Simulation on motion characteristics of space charge in single oil-paper insulation

Purpose The purpose of this paper is numerical calculation of total electric field in oil-paper insulation. Now, there is no effective method to consider the influence of space charges when calculating the total electric field distribution in the main insulation system of the valve-side winding of an ultra-high-voltage direct current converter transformer. Design/methodology/approach To calculate the total electric field in an oil-paper insulation system, a new simulation method in single-layer oil-paper insulation based on the transient upstream finite element method (TUFEM) is proposed, in which the time variable is considered. The TUFEM is used to calculate the total electric field in an oil-paper insulation system by considering the move law of space charges. The simulation method is verified by comparing the simulation results to the test data. The move law of space charges and distribution characteristics of the electric field under difference voltage values in single-layer oil-paper insulation were presented. Findings The results show that the TUFEM has an excellent accuracy compared with the test data. When carrier mobility is a constant, the time to reach the steady state is inversely correlated with the initial electric field intensity, and the distortion rate of the internal total electric field is positively correlated with the initial electric field intensity. Originality/value This paper provides an exploratory research on the simulation of space charge transport phenomenon in oil-paper and has guiding significance to the design of oil-paper insulation.