Contribution of partial discharges to electrical breakdown of solid insulating materials

Recent developments in electronic components and systems have resulted in the improvement in the detection of partial discharges. However, the interpretation of all the information now available is complicated due to the large number of variables involved. The aim of this paper is to confirm the rapid transition from one regime of discharge to another arising from changes in the ionizing volume. Discharges in cavities or microchannels are considered. The high sensitivity of laboratory systems reveals the existence of low energy partial discharges. The discharge behavior of short gaps, in which the ionisation is initiated, in which the nonconductive walls modify the discharge regime, is difficult to interpret. However, in the initiation or the discharge propagation process, the properties of the insulating material are found to play the most important role