Area Effect of Electrical Breakdown in Compressed SF6

This paper presents experimental results on the statistical properties of ac and dc breakdown field strength of compressed SF6. The experiment is performed on four gaps of different electrode area, ranging from 0.2 cm2 to 3000 cm2. Patterns of breakdown characteristics are classified into four categories depending on the type of distribution and the characteristics of conditioning effect. The criterion of the transition of these categories are discussed quantitatively.