Physical mechanisms of partial discharges at nitrogen filled delamination in epoxy cast resin power apparatus

For proper insulation design of epoxy cast resin power apparatus such as molded transformers, it is important to consider the criticality of defects that might exist into the dielectric material. One of the most important defects is the delamination defect at the interface between resin and conductor. Accordingly, this paper aims to investigate partial discharge (PD) characteristics and to clarify their mechanisms for micro gap delamination defect of epoxy cast resin power apparatus. An experimental model simulating delamination defect was built. Nitrogen gas at atmospheric pressure was used as a typical filled gas inside the delamination of epoxy cast resin power apparatus. Simultaneous measurements of PD light emission intensity, PD light emission image and PD current pulse were carried out. PD inception voltage was measured for different delamination depths. PD generation characteristics were recorded. It was found that multiple PD events were detected only by PD light emission images and could not be detected by their current pulses as a result of very small magnitudes of PD current pulses. Time transition of PD activity for 10 minutes were obtained and analyzed using the captured light emission images. Based on the obtained results and comparing with SF6 gas filled delamination, physical mechanisms behind PD activity could be discussed.