12-E-HVS-345

Measuring of Corona Discharge Inception Voltage to Determine Electric

Field over the non-homogenous Electrodes in the Air insulation

Hamid JAVADI* and Masoud FARZANEH

I D
NSERC / Hydro-Quebec / UQAC Industrial Chair on Atmospheric Icing of Power Network
Equipment (CIGELE) and Canada Research Chair on Engineering of Power Network
Atmospheric Icing (INGIVRE),

f S
Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, Chicoutimi, Québec, Canada, G7H 2B1
http://www.cigele.ca
*On leave from the Power and Water Institute of Technology (PWIT), Tehran, Iran
http://www.pwit.ac.ir

Abstract:
Some investigations on corona discharge were
e o
freezing precipitation conditions. Corona discharge
and radio interference generated in high voltage

i v
carried out using several inter-electrode distances
and two values of high voltage electrode-point
radii in order to determine electric field strength.
substations and on transmission lines can cause
problems with the reception of radio
communication equipment, and also adversely

c h
The characteristics of pre-breakdown voltage and
current between two electrodes in air insulation
were determined, under 60 Hz ac high voltages.
affect the performance of power line carrier
signals. At higher voltage levels, and certainly at
voltages of 230 kV and above, losses and

r
The methodology for these experiments is interference due to the corona effect can be the
described and the results are discussed and used to dominant factor in determining the physical size of
establish mathematical and empirical models for conductors for transmission lines, as well as the

A
predicting flashover on high voltage devices. The
results confirm that there is good concordance
between the electric fields obtained using the finite
element method and those of experiments.

Keywords: Electric field, corona discharge, finite-

element, modeling, high voltage
1-Introduction
Most high voltage devices require a sound
geometric design to reduce the risk of corona
discharge. This type of discharge induces radio
interference, power losses, and may sometimes
lead to flashover arcs on the equipment on which
the device is installed. The effect of corona
discharge is more pronounced under rain, snow, or
size and shape of high voltage electrodes [1-3].
The voltage gradients surrounding conductors and
high voltage electrodes may normally lead to
partial breakdown of the air insulation, which is
known as corona discharge. This voltage gradient
or electric field on practical high voltage
equipment surfaces is commonly non-uniform. The
maximum electric field depends on the type of
insulating medium and surrounding atmospheric
conditions. Insulator surfaces exposed to tangential
electric fields must also be considered, as they
frequently constitute the weakest part of high
voltage equipment against electric field stress.
Electric field determination is still the main
objective of experimental and theoretical studies.
The introduction and development of models and
high-performance software is going to continue

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 Measuring of Corona Discharge Inception Voltage to Determine Electric Field over the non-homogenous Electrodes in the Air insulatio
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especially for different insulation materials,
particularly those used under precipitation
conditions.
The electrical properties of insulating materials are
much influenced by the aging process. Natural
aging is caused by electrical and thermal stress
and, furthermore, electrical and thermal overload
accelerates the process and reduces the dielectric
strength. Electrical aging strictly depends on the
electric field and it can be initiated by two types of
discharges, including (i) discharges or breakdowns
that cover the entire insulation distance, possibly
leading to the complete destruction of the device,
or (ii) partial discharges that bridge a part of the
insulation of the device [4].
Several reported power outages in cold-climate
regions have been due to flashovers at the surface
of ice and snow covering insulators [5-7]. This is
mostly due to non-uniform voltage distribution
complex boundary conditions. For this purpose,
several software packages have been introduced,
one of which is based on MATLAB software,
known as PDETOOL. The program is designed to
determine precisely the distribution of electric
potential and electric field for different electrode
geometries and different insulation materials.
However, the application may exclude highly non-
uniform electric field distributions (electrode
geometry is normally too small in comparing with
the minimum distance between the electrodes). For
example, EPRI has developed equation 4 by using
the image method, for electric field calculation at
the vicinity of the high voltage conductors of
transmission lines [2-3, 9].
E=

I D V
⎛2⋅D⎞
r × ln⎜ ⎟
⎝ r ⎠
(4)

