Electret: A Remedy for Partial Discharge and Surface Flashover in Shipboard Power Applications

Future Naval shipboard power and energy management systems must coordinate the operation of all major components with the use of power electronic converters (PECs). However, the high electric field, repetitive pulses, and fast dv/dt in the PEC-based power systems causes partial discharge (PD) and surface flashover that result in accelerated material aging and system failure. In this study, an electret-based dielectric approach is proposed to address these issues by reducing the PD magnitude and improving critical flashover voltage (CFO). The charge trapped on the electret films neutralizes the locally enhanced electric field around the triple points, sharp edges, and cavities. We experimentally demonstrate the effectiveness of the electret films in solving the dielectric issues by conducting PD measurements and surface flashover experiments under square voltage waveforms that represents PEC switching voltages.