Low breakdown probabilities in short air gaps

Abstract

The aim of the authors is to obtain the breakdown probability distribution for short rod-plane air gaps, with particular attention to the region of low probabilities. The tests carried out consisted in the application of standard atmospheric impulse voltages of positive polarity to a set of identical parallel gaps and also to single gaps. To find out the breakdown probability function, the experimental data were statistically treated through the maximum likelihood method. The behaviour of the distribution in the low and mean probabilities domains was analyzed and the characteristics of the curves in these two regions were compared. >