STUDENT NAME: TAWANDA DANIEL DENGU

REG NO. R137036H

UNIVERSITY OF ZIMBABWE

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING

MEPE504

HIGH VOLTAGE AND INSULATION COORDINATION

LECTURER: ENG P. MUDENDA

1. QUESTION – With the aid of mathematical equations and diagrams give a detailed
explanation on ways to reduce electrical stress in the following HV equipment
i. Transmission lines
ii. Distribution lines
iii. High voltage cables
iv. Power transformers
v. Power generators

Solution
i. TRANSMISSION LINES – in high voltage equipment such as transmission lines the
dielectric strength of insulating materials and the electric field stress developed in them when
subjected to high voltages are the important factors in high voltage systems. In transmission lines
important materials used are conductors and insulators. While the conductors carry the current,
the insulators prevent the flow of currents in undesired paths. The Electric Field Stress to which
an insulating material is subjected to is numerically equal to the voltage gradient and is equal to
the electric field where E is the electric field intensity.

E=−∇ φ
∇=ax ∂ +a y ∂ +a z ∂
where phi is the applied voltage and ∂x ∂y ∂z is the
gradient.

a x , a y and a z are the components of position vector r= ax x +a y y

+a z z

Use of stress cones

Stress cones are used to prevent insulation failure when terminating a high to medium voltage
cable. Without the stress cone, the high voltage's electrical field would curl back at the
termination point and melt the insulation. The diagram below shows stress cones on transmission
line.
Use of corona Rings
The role of the corona ring is to distribute the electric field gradient and lower its maximum
values below the corona threshold, either preventing corona discharge entirely or transferring its
destructive effects from the valuable hardware to the expendable ring. Corona rings are used on
very high voltage power transmission insulators and switchgear, and on scientific research
apparatus that generates high voltages. A very similar related device, the grading ring, is used
around insulators. Corona discharges only occur when the electric field (potential gradient) at the
surface of conductors exceeds a critical value, the dielectric strength or disruptive potential
gradient of air. The electric field at a conductor is greatest where the curvature is sharpest, and
therefore corona discharge occurs first at sharp points, corners and edges. Corona rings prolong
the lifetime of insulator surfaces by suppressing the effects of corona discharge. Inserted below
shows a picture of corona rings on transmission line insulators.
ii. DISTRIBUTION LINES
In distribution lines the insulators are located at the top of the utility poles. After years of service
in the field, the performance of the dielectric will degrade over time. For porcelain and glass
insulators, defects such as cracks, surface tracking and structural damage will start to occur
within the insulation materials. For the composite insulator, exposure to UV radiation may
accelerate the aging of the polymer housing, which may lead to brittle and crack in the insulation
structure. As a result, the partial discharge will occur and leakage current will flow between the
line conductor and the power pole through and over the surface of the insulator. Partial discharge
of the high voltage overhead insulator can be defined as local electric stress on the surface of the
insulator or inside the insulation materials.

The electric field stress along HV insulators must be controlled and kept below the maximum
level for three main reasons
i. To prevent the internal partial discharge inside the insulator and the weather sheds
ii. To reduce the partial discharges on the surface of the insulator.
iii. To prevent the corona discharges which may occur on the insulator and the associated
metallic parts.

The methods for electric stress reduction include

1. Combined insulator assembly - Due to the structure design of non-ceramic insulators, high
electric field enhancements always exist at both ends of the insulator. This may lead to partial
discharge at the triple junctions. A new design has been proposed a new optimization structure,
which combined the use of non-ceramic insulator and glass insulator. The proposed combined
assembly configuration has been tested under several voltage levels and the electric field
strengths have been reduced in all cases. Therefore, the combination of three different control
methods (composite insulator, porcelain units and grading rings) has been proposed, in order to
achieve better electric field uniformity. This proposed method revealed that the electric field
strength could be decreased by nearly 40% hence reducing the electric stress.

