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Repetitively pulsed vacuum insulator flashover

Conference ·
OSTI ID:6422030

Experiments were performed to determine the flashover strength of various vacuum insulators under conditions of repetitive pulsing. The pulse duration was 30 ns, and the thickness of a typical insulator sample was 1.8 cm. Data were taken for 45 insulators from five different materials. An insulator was subjected to an extended series of pulses at a given repetition rate and field. If flashover was not detected, the field level was increased and the sequence repeated. At rates up to 50 pulses per second, there was no apparent dependence of flashover field on rate. In addition, some ''single shot'' data were taken, including various modifications of the geometries and surface textures of the insulators. Only two to the modifications increased the flashover strength significantly over that of a 45 sample: (1) annealing some plastics (roughly a 35% increase), and (2) extending the insulator to cover the surfaces of both electrodes (an increase of nearly a factor of two).

Research Organization:
Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC04-76DP00789
OSTI ID:
6422030
Report Number(s):
SAND-86-2924C; CONF-870656-8; ON: DE87011196
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English