Deformation of bubbles in silicon gel insulation under an alternating electric field

The behavior of silicone gel under electrical stress plays a significant role in the reliability and durability of high voltage electronic power devices due to its widespread use for the insulation of IGBT modules and other components. The charges accumulation at the bubble boundaries leads to significant displacements due to the establishment of Coulombic forces and the high deformability of colloidal system. The main purpose of this work is to validate a numerical approach useful to investigate, for a given silicone gel, the non-linear relation between the applied HVDC stress and the electric field over an air bubble within the insulation bulk. The analysis has been carried out by means of numerical and experimental approach in order to compare the results of a case study and validate the adopted model.