2. Optimized end fitting design - Additional mechanical parts such as corona ring or ceramic
units may result in increase in the overall weight of the insulation. Careful end-fitting design can
avoid additional weight and provide self-grading mechanism. Small radius elements, sharp edges
and needle points must be avoided in insulator design. A new design of upper-fitting for post
insulator. The normal metal upper-fitting was replaced by insulation upper-fitting, which
improve the electric field distribution around the end-fitting.

iii. HIGH VOLTAGE CABLES - In modern world, wide range of high voltage cables of
improved design and performance are used. The age of the cable is considered by the status of
the insulation. The cable insulation has to be continuously exposed to the variety of stresses. One
of the major problems, which shorten the life of the cables, is the presence of void of air or water
inside the insulation material of the cables. Due to void, bubble or defect, partial discharge is
caused that can be resulted in reduced life of the cable. The voids may be formed during
manufacturing, fabrication, installation, and energization or operation process. Partial discharge
activity, electrostatic stress within the void should be calculated and analyzed.

In high voltage cables we can make use of

i. Stress cones - The stress cone is a mean of controlling the capacitance in the area of screen
termination, thereby reducing the dielectric stress along a gradient to tolerable limits at the point
of termination. The stress cone is extended beyond the screen termination, so that the potential
gradient at the dielectric surface is reduced to a level where discharges will not occur. The
diagram below show stress cones use in high voltage cables.

ii. Heat Shrinkable Stress control method - Another common method is heat shrinkable stress
control tubing that is used to control high electrical stresses at insulation screen terminating point
in medium voltage plastic and paper insulated cable joints and terminations up to 36 kV. Stress
control tubing is made from thermally stabilized cross linked high permittivity and high
resistivity polymeric material.

iv TRANSFORMERS – In transformers the occurrence of electric stress could be decreased by

reducing the intensity of the electric field at the surface of the bushing insulator. The most usual
techniques to control the electric field on the bushing is the capacitive grading. In this case each
conductor has its own capacitive foils. Ceramic bushings insulators are the most commonly used
in transformers; however, the use of polymeric bushings insulators has been increased mainly
due to some advantages over ceramic bushing insulators such as reduced weight, reduced hazard
due to explosion, and better performance under polluted conditions and seismic activity.
Polymeric bushing insulators an alternative to the capacitive grading is the use of composite
materials with certain dielectric properties to control the electric field distribution.

v. GENERATOR -

QUESTION 2
Explain how the electrolytic tank method can be used for electric field computations in power
distribution high voltage equipment.

Solution

The figure above represents simulation of a cylinder plane configuration in the electrolytic tank.

The diagram above represents an electrolytic tank model of a three core cable represented at the
instant when one core is at zero voltage, the same as the sheath.

For assessing electric field in complex three dimensional situations, analytical methods are
unsuitable. Two other methods in use are experimental analog and experimental techniques.
Analog techniques involve the use of the electrolytic tank. The potential distribution in
conductive media in current equilibrium condition satisfies Laplace equation the same as the
electric fields in space charge free regions that is Pv=0. This fact makes it possible to obtain
solutions to many difficult electrostatic field problems by constructing an analogous potential
distribution in a conductive medium where the potential and the field distributions can be
measured directly.

The conductors and insulation arrangements can be represented using the electrolytic tank. Due
to its simplicity and accuracy this method has been used for decades. An alternating voltage is
the appropriate choice of working voltage to avoid polarization voltage arising in the case of
direct voltages. The equipotential lines or equipotential areas in the case of the electric field are
measured by means of a probe which can be fed with different voltages from a potential divider
via a null indicator. Guiding the probe along the lines corresponding to the potential selected on
the divider as well as their graphical representation can be undertaken manually or automatically
in large systems. For the two dimensional field model various dielectric constants can be
simulated by different heights of electrolyte as shown in the figure above for a cylinder plane
configuration. Three dimensional fields with rotational symmetry can be readily simulated in a
wedge shaped tank whereas for the fields with no rotational symmetry one has to resort to much
more complex forms of three dimensional simulation

QUESTION 3

(a) Briefly explain the Townsend breakdown process for gaseous dielectrics and determine
the expression for the spark breakdown criteria
(b) In a certain Townsend type discharge, the following measurements were made.

Derive any equations used, determine the Townsend’s first ionization coefficients.