S
along the ice-covered insulator, when a highly
conductive water film is formed at the ice surface,
in series with air gaps during a melting period. A where r and D are respectively the radius and
considerable voltage drop appears along the air
gaps, and due to the high electric stress, corona
discharge and local arcs appear. These phenomena
have been the subject of study by researchers at
o
voltage.

f
height of the conductor, and V is the applied

For very sharp-tipped electrodes, as shown in

Figure 1, equation (5), introduced by Naidu [1], is
used.

e
CIGELE/INGIVRE [5-7].
The main objective of this paper is to determine
V ⎛ ⎞

v
the electric field strength based on corona D
E= ⎜ 0.94 + 0.8 ⎟ (5)

i
discharge inception. Based on the laboratory 4⋅D ⎝ r ⎠
investigations, mathematical and empirical models

h
for predicting flashover on high voltage devices where r and D are the radius of the high voltage
were elaborated. electrode (sphere) and the distance between two

2- Electric field description

r c
The general solution for the electric field in
electrodes (sphere-plane) respectively. Also, for
cases in which the corona discharge is generated
on the surface of high voltage electrode, Le Roy
has introduced equation 6 to determine maximum

A
insulating systems can be obtained by electrostatic electric field at the point of discharge channel
equations, as follows [8]: (Figure 2).
r ρ
Div( E ) = (1) 2 ⋅V
ε0 E= (6)
r ⎛ 4⋅ D⎞
E = − grad (V ) (2) r ln⎜ ⎟
⎝ r ⎠
where E, V, ρ and ε 0 are electric field, electric where r is the high voltage rod radius and d is the
potential, charge volume, and permittivity of air gap length between the point of initiated corona
respectively. discharge and the ground electrode. It must be
Combining equations 1 and 2 yields; noted that the equations 4, 5 and 6 are presented
ρ for the condition if D>>r.
Div( grad (V )) = − (3)
ε0

Numerical methods, such as finite element [14-15],

can be used to solve equation (3) in 2D or 3D
domains, especially for system insulation with

2
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 Measuring of Corona Discharge Inception Voltage to Determine Electric Field over the non-homogenous Electrodes in the Air insulatio
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highest field strength occurs at the surface of the

inner conductor, which can be obtained using the
following equation:

V
E= (8)
⎛r +d ⎞
r ln⎜ ⎟
⎝ r ⎠

Figure (1): Electrodes for non-uniform distribution where ‘r’ is equal to the radius of the inner
electric field conductor and ‘d’ is the radial distance between
inner conductor and screen.

III) Concentric spheres: the field strength is

D
maximal at the surface of the inner sphere with
radius ‘r’ and can be determined by equation (9).

I V d +r

S
E= ⋅ (9)
r d

Figure (2): Schematic of electrodes for determining

of electric field as a corona discharge channel is
o f
The first case above is the only one that gives a
uniform electric field distribution. Indeed, the
critical voltage to start the corona discharge must

e
be equal to the breakdown voltage of the insulation
developed between two plates. With limited plate surface

v
(using Rogowski’s surface) and for 1-cm layer of

i
3- Method for electric field determination air insulation, the breakdown voltage is nearly 32
kv, depending on the atmospheric conditions. In all
As mentioned in Section 2, if the volume charge

h
other cases of electrodes, the critical voltage
density in equation 3 is zero, the electric field leading to corona discharge is smaller than their

c
between electrodes is calculated by solving the breakdown voltage, due to non-uniform electric
Laplace’s equation, considering that the electrodes field distribution. The amplitude of the current

r
are equi-potential surfaces. The following three
electrode configurations can only be calculated

A
precisely by theoretical solution of Laplace’s
equation [1, 11]:

I) infinitely long parallel plates: in this case,

reached a few microamperes at a stress of about 32
kv /cm, without leading to breakdown. Several
bright spots at the surface of the high voltage
electrode and small spikes over the current
waveform could be recognized [12, 13].

