Abstract:
According to statistics from the State Grid Corporation of China, a high proportion of faults occur within seconds to minutes after operating a switch while it is energized, indicating a possible correlation with mechanical vibrations induced by the switch operation causing foreign object movement. In this study, a 126 kV real-type simulation operation platform for gas insulated metal-enclosed switchgear (GIS) was established to investigate the movement of metallic particles near insulators and discharge characteristics under energized conditions. The results indicate that the peak mechanical vibration generated by the energized operation of the circuit breaker reaches 100
g(
g represents the acceleration due to graving), lasting 30~50 ms, significantly reducing the threshold for metal particle jumping and inducing particle movement. When stimulated particles are located near insulators, they can adhere to the insulator surface and exhibit an "alignment" behavior, where the particles align linearly along the direction of the electric field lines. With multiple particles simultaneously adhering, the interaction-induced distortion of the electric field leads to behaviors such as "alignment" and "attraction", ultimately resulting in a radial arrangement trend known as "multiple-star alignment". Moreover, the influence of varying particle quantities in 0.4 MPa SF
6 on the surface flashover voltage of a 126 kV real-type bushing insulator is investigated. It is observed that the presence of adsorbed particles significantly reduces the flashover voltage of the bushing insulator, particularly when particles are arranged in a "string-of-pearls" configuration, leading to a flashover voltage decrease to 50% of the 126 kV GIS AC withstand voltage. The paper elucidates the fundamental processes of foreign object jumping and adhesion under charged GIS operating conditions, shedding light on the mechanisms of sudden discharge in GIS and insulation optimization under electrified operations.