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Numerical simulation of discharge mechanism under nanosecond pulse voltage assists in the insulation performance optimization of N2-insulated switches that are widely used in the pulse power devices. This article presents a fluid dynamic model for the positive streamer propagation in N2 based on a needle-plate discharge system. The effects of the operating conditions, such as voltage amplitude, rising edge, gap width, and needle radius, are studied. Simulating results indicate that the streamer might be evoked only when the maximum electric field exceeds the critical value that is closely influenced by the needle radius and gap width, e.g., $1.3\times 10^{7}$ V/m based on a needle-to-plate electrode configuration with a 0.4-mm tip radius and 5-mm gap. The maximum electric field occurs at the head of streamer and it drops suddenly by nearly two orders of magnitude in the back of the head, which makes the streamer moves forward rapidly. Certainly, it needs a high enough voltage to ensure continuous propagation of the streamer, for example, more than 20 kV needed as the tip radius and gap set to 0.4 and 5 mm, and the electric field strength and migration speed increase with the increasing voltage amplitude. The radius of the discharge region is smaller when the rising edge time increases from 10 to 40 ns. However, if the rising edge time is too low (e.g., 2 ns), the streamer will cease before it propagates to the plate electrode and the radius of the discharge region shrink at the same time. In addition, the peak electric field and the averaged electron energy at the same position away from the needle decrease slightly with the gap width. Finally, there is an obvious decrease of the initial peak electric field as the needle radius increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a model of the Kelvin probe is established in COMSOL Multiphysics based on electrostatic field theory, and it is verified by measuring the surface potentials. The influence of the probe is also investigated. An improved charge inversion method based on surface potentials measured online is proposed. The surface charge density is directly obtained by the Gauss's theorem to avoid the calculation of the inversion matrix. The improved method is verified by comparing the surface charge density calculated by the analytical method. When considering the effect of the probe, the maximum difference in surface charge density is 0.3 µC/m2 comparing to that when ignoring its effect, and the percentage of the difference is as high as 41%. The results indicate that the effects of the voltage of the probe under online measurement conditions must be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Detection of decomposition products is a widely studied method for condition diagnosis of SF6 insulated equipment because of its anti-electromagnetic interference and high sensitivity. A 90 L discharge chamber with adjustable defect was designed to simulate typical failures including metal protrusion defect, floating potential defect and insulator defect. Primary products of both the former two defects are SOF2, SO2F2, CO2, and SO2. Concentration ratios including Φ(SOF2+SO2F2+SO2)Φ(CO2) and Φ(SOF2+SO2)/Φ(SO2F2) could be used to distinguish these two defects which have different structures and discharge energy. Influence of essential conditions such as applied voltage, pressure, and moisture content has been investigated under metal protrusion defect. For the insulator defect, several extra carbon containing by-products, namely, CF4, CO, and CS2, are found to be critical characteristic decomposition products. Moreover, a triangle method utilizing composition of decomposition products is proposed. It is proved to be a graphical method which helps to follow the faults more easily and more precisely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]