Continental J.

Engineering Sciences 7 (3): 14 - 21, 2012 ISSN: 2141 – 4068

© Wilolud Journals, 2012 http://www.wiloludjournal.com
Printed in Nigeria doi:10.5707/cjengsci.2012.7.3.14.21

PARTIAL DISCHARGE MECHANISM MODELING OF SOLID DIELECTRICS

N.O. Ogbogu and A. Akhikpemelo

Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.

ABSTRACT
An important tool for improving the reliability of high voltage (HV) insulation systems are partial discharge (PD)
measurements. The interpretation of such measurements aims at extracting from the measured data information about
insulation defects which then are used for estimating the risk of insulation failure of the equipment. Modeling of PD
activity gives an insight of this activity and can provide important information for insulation diagnosis. This paper
presents a simulation based on partial discharges extended equivalent circuit in order to understand the characteristic of
partial discharges in solid dielectrics. Partial discharges mechanism in solid dielectrics was modeled using Simulink in
MATLAB® software. The voltages applied are AC source with 50Hz frequency.

KEYWORDS: Partial discharge, solid dielectrics, AC voltage, Matlab

INTRODUCTION
Solid dielectric materials are used in almost all electrical equipments to insulate one current carrying part from
another when they operate at different voltages. Solid insulation form an integral part of all electrical equipments
especially when the operating voltages are high (Wadhwa, 2007).

A good dielectric should have low dielectric loss, high mechanical strength, should be free from gaseous inclusions,
and moisture, and be resistant to thermal and chemical deterioration. Solid dielectrics have higher breakdown
strength compared to liquid and gases (Naidu et al, 2004). In general, of course, suitable combinations of solid,
liquid and gaseous insulations are used (Kuffel et al, 1984).

Solid insulating materials, which are generally used in practice, are if two types, namely the organic materials, such
as rubber, wood and paper, and the inorganic materials, such as glass, porcelain and mica, and synthetic polymers,
such as Perspex, PVC, epoxy resins etc.

The dielectric strength of solid materials is affected by many factors viz. ambient temperature, humidity, duration of
test, impurities or structural defects whether a.c, d.c. or impulse voltages are being used. When breakdown occurs,
solids gets permanently damaged while gases fully and liquids partly recover their dielectric strength after the
applied field is removed (O’Dwye, 1964). The mechanism of breakdown in solids is a complex phenomenon.
However, the breakdown process varies depending on the time of application of voltage. It is convenient to divide
the time scale of voltage application into regions in which different mechanisms operate. The various mechanisms
are: Intrinsic breakdown, electromechanical breakdown, thermal breakdown, breakdown due to treeing and tracking,
and electrochemical breakdown.

A partial discharge (PD) is defined as an electrical discharge that is localized within only a part of the insulation
between two separated conductors. In reality, partial discharge (PD) is caused by the existence of a void in
insulation. Even if the local electrical field in the void exceeds a threshold and a discharge occurs, it is limited
within the void because the surrounding insulation is strong enough to avoid a complete breakdown. PD in a void
are considered to be harmful, especially in high-voltage systems from the viewpoint of engineering because they
cause energy loss and gradually degrade the insulation (Muhammad et al, 2009).

This paper presents the simulation of a model of partial discharge (PD) mechanisms in solid dielectric material using
MATLAB software. The simulation process is meant to create a better understanding of the characteristic of partial
discharge in solid dielectric material.

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Categories of Partial Discharges

Partial discharges may originate originally at one of the electrodes or occur in a cavity in the dielectric. Some of the
typical partial discharges are: (i) Corona or gas discharge. This occurs due to non-uniform field on sharp edges of
the conductor subjected to high voltage especially when the insulation provided is air or gas or liquid Fig.1 (a). (ii)
Surface discharge and discharges in laminated materials on the interface of different dielectric materials such as
gas/solid interface as a gas gets over stressed εr times the stress on the solid material (where εr is the relative
permittivity of solid material) and ionization of gas gas results Fig.1 (b) and (c). (iii) Cavity discharges: when cavity
are formed in solid or liquid insulating materials the gas in the cavity is over stressed and discharges are formed
Fig.1 (d). (iv) Treeing channels: High intensity fields are produced in an insulating material at its sharp edges and
this deteriorates the insulating material. The continuous partial discharges so produced are known as Treeing
Channels Fig.1 (e).

Fig. 1 Various partial discharges (Wadhwa, 2007)

External Partial Discharge

External partial discharge is the process which occurs external to the equipment e.g. on overhead lines, on armature
etc.

Internal Partial Discharge

Internal partial discharge is a process of electrical discharge which occurs inside a close system (discharge in voids,
treeing etc) (Wadhwa, 2007).

The Partial Discharge Equivalent Circuit

If there is a partial discharge in a dielectric material, these can be measured only across its terminal. Fig. 2 shows
a simple capacitor arrangement in which a gas filled void is present. The partial discharge in the void will take place
as the electric stress in the rest of the material where εr times the stress in the rest of the material where εr is the
relative permittivity of the material. Due to geometry of the material, various capacitances are formed as shown in
Fig 2 (a). Flux lines starting from electrode and terminating at the void will form one capacitance Cb1 and similarly
Cb2 between electrode B and the cavity. Cc is the capacitance of the void. Similarly, Ca1 and Ca2 are the capacitance of
healthy portions of the dielectric on the two sides of the void. Fig. 2 (b) shows the

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Fig. 2: (a) Dielectric material with a cavity (b) Equivalent circuit

Closing of switch S is equivalent to simulating partial discharge in the void as the voltage Vc across the void reaches
breakdown voltage. The discharge results into a current ic(t) to flow. Resistor Rc simulates the finite value of current
ic(t) (Wadhwa, 2007).

