Effect of switch parameters and polarity on the repetitive performance of a corona-stabilized switch viewed from behavior of space charge

Abstract

The corona stabilization effect is produced by the motion and accumulation of space charges generated by localized ionization in a highly inhomogeneous electric field. This stabilization effect can be adopted to improve the repetitive performance of gas-discharge plasma closing switches. The behavior of space charge that produces the corona stabilization effect is different under different polarities of the applied voltage, and so the mechanisms of the corona stabilization effect for different polarities are also different. In this study, the effect of switch parameters (including electric field inhomogeneity, gas type, and operating pressure) on the behavior of the residual space charge generated by preceding breakdown and the effect of residual space charge behavior on the subsequent corona-stabilized breakdown under different polarities were investigated and analyzed. The results show that the corona-stabilized switch with high field inhomogeneity, gaseous medium containing SF6, and high operating pressure exhibits an excellent repetitive performance. For a corona-stabilized switch operating under the parameters mentioned above, the recovery performance under positive polarity is better than that under negative polarity when the recovery time is short.