(c) Describe briefly with aid of suitable diagrams, equations and/or examples, where
appropriate, the breakdown of liquids below intrinsic strength due to 3 types of impurities

SOLUTION

(a) A gas in its normal state is almost a perfect insulator. However, when a high voltage is
applied between the two electrodes immersed in a gaseous medium, the gas becomes a
conductor and an electrical breakdown occurs. The processes that are primarily
responsible for the breakdown of a gas are ionization by collision, photo-ionization, and
the secondary ionization processes. In insulating gases (also called electron-attaching
gases) the process of attachment also plays an important role. The process of liberating
an electron from a gas molecule with the simultaneous production of a positive ion is
called ionization. In the process of ionization by collision, a free electron collides with a
neutral gas molecule and gives rise to a new electron and a positive ion. If we consider a
low pressure gas column in which an electric field E is applied across two plane parallel
electrodes, as shown in Fig below, any electron starting at the cathode will be accelerated
more and more between collisions with other gas molecules during its travel towards the
 anode. If the energy (E) gained during this travel between collisions exceeds the
ionization potential, Viy which is the energy required to dislodge an electron from its
atomic shell, then ionization takes place. This process can be represented as

Where, A is the atom, A+ is the positive ion and e- is the electron.

Arrangement of study of a Townsend discharge

A few of the electrons produced at the cathode by some external means, say by ultra-violet light
falling on the cathode, ionize neutral gas particles producing positive ions and additional
electrons. The additional electrons, then, themselves make 'ionizing collisions' and thus the
process repeats itself. This represents an increase in the electron current, since the number of
electrons reaching the anode per unit time is greater than those liberated at the cathode. In
addition, the positive ions also reach the cathode and on bombardment on the cathode give rise to
secondary electrons.

(b) Townsend first ionization coefficients derivation equations

With reference from the set up shown in part (a) let us assume that n 0 electrons are emitted from
the cathode. When one electron collides with a neutral particle, a positive ion and an electron are
formed. his is called an ionizing collision. Let α be the average number of ionizing collisions
made by an electron per centimeter travel in the direction of the field (α depends on gas pressure
p and E/p, and is called the Townsend’s first ionization coefficient). Townsend introduced a
coefficient α known as “Townsend’s first ionization coefficient” and is defined as the number of
electrons produced by an electron per unit length of path in the direction of field.

Let

n0 = number of electrons/second emitted from the cathode

n= number of electrons/second moved through a distance x from the cathode

When these n electrons move through a distance dx, they produce another dn electrons due to
collision. Therefore

Then, the number of electrons reaching the anode (x = d) will be

The number of new electrons created, on the average, by each electron is

Therefore, the average current in the gap, which is equal to the number of electrons travelling per
second will be

where I0 is the initial current at the cathode and α is the Townsend first ionization coefficient.
From the table
d1 = 3 mm d2 = 45mm
I1 = 450 x 10-9 I2 = 120 X 10-6

The current at the anode is given by I = Io exp(αd)

I1
Therefore, α (Townsend first ionization coefficient) = = exp α (d1-d2 )
I2
120 x 10−6
= exp α (45-3)
450 x 10−9
2.8125 = exp (42 x α)
In (266.66) = 42α
α = 0.133/[Link]

(c) In highly purified liquid dielectrics, breakdown is controlled by phenomena similar to those
for gasses and the electric strength is high (of the order of 1 MV/cm). Unfortunately, liquids are
easily contaminated, and may contain solids, other liquids in suspension and dissolved gasses.
The effect of these impurities is relatively small for short duration pulses (10µs). However, if the
voltage is applied continuously, the solid impurities line up at right angles to equipotential, and
distort the field so that breakdown occurs at relatively low voltage. The lineup of particles is a
fairly slow process, and is unlikely to affect the strength on voltages lasting for less than 1 ms.
Breakdown of Commercial liquids
When a difference of potential is applied to a pair of electrodes immersed in an insulating liquid,
a small conduction current is first observed. If the voltage is raised continuously, at a critical
voltage a spark passes between the electrodes. The passage of a spark through a liquid involves
the following
1. Breakdown due to gaseous inclusions
Gas or vapor bubbles may exist in impure liquid dielectrics, either formed from dissolved
gasses, temperature and pressure variations, or other causes. The electric field Eb in a gas
bubble which is immersed in a liquid of permittivity 01 is given by

where E0 is the field in the liquid in the absence of the bubble.

