Partial discharge inception and deterioration of Nomex paper under repetitive square wave voltage

Working under PWM voltage with fast voltage rise time and high frequency, medium frequency transformers may suffer from overvoltage and temperature rise in the winding. As a result, partial discharge may be triggered with high probability, threating the insulation reliability. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the insulation capability of medium frequency transformers with respect to partial discharge and deterioration. This paper introduces a test system based on power electronic modules that can generate repetitive pulse voltage. Then, by using this system, partial discharge inception voltage test under different temperatures and endurance lifetime test are conducted on Nomex paper, which is an insulation material usually used in medium frequency transformers. The results show the change trending of the partial discharge inception voltage of Nomex paper with temperature and indicate an accelerated aging of this material with the presence of continuous discharge.