Discharge energy/material damage considerations in a solid/liquid insulating system

The correlation between the discharge parameters and the corresponding material damage was investigated for small insulating systems (arranged in butt gap formations) of UOPE- (uniaxially oriented polyethylene-) tape/oil systems under both electrical and thermal stresses. These systems were investigated with the aid of a point/plane electrode arrangement. The tests showed that there is a strong correlation between the total surface area damage of the UOPE tapes and the energy dissipated by the discharges. The coefficient of correlation between the total surface area damage and the total energy dissipated in the discharges was between 0.71 and 0.97. This suggests that the measurement of total discharge energy is a very useful technique in evaluating electrical insulation and that it may prove possible to use the technique as a diagnostic for predicting the remaining life of electrical insulation.<
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