The barrier effect in dielectrics: the role of interfaces in the breakdown of inhomogeneous dielectrics

The barrier effect in high voltage engineering is usually understood to mean an increase in the breakdown voltage of the insulation gap due to the use of additional insulation layer (a barrier) which is placed between two layers of the main dielectric. This effect has been known for more than 70 years and it is widely applied in high voltage engineering with a needle-plane configuration to increase the breakdown voltage. The noticeable progress in the barrier effect study was achieved over the last 15 years, when applying new composite polymeric materials with specific properties, the so-called nanomaterials, as the barrier materials. An analysis of existing models of the barrier effect is presented. The influences of various factors such as the barrier position in the gap, the ratio of permittivities and conductivities of the barrier and main dielectric, space charge and inhomogeneous polarization are demonstrated in this review.