Experimental Assessment of Floating Potential Characteristics According to the Diameter and Distance of Sphere Conductors

This paper presents an analysis of the floating potential characteristics of conductors that can occur during the inspection and replacement of distribution-class load break switches (LBSs) following equipment failure or aging. When an LBS is in the open state, the source or load-side conductors may remain in a floating state, thus causing the formation of a floating potential due to residual charges or applied voltage. This potential formation is closely associated with the structural characteristics of vacuum interrupters and must be critically addressed from an operational safety perspective. Recently, structures that incorporate disconnecting switches (DSs) have been introduced to improve this configuration. However, because the DS can serve as a floating conductor in the open state, a comprehensive analysis of the potential characteristics across configurations that include floating conductors is required. In this paper, a horizontal spherical electrode test jig was constructed to experimentally analyze variations in the floating potential according to changes in the gap distance between the electrodes and sphere diameter. The results of this study provide fundamental data for the insulation design of distribution-class power equipment containing floating conductors.