Publications

Abstract not provided.

This paper is the latest in a series of papers that attempt to relate the multiple observed gas breakdown phenomena to useful switch design parameters. This series started when the as density, not the gas type, was observed to give a power law relationship for the breakdown delay time delays of several gases to the applied electric field. This paper will show that this triggering or breakdown initiating process is similar to, if not the same as, a corona discharge. A hypothesis is made and a simple voltage breakdown relationship is shown to exist for air gaps between 1 and 1000 cm for sharp electrodes to a plane.

An empirical scaling relationship between the mean electric field and the breakdown time has been found. Many divergent sets of data were used from breakdown experiments on power lines, laser-triggered switches, trigatrons, e-beam triggered gaps, sharp-point electrode to plane gaps, and uniform field gaps. This relationship builds on the Felsenthal and Proud data and extends their breakdown time delay (formative time) data by three orders of magnitude and into the region of interest for triggered gas switching. The data indicates that electrically triggered gaps, laser-triggered gaps, and untriggered gaps are governed by the same time-delay processes. Predictions can be made of trigger gap geometry, trigger delays, and trigger polarity effects. Breakdown delays of sub-centimeter-long to at least 8-meter-long gaps in air with either high or low field-enhanced electrodes are described by this equation. In addition, this relationship appears to be valid for a variety of gases and even accurately predicts the breakdown delay of mixtures of air and SF/sub 6/. 13 refs., 12 figs., 1 tab.