Investigation of Voltage Rise Rate Effect on the Breakdown Voltage of Solid Insulating Materials Considering Different Electrode Configurations

ABSTRACT For reliable power equipment designs, it is critical to investigate the breakdown performances of insulating materials for a variety of scenarios, including various electrode geometries and voltage characteristics. In this study, the effect of voltage rise rate on the breakdown voltages of presspaper and styrene‐butadiene rubber/natural rubber (SBR/NR) is investigated through different electrode geometries. During the experiments, voltages were applied with rise rates of 500 and 3000 V/s, using three different electrode configurations: cylinder–cylinder, sphere–cylinder, and point–cylinder. In order to explain and support the experimental results, a simulation study was performed with COMSOL Multiphysics for electric field analysis.