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The electric field distortion along the gas-solid interface on insulators in GIS or GIL greatly threatens their long-term insulation performance. In recent years, with the developments of field grading materials, their application on GIS/GIL insulators has been considered as an effective approach to suppressing the field distortion and enhancing the insulation property. Many reviews about field grading materials had been published. However, these articles rarely focus on the nonlinear materials and their unique characteristics when used in gas insulated equipment. Compared with traditional applications, such as cable accessories, generator coils, and motor stator bars, nonlinear materials in GIS/GILs are mainly used for grading the surface electric field and avoiding unwanted charge accumulations. Hence, there are two characteristics of the material that need to be paid special attention to-the surface insulation performances and the charge release functions-which are not so critical in previous applications. In this paper, first, types and principles of several commonly used nonlinear grading materials are summarized briefly. Then, the existing application cases of nonlinear materials in gas insulation equipment are sequentially introduced from the optimization ideas, material selection, manufacturing process, and using effects. Finally, the problems encountered in the application of field grading materials in practice are discussed. Suggestions for the follow-up studies are given in order to guide the application of nonlinear materials in GIS/GIL insulators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Charges due to ionization at conductors at low electric field serves as the main source of charge carriers that is responsible for surface charge enhancement, especially for hetero-polar charges on the convex surface side of spacers inside DC gas-insulated transmission lines (GILs). In this paper, simulation results of charge generation processes from gas side, including natural ionization, micro-discharge and field emission, are presented. The results show that for the case where the electric field strength is -6.548 kV/mm and the gas pressure is 0.4 Mpa, when conductor roughness Ra is lower than 24.16 µm, natural radiation ionization is the main cause of the dark current. When Ra is between 24.16 µm and 188.59 µm, the dark current is dominated by micro-discharge. The Fowler-Nordheim (F-N) field emission occurs when Ra exceeds 188.59 µm. Considering the roughness of the conductor in the actual GIL, the increase in the dark current due to local roughness is mainly due to micro-discharge rather than F-N field emission. The results in this paper provide an important part for further determining of conductor surface conditions in high voltage direct current (HVDC) GILs and serve as an important reference for completion of the surface charging model of spacers under DC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]