce of i ro n core an d h en ce saving in cost an d size

- P u re sine wave o u t p u t

- Slow build-up of voltage over a few cycles an d h en ce no

d amage d u e to switching s u rges
 S t a n d a r d Transfor m er Vs Tesla Coil

S t an d ard Tran s fo rmer Tesla Coil

Tight ma g coupling b/w p r i & sec Relatively loose coupling

Voltage gai n —>by t u r n s ratio Voltage gai n —>mai n ly by res o n an ce

Iro n core —>low frequencies Air-core —> h i gh er frequencies

S eco n d ary is closed S eco n d ary is o p en

 Tesla Coil
Basic circuit of Tesla coil
 Tesla Coil
Basic circuit of Tesla coil
Tesla coil in Nikola Tesla Museum, Belgrade, Serbia
 Modified circuit
Tesla Coil
Basic cir cu it
5 0 Hz HVAC
so u rce

Cs = total s eco n d a ry cap aci t an ce to gro u n d

S. gap = s p ark gap

- P ri mary an d s eco n d ary circuits are RLC circuits wi t h very low R

- d o t t ed lines are n o t directly visible

- “top-load” is just one p l at e of cap aci t o r Cs ( a d i s t ri b ut ed o n e)

 Tesla Coil

Cp

- chargin g of p ri ma r y cap aci t o r Cp by 5 0 Hz HVAC s o u rce

- Capacitor is so ch o s en t h a t it gets fully ch arged in every half cycle

- +ve/-ve chargin g of cap aci t o r will n o t affect o p erat i o n of Tesla coil

 Tesla Coil

- When Cp is fully charged , s p ark o ccu rs closing t h e p ri mar y circuit

- S p ark gap is ad j u s t ed to fire ex act l y wh en Cp voltage reach es p eak

- ch arge an d discharge of Cp t ak es place twice in one voltage cycle

 Tesla Coil

- Cp & Lp form parallel res o n an t circuit —>HF oscillation res u l t s

- E n ergy dissipated in s p ark gap cau s es HF oscillation to decay

- Hu n d red s of t h es e “damp ed oscillations” o ccu r p er second

- n at u ral res o n an t freq u en cy is usually b et ween 5 0 kHz to 4 0 0 kHz

- Wh at h ap p en s i n s eco n d ary wi n d i n g?
 Tesla Coil

- P ri mary an d s eco n d ary circuits are magnet ical l y coupled

- Oscillations in p ri ma r y will induce similar o n es in s eco n d ary

- Cs an d Ls res u l t in an o t h er parallel res o n an t circuit

- Cp & Lp form parallel resonant circuit —> HF oscillation results

- energy transfer occurs from Cp to Lp & back to Cp & back to Lp…due to resonance

- electric field in Cp changes to magnetic field in Lp and back to electric field in Cp at a

rate determined by Lp x Cp

- Ls picks up some energy from Lp each time Lp charges up

- note that primary and secondary ckts resonate at same frequency

- Cs gets electrically charged from Ls as and when Ls discharges at a rate determined by Ls x Cs

- Energy in Ls builds up little by little from Lp in each cycle —> called resonant rise

- Terminal voltage at “top-load” or Cs gets higher on each cycle till a breakdown occurs
Tesla Coil – slightly different connection
 Tesla Coil

- R es o n an t freq u en cy of t h e p ri mar y mu s t be = t h a t of t h e s eco n d ary

- Oscillations in t h e p ri mary, induce emf in s eco n d ary

- weak magn et i c coupling is desirable between p ri & sec i.e. t h e

coupling co n s t an t is b et ween 0 . 0 5 - 0 . 2

- Several oscillations will t h erefo re be req u i red to t ran s fer en ergy

- S t r o ng coupling causes fa st voltage r ise in se c o n d a ry, c a u sin g in t e r-turn

sp a r k s
 Tesla Coil

p r ima r y a n d secondary
voltages

- E n e r gy gets t r a n s f e r r e d → p r ima r y to s e c o n d a r y r e s o n a n t circuit

- Ove r s e v e r a l cycles, a m plitude of p r i m a r y oscillations d e c r e as es

a n d t h a t of s e c o n d a r y oscillation in c r e a s e s

- Decay of p r ima r y oscillation →" P r ima ry Ring-down"

- S t a r t of s e c o n d a r y oscillation is →"Secondary Ring-up"

TESLA COIL

- S p ark gap in p ri mar y s t o p s firing d u e to d ecreas e in voltage

- P ri mary ck t is now o p en & en ergy is t rap p ed in s eco n d ary

- When s eco n d ary voltage is high enough, s p ark s o ccu r at “top load”

- s eco n d ary voltage will be a d amp ed oscillation

- Oscillation d ecays exponenti all y as ch arge d ecays d u e to s p ark s

 Tesla Coil

- P ri mary cap aci t o r begins to ch arge again fro m HV supply

- Whole p ro ces s of en ergy t ran s fer rep eat s

- E n ergy t ran s fer t ak es place s everal h u n d red t i mes p er second

 Tesla Coil
How does a Tesla coil gen erat es s u ch high voltages?

