Partial discharge behavior in switching-surge-aged oil-paper capacitor bushing insulation

Partial discharge (PD) diagnostics are utilised to examine the aging process of mineral oil-impregnated-high density kraft paper capacitor bushing models, subjected to repetitive voltage switching surges. It is demonstrated that the PD measurements of cumulative apparent charge transfer and discharge inception stress constitute an effective means for assessing aging and its reversibility due to gas evolution and re-absorption or solubility of a mineral oil-impregnated-paper insulation system in the presence and absence of switching surges. While the experimental results indicate that electrically overstressed solid-liquid insulation can recover in part its initial electrical properties following an electrical stress-free period, long term stability is only effectively achieved by a reduction in the switching surge overstress through an increase in the overall insulation thickness. The electrical stress levels, employed in the experiments, are found to be not sufficiently elevated to lead to any detectable partial discharge formation within the oil phase itself; the observed discharge behavior is rather characteristic of the type that is normally associated with macroscopic cavities occluded within the oil-paper insulation systems.