Evolutionary Mechanism and Damage Characteristics of “Gel-solid”
Creeping Discharge of Power Device Package Insulation Under Coupled
Temperature-Frequency Effects
Abstract
The multi-energy conversion equipment power devices are prone to form
creeping discharges at the interface of silicone gel and ceramic
substrate. In this paper, the influence mechanism of coupled
temperature-frequency effects on the creeping discharge of “gel-solid”
insulation and the surface damage characteristics of ceramic substrate
under high-frequency electrical stress were investigated; and the
influence mechanism of specimen properties on the discharge was studied
based on different degassing methods. The research results showed that
the partial discharge initial voltage was independent of the change in
frequency, but decreased with increasing temperature. The maximum
discharge amplitude and the pulse recurrence frequency increase first
and then decrease with the increase of frequency, and there is the
phenomenon of “frequency-induced inflection point”; the trend
increases with the increase of temperature, and the increase of
temperature has a certain weakening effect on the phenomenon of
“frequency-induced inflection point”. Due to the nature of the
material, the discharge activity of the vacuum-treated sample is
slightly lower than that of the non-degassed sample. With the
aggravation of surface damage and the generation of products in
different discharge stages, the surface conductivity showed a gradual
upward trend. The analysis concluded that the coupled
temperature-frequency effects had a significant effect on the
development of creeping discharge; the bubbles in the colloid and the
air gap in the substrate were important factors affecting the discharge;
and the creeping discharge pattern was mainly determined by the damage
characteristics of the substrate.