Breakdown and Partial Discharge Characteristics of Transformer Board and Insulating Paper Materials in Liquid Nitrogen

Breakdown (BD) and partial discharge (PD) characteristics of insulating paper and transformer board materials are investigated as cost-effective alternatives to high-price materials like polyimide (PI) or polytetrafluoroethylene and fiber reinforced plastic materials typically used in superconducting devices based on high temperature superconductors cooled with liquid nitrogen (LN2). Three different cotton and cellulose based insulating papers are tested in LN2 at atmospheric pressure and compared to synthetic sheet materials and polypropylene laminated paper (PPLP). Additionally, the BD performance and PD characteristics of three different transformer board materials are investigated in LN2. The results reveal that the paper and board materials have nearly the same or even slightly higher BD voltages in LN2 in comparison to the values in insulating oil. The pure paper materials with thicknesses of 130 mu m have a dielectric strength of 70-90 kV/mm, whereas values of 130-140 kV/mm are measured for PPLP and PI with nearly the same thickness. The dielectric strength of the board materials has a maximum value of 76 kV/mm. In the frame of the investigations, the BD performance of the pure paper materials in LN2 is not influenced by the water content of the materials, dried and undried specimens have nearly the same BD voltage. Only the PPLP material has a 15% higher BD voltage in the dried state in comparison to the undried state.