Breakdown conditioning characteristics of long gap electrodes in a vacuum

An improvement in dielectric strength is required in vacuum circuit breakers (VCBs) intended for use in higher voltage systems. In order to develop higher voltage VCBs, it is important to improve the dielectric strength in a vacuum based on consideration of the vacuum breakdown mechanism. Particularly for gaps longer than 10 mm, little is known about the breakdown mechanisms and their quantitative analyses in a vacuum. This paper discusses the breakdown conditioning characteristics of long gap electrodes, under a non-uniform electric field in a vacuum. We treat gap lengths of up to 50 mm in this paper. The conditioning characteristics are investigated under impulse voltage applications. A negative standard lightning impulse voltage was applied to rod-plane electrodes made of Cu-Cr and SUS304 for different tip radii and gap distances until the conditioning effect was completed. We observed illumination spots on electrodes at each breakdown during the conditioning process and calculated the corresponding breakdown field strengths. Experimental results revealed that the tendency of breakdowns associated with long gaps is different from that for the short gaps. As a result, we clarified that the breakdown field strengths are nearly constant at 110-120 kV/mm at the distances longer than 10 mm, and the breakdown field strength is at its maximum when the gap distance is about 5 mm.