because of the perfect symmetry, the electric field, 4- Experimental set-up

E, at any point between the plates with distance, D,
is independent of the location and can be The plate-plate and rod-plate electrodes, presenting
calculated using the following equation: respectively uniform and non-uniform electric field
distributions, are used to investigate the given
relations (ref. Section 3) to determine the
V maximum electric field, as a function of the
E= . (7)
D geometry of high voltage electrodes. Two half-
spheres with radii, r, equal to 16 mm, are used
where ‘V’ is the applied voltage to the electrodes. (Figure 3) instead of plates, in order to prevent the
non-uniform electric field at the corner of the
II) Infinitely long co-axial cylinders, as high limited surface plate. These half-spheres generate
voltage conductors, where the electric field is an electric field distribution very close to a uniform
formed between two concentric cylinders. The one, as the distance between them, d, is adjusted to

3
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 Measuring of Corona Discharge Inception Voltage to Determine Electric Field over the non-homogenous Electrodes in the Air insulatio
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1 cm and the distance between sphere-plane
electrode system is less than the diameter of sphere
(d<2r).
a) plate-plate electrodes
e o
v
h i
r c
b) rod-plate electrodes
Figure (3): Electrode system used to observe the
A
electric field
Figure 4 shows the schematic diagram of the
experimental set-up, consisting of a high voltage ac
generator and the measurement system for the
applied voltage and the current passing through the
electrodes. Placing the set-up in a dark room made
it possible to visualize the bright spots of the
corona discharges.
5- Measuring of electric field
For the purpose of measuring the electric field, a
sphere-sphere electrode system, as shown in Figure
3-a, are used. The radius of the sphere is 1.7 cm,
which will generate a uniform electric field for an
inter electrode distance of less than 1.7 cm. The
4
distance is adjusted to 1 cm and the voltage is then
applied. It is observed that, at the instant of
initiation of the bright spot of corona discharge,
breakdown occurs. Indeed, this confirms that in
this electrode system, the electric field is
completely uniform and the maximum value of
electric field is equal to the average. The peak
value of applied voltage is 32.5 kV, generating an
electric field of 32.5 kV/cm, which is the minimum
required to start corona discharge under test
conditions. This electric field strength is selected
as criterion for measuring the electric field for the
other electrode system. For this case, figure 5
shows the potential and electric field distribution
obtained by finite element method.
I D
f S
Figure (4) Schematic diagram of the experimental
set-up
Figure (5) Uniform electric potential and field
distribution determined by finite element method
In the case of a non-uniform electric field, the rod-
sphere system is used. The radius of the rod point
is 0.92 mm and the sphere is same as that used in
the case of the uniform electric field. The electrode
system is placed inside the dark room, then, the
high voltage is connected and gradually increased
until the first bright spot appears. At this moment
the peak value of applied voltage is measured and
inserted in the set of equations 4, 5, and 6 to
calculate the electric field. It is observed that a
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 Measuring of Corona Discharge Inception Voltage to Determine Electric Field over the non-homogenous Electrodes in the Air insulatio
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large spike appears in the current waveform.
Figure 6 shows an example of the variation of
applied voltage and current passing through the
rod-sphere system electrode, as a function of time,
when the distance between the electrodes is 1 cm.
The current waveform is not a sinusoidal wave
because of the occurring the partial discharge
corona around the high voltage electrode and it
contains the high order harmonics.
The electric field was determined for several inter-
electrode distances and the results are shown in
figure 7. Figure 7-a shows the variation of electric
field as a function of radius of the rod point, when
its distance from the sphere is equal to 1 cm.
Figure 7-b shows the variation of electric field as a
function of distance between the electrodes, when
the radius of the rod point is 0.92 mm. It may be
observed that the electric fields obtained using the
finite element method is very close to those of
experiments which are obtained at the condition of
20°C, 75.2 cmHg and relative humidity equal to
24%. Also, the electric field determined by the
relation used by EPRI [2] is closer to the
experimental value, compared with the electric
field determined by other equations. This
comparison can only be valid for highly non-
uniform electric field distributions. Clearly,
additional studies are needed to improve the results
for large domains of electrode rod-point radii and
distance between the electrodes. Also, the type of
applied voltage and atmospheric conditions should
be considered, as well as using precise methods to
detect corona discharge inception.

