Breakdown of Ar + SF6 under ac electric fields

In this study, alternating voltages with different values were employed to study the behavior of Ar mixed with SF₆. The percentage of SF₆ in Ar was varied from 5% to 90% at a total gas pressure of 50 kPa, 100 kPa, 150 kPa and 200 kPa, and the breakdown voltages of each gas mixture were recorded. Similar to earlier studies under static electric fields and impulse fields, it is observed that the breakdown strength of Ar has increased dramatically when mixed with a small percentage of SF₆ under alternating voltages. However, the breakdown voltages did increase monotonically, but not dramatically for higher SF₆ concentrations in Ar.