Influence of wave front steepness and accumulated charge on creeping discharge

AbstractThe creeping flashover voltage–time characteristics for the composite insulating configuration by insertion of a barrier between a needle electrode and a plane electrode in N2 gas have been investigated. A maximum creeping flashover voltage of around 10 µs has been found in N2 gas for negative polarity. This anomalous voltage–time characteristic is associated with the low field relaxation effect of the accumulated charges on the barrier for an applied pulse voltage with a highly steep wave front. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 146(1): 1–8, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.10249