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| THP021 |
Study of Vacuum Insulator Flashover for Pulse Lengths of Multi-Microseconds
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610 |
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- T. L. Houck, D. A. Goerz, J. B. Javedani, E. J. Lauer, L. K. Tully, G. E. Vogtlin
LLNL, Livermore, California
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We have studied the flashover of vacuum insulators for applications where high voltage conditioning of the insulator and electrodes is not practical and for pulse lengths on the order of several microseconds. The study was centered about experiments performed with a 100-kV, 10-μs pulsed power system and supported by a combination of theoretical and computational modeling. The base line geometry for the experiments was a cylindrically symmetric, +45° insulator between flat electrodes. In the experiments, flashovers or breakdowns were localized by operating at field stresses slightly below the level needed for explosive emissions with the base line geometry. The electrodes and/or insulator were then seeded with an emission source, e.g. a tuff of velvet, or a known mechanical defect. Our study differs from most vacuum insulator studies in that our emphasis was on flashovers originating at the anode triple junction as well as bulk breakdowns within the insulator. Various standard techniques were employed to suppress cathode-originating flashovers/breakdowns. We present the results of our experiments and discuss the capabilities of modeling insulator flashover.
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