Discussion: partial discharges in ellipsoidal and spheroidal voids

Some questions are raised regarding the model described by Crichton et al. (see ibid. vol.24, p.335-342, 1989) in which the entire volume of the void is considered to be involved in the discharge process. The commenter questions how it can be explained that an increase in the applied voltage results in an increase in the discharge magnitude. In response it is noted that the assumption was made to allow evaluation of the change in the void dipole moment. This assumption is open to criticism with respect to discharge development, but is is maintained that this does not necessarily imply that, with reference to the actual dipole moment magnitude, the assumption is unsound. To assess the validity of the assumption in this context, it is necessary to compare the dipole moments associated with other charge patterns.<>