Computer Applications in Electrical Engineering Review and comparison of electro-insulation properties of vacuum and sulphur hexafluoride

The paper specifies the results of the tests on electric strength of vacuum, sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) and the insulation mineral oil under alternate voltage. The tests have been carried out for planar electrodes made of stainless steel or aluminum. It was found that 10-3 Pa vacuum, 3 105 Pa SF6, and insulation mineral oil situated with equal inter-electrode gap equal to several millimeters, have approximately equal electric strength. The degrees of influence of basic parameters of the insulation system on electric strength of SF6 and vacuum are presented. Advantages and faults of vacuum, SF6, and insulation mineral oil are mentioned, taking into account possible use of these media as a high-voltage insulation in various electric equipment. Mathematical processing of the test results was carried out with the use of the Statistica software [5]