Enhanced partial discharges due to temperature increase in the combined system of a solid-liquid dielectric

Partial discharges which emanate from solid dielectrics immersed in insulating oil when high impulse voltages are applied under different environmental temperatures (20, 40 and 80°C) are discussed. The solid dielectrics used for the measurements are phenol-impregnated pressboard and industrial bakelite. The samples are cut in wafers of 150 mm diameter and are 1 or 2 mm thick. The insulating oil is a typical transformer oil. The switching type of the impulse voltage used, 250/2500 μs, corresponds to functional situations and is long enough to produce the effects that can be detected without the consideration of charge transfer phenomena due to fast rates of field changes. Experimental results show that the total charge transfer due to partial discharge is increased by temperature. A possible explanation of the undergoing physical process may be that in the low-field regime, temperature perturbation effects on the injected current are characterized by the conductivity changes in the volume of the dielectric, while as partial discharges start occurring, avalanche multiplication of conduction electrons appears to be the dominant phenomenon, characterizing the behavior of a metal/thick insulator/metal structure in the high-field regime. The circuits, measurement, and measuring procedures are discussed