Inhibiting surface flashover for space conditions using magnetic fields

Author

Korzekwa, Richard ; Lehr, F. Mark ; Krompholz, Hermann G. ; Kristiansen, Magne

Author_Institution

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

Volume

17

Issue

4

fYear

1989

fDate

8/1/1989 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

612

Lastpage

615

Abstract

The influence of DC and pulsed magnetic fields on dielectric surface breakdown using pulsed test voltages is investigated for space conditions. Prediction from the saturated surface avalanche breakdown model and the experimental results show magnetic insulation effects i.e. an increase of the flashover voltage at magnetic-field amplitudes as low as 0.1 T. The insulation effects depend on the dielectric material, ambient pressure, surface roughness and presence of background plasma. In order to achieve magnetic insulation without a background plasma, it is sufficient to apply the magnetic field to the cathode region only

Keywords

dielectric materials; electric field effects; flashover; magnetic field effects; surface discharges; DC fields; ambient pressure; background plasma; cathode region; dielectric material; dielectric surface breakdown; flashover voltage; magnetic fields; magnetic insulation effects; pulsed magnetic fields; pulsed test voltages; saturated surface avalanche breakdown model; space conditions; surface flashover; surface roughness; Breakdown voltage; Dielectric breakdown; Dielectrics and electrical insulation; Flashover; Magnetic fields; Plasma materials processing; Rough surfaces; Saturation magnetization; Surface roughness; Testing;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Plasma Science, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0093-3813

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/27.31200

Filename

31200