Experimental and analytical study of the DC breakdown characteristics of polypropylene laminated paper with a butt gap condition considering the insulation design of superconducting cable

It has been reported that the insulation design under DC stress is considered as one of the critical factors in determining the performance of high-voltage direct current (HVDC) superconducting cable. Therefore, it is fundamentally necessary to investigate the DC breakdown characteristics of the composite insulation system consisting of liquid nitrogen (LN2)/polypropylene-laminated-paper (PPLP). In particular, the insulation characteristics under DC polarity reversal condition should be verified to understand the polarity effect of the DC voltage considering the unexpected incidents taking place at line-commutated-converters (LCC) under service at a DC power grid. In this study, to examine the variation of DC electric field strength, the step voltage and polarity reversal breakdown tests are performed under DC stress. Also, we investigate the electric field distributions in a butt gap of the LN2/PPLP condition considering the DC polarity reversal by using simulation software. (C) 2014 The Japan Society of Applied Physic