I D
f S
e o
i v
a) voltage waveform

c h b) current waveform
Figure (6): Variation of applied voltage and current passing through the rod-sphere system
electrode as a function of time

A r

a) electric field as a function of radius b) electric field as a function of distance

Figure (7): Comparison of electric field in the case of non-uniform distribution field in the rod-sphere
electrode system
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Measuring of Corona Discharge Inception Voltage to Determine Electric Field over the non-homogenous Electrodes in the Air insulatio
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6- Concluding remarks [6]- V. Jaiswal, M. Farzaneh and D.A. Lowther

Breakdown voltage in air insulation is nearly 32
kV depending on the atmospheric conditions.
Electric field distributions in most electrode
systems are normally non-uniform, causing a
relatively low inception voltage of corona
discharge. Since the bright spots of corona
discharge are visible and the spikes on the
waveform of current at this instant of applied
voltage are measurable, these factors are used
for determining the electric field. The
experimental set up and the methodology for
measuring the electric field in highly non-
uniform distributions is described and the
results are discussed and compared with the
electric field strengths obtained by several
relations for very sharp-tipped high voltage
“Finite Element Method Modeling of Electric
Field Calculations around an Ice-covered
Insulator”, IWAIS, Brno, Czech Republic, 17-
20 June, 2002
[7]- M. Farzaneh and I. Fofana , “Experimental
Study and Analysis of Corona Discharge
Parameters on an Ice Surface”, Journal of
Physics D: Applied Physics, D/37/721,
February 2004
[8]- John Hendry, “James Clerk Maxwell and
the theory of the electromagnetic field”, Bristol,
UK, 1986
[9]- H. Javadi and A. Dehgani, “New
Formulation for Electric Field Calculation
D
around the Bundle Conductors of High Voltage

I
Transmission Line”, 12th Iranian Conference on
Electrical Engineering, ICEE2004, Mashhad,

S
electrodes. 11-13 May 2004
The electric field is measured for several inter- [10]- Le Roy George et al, Les Propriétés
electrode distances and two values of high Diélectrique de l’Air et les très Haute
voltage electrode-point radii. The results
confirm that the electric fields obtained using
the finite element method is very close to those
of experiments. Also, the electric field
o
Tensions’, 1988

f
[11]-F.H. Kreuger, “Industrial High Voltage
(Field, Dielectrics and Constructions)”, Delft
University Press, Netherlands, 1991

e
determined by the relation used by EPRI is [12]- G.D. Theophilus et al, “Problems of Pre-
closer to the experimental results, compared to breakdown Current Measurement in 60 Hz

v
other equations. This comparison is clearly Vacuum Breakdown Studies”, Pergamon press

i
valid for highly non-uniform electric field ltd/ Printed in UK, Vaccum/ volume 20,
distributions. number 1969.

h
[13]- J. Nieto- Salazar, et al. “Transient Current
References: and Light Emission Associated to the

c
Propagation of Pre-breakdown Phenomena in
Water”, CEIDP, 2003

r
[1]- Naidu “High Voltage Engineering”
2001, [14]- Jin Jianming, “The finite element method
[2]- General Electric Co., Transmission Line in electro-magnetics”, J. Wiley & sons, 1993

A
Reference Book “345 kv and above”, 2nd [15]- Klaus-Jürgen Bathe, “Finite element
edition, Electric Power Research Institute, procedures”, Prentice Hall, 199
1982.
[3]- Central Station Engineers of Westinghouse
Electric Corporation, “Electrical Transmission
and Distribution Reference Book”, 4th edition,
1964, USA
[4]- H. Borsi, et al. “Contribution to the
Clarification of Partial Discharge Behavior in
Insulating Liquids Using the Schlieren
Technique” ETEP, Vol 1, No. 5 ,
September/October 1991
[5]- C. Volat, M. Farzaneh and A. Gakwaya
“Dynamic Variations of Potential and Electric
Field Distributions around an Ice-covered
Insulator during Ice Accretion”, IWAIS, Brno,
Czech Republic, 17-20 June, 2002

6
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