Computer models for estimating the breakdown voltage of air in uniform and non‐uniform fields at 30 kHz

SUMMARY This paper reports on the development of models to estimate the breakdown voltage of air in uniform and non-uniform gap configurations for the very low frequency (VLF) and low-frequency (LF) bands. The breakdown voltage of air at VLF/LF is considerably lower and has a larger dependency on ambient humidity than at 60 Hz. Both characteristics have been explained by increased space charge formation at the higher frequencies. The models are shown to be useful for predicting breakdown voltages at VLF/LF for uniform field gap spacings up to 125 mm and non-uniform field gap spacings up to 4 m. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.