Measurement and modeling of partial discharge arising from different cavity geometries at very low frequency

In this paper, a comparative study including measurement and modeling of partial discharge for various void geometries (cylinder, block, and prisms) at very low frequency (VLF) and power frequency (PF) voltage is presented. Results from experiments and simulations are presented with phase-resolved discharge patterns and integrated parameters (maximum/average discharge magnitudes, and repetition rates). Dynamic simulation, achieved using a combination of finite element analysis and Matlab, matches the experimental results. Differences of discharge characteristics between VLF and PF may be attributed to the physical mechanisms in the modeling including cavity surface conductivity and space charge decay rate. Compared with discharge activities at PF, the VLF excitation in general exhibits relatively lower discharge magnitude and repetition rate. Also, the inception voltage is found to be lower at VLF.