Volt-time characteristics of short air gaps under nonstandard lightning voltage waves

The volt-time characteristics of 5-cm long rod-plane and rod-rod air gaps were experimentally determined with five different waveshapes of the applied impulse voltage. The front time of the waves was varied from 25 ns to 10 ps, and the time to half value was varied from 0.5 p to 100 p. The volt-time characteristics were also checked analytically using the concept of disruptive effect. The parameters for the disruptive effect were experimentally determined.