0000000000013971
AUTHOR
Thomas Hammarström
Deformation of bubbles in silicon gel insulation under an alternating electric field
The behavior of silicone gel under electrical stress plays a significant role in the reliability and durability of high voltage electronic power devices due to its widespread use for the insulation of IGBT modules and other components. The charges accumulation at the bubble boundaries leads to significant displacements due to the establishment of Coulombic forces and the high deformability of colloidal system. The main purpose of this work is to validate a numerical approach useful to investigate, for a given silicone gel, the non-linear relation between the applied HVDC stress and the electric field over an air bubble within the insulation bulk. The analysis has been carried out by means o…
The Effect of the Harmonic Content Generated by AC/DC Modular Multilevel Converters on HVDC Cable Systems
With the increasing penetration of renewable and decentralized energy sources into the power grid, an extended use of DC voltages is expected on both distribution and transmission levels. Generation of DC voltages by means of voltage source converters is associated with a wide spectrum of harmonic distortions at converter terminals, both on the ac and on the dc sides. This can lead to partial discharges in power cables, which deteriorate insulation material thus weakening its performance and reducing cable life-time. In the previously published paper, the effect of harmonic distortion on appearance of partial discharges in cable insulation was evaluated. Here, the study related to the PD be…
Partial Discharge Measurements under DC Voltages Containing Harmonics Produced by Power Electronic Devices
Partial Discharge (PD) monitoring is one of the main diagnostic instrument to evaluate the reliability of modern electrical transmission and distribution systems. The widespread use of High voltage dc (HVDC) connections increase the demand of voltage source converters (VSCs) which, as a consequence, has brought about new challenges in the field of partial discharge measurements. In fact, the output voltage waveforms generated by AC/DC modular multilevel converters (MMCs) are affected by a significant harmonic content which influences the Partial Discharges (PDs) activity. For this reason, previous research mainly investigated the PD phenomenon on the AC side of the converter. The aim of the…
Partial discharge of gel insulated high voltage power modules subjected to unconventional voltage waveforms
Performances and duration of the new generation of high voltage power electronic components are dependent on dielectric materials aim to insulating their internal terminals. The presence of defects, some due to faults generated during the manufacturing process, but also due to the internal design of layers and connections, can cause local enhancements of electric field and consequently possible activity of partial discharges phenomena or other effects (aging, tracking) that may result in reduction of device reliability. Furthermore, the usage of unconventional voltage waveforms, like square waves or pulse width modulated waves, additionally increases the electrical aging of the insulation s…
PD characteristics at Square Shaped Voltages Applying Two Different Detecting Techniques
Nowadays power electronic converters are widely used and the fast switching voltage fronts results in an increased stress on the insulation material and may cause a reduction of the HV systems reliability. Nonsinusoidal voltage waveform have influence on the partial discharges (PD) characteristics in insulating systems due to the increased harmonic content which causes problems mainly in electrical PD measurement setups. In fact, impulse voltages cause strong switching disturbances, which make it much more difficult to distinguish PD signals from noise. This work investigates the influence of repetitive steep pulses on different types of test objects exposed to square wave voltages applying…
Partial discharges at different voltage waveshapes: Comparison between two different acquisition systems
In modern HV apparatuses the wide use of electronic converters, increase the stress on the involved insulation systems and thus affect the reliability of the whole power grid. Additionally, such non-sinusoidal voltage shapes contain high gradient flanks that create problems in the detection of partial discharge (PD) activity. The aim of this paper is to discuss the methodology on how to suitably approach PD detection in insulation systems exposed to various voltage waveshapes in general by comparing two different measuring systems. The first one, equipped with a resonant PD decoupler, designed specifically for detection at typical power electronic waveshapes and the other one, based on an a…