Suppose voltage V is applied across the electrode A and B and the sample is charged to this voltage and source is
removed. The voltage Vc across the void is sufficient to breakdown the void. It is equivalent to closing switch S in
fig. 2(b). as a result, the current ic(t) flows which releases a charge qc = VcCc which is dispersed in the dielectric
material across the capacitance Cb and Ca. here Vc is the drop in the voltage Vc as a result of discharge. The
equivalent circuit during redistribution of charge qc is shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 3: Equivalent of 2(a) after discharge

The voltage as measured across AB will be

Ordinarily Vc is in kV whereas V is a few volts since the ratio Cb/Ca is of the order of 10-4 and 10-3. The voltage
drop V even though can be measured but as Cb and Cc are normally not known, neither Vc nor qc can be
obtained. Also since V is in kV and V is in volts the ratio V/V is very small = 10-3, therefore the detection of
V/V is a tedious task.

RESEARCH METHOD
This research work was conducted using MATLAB® software. The simulated circuit was designed using Simulink
application. SimPower Systems was used in actualizing the results and it operates in the Simulink environment.
Continuous testing of the programmed was carried out to ensure functionality.

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Circuit Design
The PD circuit used in this research came from the conventional circuit as proposed by Germant and Philippoff in
1932. Known also as 3 capacitance model,

Figure 4: Conventional PD circuit

C1 = Capacitance of defect (void, impurity, etc.), C2 = Capacitance of the healthy dielectric in series with the defect,
C3 = Parallel capacitance in the specimen, F = Spark gap, R = Current limiting resistor.

The model in figure 4 is then extended in order to take care of additional electric field generated by preceding
discharges

Figure 5: PD extended equivalent circuit

F = spark gap, C1= capacitance of defect (void, impulse), C2= capacitance of the healthy portion in series with the
defect, C3= parallel capacitance in specimen and C4= capacitance of local charges accumulation.

VF = V1 – V4 where VF = is the voltage across the spark gap, F.

Circuit Modeling
This circuit was implemented with Simulink application in MATLAB® software. The spark gap in Figure 5 has
been replaced with a breaker in the simulation circuit in Figure 6. The modeled Circuit is embedded with scope so as
to get readings.

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Figure 6: The circuit model in Simulink

As can be seen from Figure 6, scope 1 is used to observe the discharge current, scope 2 is used to observe voltage
discharge waveform and scope 3 is used to note the input voltages.

The capacitor C4 is charged from the capacitor C1 during the partial discharge (PD) process until the two voltages
are equal. A consecutive discharge occurs only if the voltage VF = V1 - V4 reaches the ignition voltage VF' of the
spark gap. This may happen by a change of V1 by the external voltage or by a change of V4 (via a discharging
process over R4) or by both.

Table 1: Value of circuit component in AC

10
AC Vin(kV)
50Hz 20

30

Rin 5k
C1 10pF
C2 20pF
C3 15pF
C4 1pF
R4 10k
R5 5k
Breaker Open 1/60
Timing
(sec.) Close 1/55

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Applied Voltages
Input Voltage 10kV

Figure 8: 10kV simulation result

In Figure 8, curve 1 is the applied voltage waveform. Curve 2 is the discharges voltage waveform and curve 3 is the
single discharges current waveform.

Input Voltage 20 kV

Figure 9: 20kV simulation result

In Figure 9, curve 1 is the applied voltage waveform. Curve 2 is the discharges voltage waveform and curve 3 is the
single discharges current waveform.

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Input Voltage 30kV

Figure 10: 30kV simulation result

In Figure 10, curve 1 is the applied voltage waveform. Curve 2 is the discharges voltage waveform and curve 3 is
the single discharges current waveform.

Result Analysis
The discharges recorded from the various input voltage as shown in figure 8-10 were different. In AC source, when
the source voltage increases, the amplitude of waveform in sampling resistance will increase.

Table 2: The value of current discharges

10kV ≈ 7.2A

20kV ≈ 14.4A

30kV ≈21.6A

From the result shown in Figure 8-10, it could be observed that the discharges current is proportional with the input.
From table 2, it could be observed that the discharge current amplitude for input 10kV is 2 times in 20kV input and
3 times in 30kV input. All discharges current and discharge voltage occur in nano second. The time of the discharge
process was not influenced by input voltage. Running time for simulation is 0.06 second. Applied voltage was set at
50Hz. The discharge occurred once only, because of the switching in the breaker and to make the switching more
frequent, we must change the breaker with the circuit that make an appropriate switching.

CONCLUSIONS
Partial discharge (PD) measurement is very important for assessing the performance of insulation systems. Partial
discharge mostly happens in electrical weak regions of solid dielectric material. The PD equivalent circuit is more
accurate because it takes care of the influence of local charge accumulations generated by preceding discharges.
The result presented, showed that the value of discharge current is dependent on the input voltage. If the value of the
input voltage is increased, then the discharge current will increase.

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REFERENCES
Kuffel E. and Zaengl, W.S., (1984) “High Voltage Engineering-Fundamentals”, Pergamon Press.

Muhammad Taufik, W, Ibrahim B.W. (2009) “Modeling of Partial Discharges Mechanisms in Solid Dielectric
Material”, Final Project, Universiti Teknologi, Malaysia.

Naidu M.S. Kamaraju V. (2004) “High Voltage Engineering”, Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited,
New Delhi, Third Edition.

O’Dwye, J.J, (1964) “Theory of Dielectric Breakdown in Solids”, Clarendon Press, Oxford.

Wadhwa, C.L (2007) “High Voltage Engineering”, New Age International (P) Publishers, New Delhi, Second
Edition.

Received for Publication: 11/06/12

Accepted for Publication: 25/09/12

Corresponding author
A. Akhikpemelo
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.
Email: [email protected]

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