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The surface flashover characteristics of BOPP (biaxial-oriented polypropylene) films in SF 6 under nanosecond-pulsed voltages are experimentally investigated in this research by using finger electrodes and using the front-edge flashover method. The test factors include the gas pressure, electrode distance, pulse voltage steepness, pulse polarity and applied field direction. The flashover voltage first increases with gas pressure and then saturates at a certain value, such as 0.4 MPa for a 9 mm gap. The more serious the field distortion is, the lower the saturation gas pressure. The increase in the pulse voltage steepness enhances the flashover voltage in general, but a frap phenomenon of the flashover voltage occurs, and the flashover voltages under pulses with steeper fronts are lower at some pressures. Generally, the negative flashover voltage is higher than a positive voltage by using finger-cuboid electrodes, especially at high pressures. The flashover voltage on the film surface with a normal electrical field component is higher than that with a parallel component at low pressures and lower at high pressures. Moreover, a qualitative avalanche model based on the accumulation and emission of surface charges on the films and the field distortion effect of space charge behaviors is employed to explain the above experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the practical operation of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) simulator, the flashover phenomenon on the edge of polypropylene dielectrics dominates the insulation failure mode of a peaking capacitor. To analyze the characteristics of polypropylene film flashover voltage under high-pressure SF6, an experimental platform was established, and the pulse generator could output a pulse with a rise time of approximately 27 ns. The experiments were performed on finger electrodes, and the SF6 pressure was set from 0.1 to 1.0 MPa. The experimental results show that the relationship of flashover voltage and gas pressure could be divided into two regions: in low-pressure regions, the flashover voltage increases with the gas pressure linearly and in high-pressure regions, the growth of flashover voltage gradually slows down and approaches a saturation value. As the gap distance increases, the saturation point of gas pressure decreases, and even when close to 0.4 MPa, with a 9-mm gap distance, this unconventional phenomenon cannot be ignored, particularly in practical EMP simulators. When the high surface resistivity and the charge trap distribution on the polypropylene film are considered, the accumulation and emission of surface charges on the film might be the primary reason for the saturated phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]