- HV gain of Tesla Coil lies in t ran s fer of en ergy from:

‣ Large p ri mar y cap aci t an ce —-> small s eco n d ary cap aci t an ce

i.e. E n ergy (p ri ) = 0 . 5 Cp Vp² = 0 . 5 CsVs 2 = E n ergy (s eco n d a ry)

- for exampl e, if p ri mar y cap aci t o r is 4 7 n F an d it is ch arged to 2 0 k V

t h en s t o red en ergy is

Ep = 0 . 5 x 4 7 n F x ( 2 0 0 0 0 ) ² = 9 . 4 J o u l es
 Tesla Coil

- we h ave, Ep = 0 . 5 x 4 7 n F x ( 2 0 0 0 0 ) ² = 9 . 4 J o u l es

- S eco n d ary s t ray cap aci t an ce is typically aro u n d 2 5 pF

- as s u mi n g n o loss of en ergy fro m p ri mar y to secondary, we h ave

- Ep = Es = 9 . 4 J = 0 . 5 x 2 5 p F x Vs²

Vs² = 9 . 4 / (0 . 5 x 2 5 p F )

Vs = 8 6 7 kV
 Voltage gain of Tesla coil
- since all p ri mar y en ergy goes into t h e secondary, we h ave

E n ergy (p ri ) = E n ergy (s ec) = 0 . 5 Cp Vp² = 0 . 5 CsVs 2

o r Vs/Vp = Voltage Gain = s q rt (Cp / Cs)

fu rt h er,
- p ri mar y an d s eco n d ary circuits s h are s ame res o n an t freq u en cy f r

i.e. CpLp = CsLs o r Cp/Cs = Ls/Lp

an d
Voltage Gain = s q rt (Cp / Cs) = s q rt (Ls / Lp)
 Tesla Coil

In practice, ‘top load’ voltage << theoretically calculated values

because:

- E n ergy loss in winding res i s t an ces

- E n ergy loss in p ri mar y s p ark gap (as light, h eat & s o u n d )

- EM rad i at i o n loss fro m p ri ma r y an d s eco n d ary coils (an t en n as )

- Corona fro m t h e “Top load” to n earb y gro u n d ed objects

 Distribution of s ec ondary c apac itance

Tesla Coil

The total s eco n d ary cap aci t an ce Cs is:

Cs = Ct + Cb + Ce
wh ere,
Ct: Top load to Gro u n d cap aci t an ce wi t h ai r as dielectric
Cb: In t er-t u rn cap aci t an ce of s eco n d ary winding
Ce: Capacitan ce between top load an d n earb y objects/walls
(Significant for long d rawn s p ark s )

All p u t t o get h er Cs will be few t en s of pF……but still plays a

crucial role in voltage gain
 Ge ne rationof High Im pulse Voltage s in Lab

- Di st urba nc e s i n e l e ctric syst e m →t r a n si e n t voltage s

- Tran s i en t o r Impu ls e voltage magn i t u d es >> power freq AC voltages

‣ Lightning i mpul se s ( sh o r t e r d ura t i on - 1 . 2 /5 0 u s)

‣ Switching i mpul se s (l onge r d ura t i on - 2 5 0 / 2 5 0 0 u s)

- P owe r a p p a r a t u s ne e d t o be t e st e d for t he se i mpul se voltages

(i n a d d ition t o powe r freq AC vol t a ges)

- Therefore, a ne e d a ri se s t o ge ne ra t e i mpul se voltages i n lab

• Impuls e voltage is n o rmal l y unidirect ion al voltage
- ri s es rapidly to a p eak val u e an d t h en falls less rapidly to zero

• Impuls e voltage can be

- a full wave
‣ wa ve for m a p p e a r s com p le t e ly wit h ou t ca u sin g fla sh ove r or
p u n c t ur e on t h e load side

- ‘tail chopped o r fro n t chopped’ wave

‣ flash-over occurs causing t h e voltage to fall e xt r e me ly rapidly
‣ u se d for detection of win d in g/ turn faults in t r a n sfo r me r s