Experimental study and modelling of electrical arcs under high-voltage and low-pressure conditions for aerospace applications

With the advancement of technology and specifically in the aeronautical sector, new concepts appear today such as the so-called "More Electric Aircraft" that has currently been seen with the latest Boeing model, the B787 or "Dreamliner", whose objective is to create a more efficient aircraft in terms of weight and therefore is reflected in the reduction of fuel costs and CO2 emissions. This concept seeks to use electrical power for all non-propulsive systems, such as in flight control systems or actuators, and to stop using outdated systems such as hydraulics, pneumatic and mechanic for these purposes. To do this, it is necessary to increase the power generated by the sources, but this increase in power demand can be affected by the partial discharges that occur in the cables or connectors of the electronic devices that make up a system in the airplane. In this work, the corona effect in the aeronautical cable “M22759-34” with a nominal voltage of 600 V will be studied, where it will be subjected to different pressures from 10 kPa to 100 kPa to find the voltage at which the partial discharges begin to appear. Also, the study will be done under alternating current, direct current with positive and negative polarity to see if the behavior of the cable is different for the different types of currents that can be found in the aircraft electrical system. It shall be seen that the extinction voltage does not vary much depending on the type of current, but it does depending on the “setup” used to carry out the tests. Also, three types of detection will be tested to find the partial discharges, that is, by visual detection, by antenna and directly by measuring the voltage drop in a resistance in series with the circuit. Antenna detection and voltage drop detection find partial discharges at the same time, while visual detection does so later. Similarly, the electric arc will be studied under the same conditions as in the case of the corona effect