The electrostatic forces on the bubble cause it to get elongated in the direction of the electric
field. The elongation continues, when sufficient electric field is applied, and at a critical
length the gas inside the bubble (which has a lower breakdown strength) breaks down. This
discharge causes decomposition of the liquid molecules and leads to total breakdown.

2. Breakdown due to liquid globules

If an insulating liquid contains in suspension a globule of another liquid, then breakdown can
result from instability of the globule in the electric field. Consider a spherical globule of
liquid of permittivity ε2 immersed in a liquid dielectric of permittivity ε 1. When it is subjected
to an electric field between parallel electrodes, the field inside the globule would be given by

Where ε0 is the field in the liquid in the absence of the globule.

The electrostatic forces cause the globule to elongate and take the shape of a prolate spheroid
(i.e. an elongated spheroid). As the field is increased, the globule elongates so that the ratio _
of the longer to the shorter diameter of the spheroid increases. For the same field E, the ratio
_ is a function of ε2/ ε1.
3. Breakdown due to solid particles
In commercial liquids, solid impurities cannot be avoided and will be present as fibres or as
dispersed solid particles. If the impurity is considered to be a spherical particle of permittivity
ε2 and is present in a liquid dielectric of permittivity ε1, it will experience a force
where E = applied field, r = radius of particle.
Generally, ε2> ε1, so that the force would move the particle towards the regions of stronger
field. Particles will continue to move in this way and will line up in the direction of the field.
A stable chain of particles would be produced, which at a critical length may cause
breakdown.
Because of the tendency to become contaminated, liquids are seldom used alone above 100
kV/cm in continuously energized equipment. However, they may be used up to 1 MV/cm in
conjunction with solids which can be made to act as barriers, preventing the line-up of solid
impurities and localizing bubbles which may form.

QUESTION 4

(a) Describe briefly with the aid of suitable diagrams the breakdown of liquids due to the
presence of liquid impurities.
(b) Describe briefly with the aid of suitable diagrams breakdown of solids having void due
to internal discharges due to presence of the applied voltage.

Explain why the addition of solid insulating materials as barriers within liquid dielectrics
may sometimes actually lead to lowering of overall dielectric strength.

(c) A transformer oil has a dielectric constant of 2.2 and dielectric strength of 25 kV/mm, is
used as an insulating in a spacing of 8mm. A barrier of thickness of 3 mm of transformer
board with a dielectric strength of 50kV/mm (dielectric strength 4.4) is used in this space
in an attempt to increase the strength. Using a safety factor of 2, determine the maximum
voltage that can be applied across the composite dielectric.

SOLUTION

(a) The main impurities in liquid dielectrics are dust, moisture, dissolved gases and ionic
impurities. Dust particles when present become charged and reduce the breakdown
strength of the liquid dielectrics, and they can be removed by careful filtration. Liquid
will normally contain moisture and dissolved gases in small quantities. Gases like oxygen
and carbon dioxide significantly affect the breakdown strength of the liquids, and hence it
is necessary to control the amount of gas present. Ionic impurity in liquids, like water
vapor which easily dissociates, leads to very high conductivity and heating of the liquid
depending on the applied electric field.
 (b)

Indicated with an arrow above is the cavity or void.

Solid insulating materials sometimes contain voids or cavities in the medium or boundaries
between the dielectric and the electrodes. These voids have a dielectric constant of unity and a
lower dielectric strength. Hence the electric field strength in the voids is higher than that across
the dielectric. Thus even under normal working voltages, the field in the voids may exceed their
breakdown value and breakdown may occur.

(c) With only transformer oil, the maximum applicable voltage is given by

V = 25 x 8

= 200 kV

Applying a safety factor of 2, then maximum applicable voltage is 400 kV

If a barrier of thickness 3 mm is placed in the space with the oil, the maximum applicable
voltage is given by

4.4
50 = xV
2.2 x 2 x 4.4 x 6
 V = 350kV

It can be seen that the maximum applicable voltage in fact reduces below that of only oil. It is
thus important, when barriers have to be used, to match the permittivity’s of the component
insulations. Thus great gains could be achieved if a transformer board with a dielectric constant
of 2.6 could be used instead of one with 4.4.