Effect of humidity on the breakdown characteristics of air in uniform field for the very low frequency (VLF) band

Author

Rodriguez, D. ; Gorur, R.S. ; Hansen, P.M.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. Eng., Arizona State Univ., Tempe, AZ, USA

Volume

16

Issue

5

fYear

2009

fDate

10/1/2009 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

1397

Lastpage

1403

Abstract

The paper reports about the role of humidity and frequency on the electrical breakdown of air in uniform field gaps. Experiments were conducted on Rogowski-profile electrodes with gap lengths ranging from 5 to 53 mm at power frequency (60 Hz) and frequencies in the range of 18-50 kHz, corresponding to the VLF/LF bands used for long-range communication. The results show that breakdown voltage at VLF decreases with humidity, opposite to that observed at 60 Hz. Breakdown mechanisms for explaining this important phenomenon are proposed. A correction factor to calculate breakdown voltage as a function of humidity for VLF is presented.

Keywords

electric breakdown; electrodes; humidity; Rogowski-profile electrodes; VLF bands; air; breakdown voltage; electrical breakdown; frequency 18 kHz to 50 kHz; frequency 60 kHz; humidity; long-range communication; size 5 nm to 53 nm; uniform field gaps; very low frequency band; Breakdown voltage; Cable insulation; Corona; Electric breakdown; Electrodes; Electrons; Humidity; Insulation testing; Radio frequency; Radio transmitters; Very Low Frequency, VLF, antenna, humidity, high voltage, electric breakdown, air, relative humidity, absolute humidity, radio frequency.;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1070-9878

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/TDEI.2009.5293953

Filename

5293953