The Impact of Surface Conditioning and Area on the Pulsed Breakdown Strength of Water

Author

Wetz, David A., Jr. ; Truman, Keith P. ; Mankowski, John J. ; Kristiansen, Magne

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. Eng., Texas Tech. Univ., Lubbock, TX, USA

Volume

33

Issue

4

fYear

2005

Firstpage

1161

Lastpage

1169

Abstract

Experimental results are presented on the degree to which electrode surface conditioning and surface area impact the dielectric strength of water. The applied pulse to the test gap reached electric field levels greater than 1.5 MV/cm with risetimes around 200 and 50 ns, respectively. The test gap is composed of 304 stainless steel electrodes machined with a Bruce profile. Electrode surface roughness ranged from 0.34 to 1.41 $\\mu\\hbox {m}$ and effective areas ranged from 0.5 to 75 $\\hbox {cm$^2$}$ . Additional results are presented on the pulsed breakdown strength of Rexolite with various surface finishes ranging from .025 to 5.715 $\\mu\\hbox {m}$ . Conclusions are made as to the effect electrode surface area and surface roughness has on the holdoff voltage of water dielectric systems. Conclusions are also made as to the impact of the surface condition of Rexolite has on its bulk breakdown strength.

Keywords

electric breakdown; electric strength; electrodes; stainless steel; surface finishing; surface roughness; Bruce profile; Rexolite; dielectric strength; electrode surface conditioning; holdoff voltage; pulsed breakdown strength; stainless steel electrodes; surface roughness; water dielectric systems; Conducting materials; Dielectric breakdown; Dielectric liquids; Electric breakdown; Electrodes; Pulse power systems; Rough surfaces; Solids; Surface roughness; Testing; Compact pulsed power; pulsed breakdown; water breakdown;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Plasma Science, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0093-3813

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/TPS.2005.852441

Filename

1495552