Prebreakdown and breakdown phenomena under uniform field in liquid nitrogen and comparison with mineral oil

This paper presents a study of breakdown and prebreakdown phenomena (streamers) in liquid nitrogen and mineral oil under quasi uniform electric field, under ac and impulse voltage. Streamers preceding breakdown are studied up to 0.5 MPa by high-speed visualization and recording of emitted light. In these conditions, breakdown in LN2 is mainly due to negative streamers, initiated at lower voltage than the corresponding positive voltage. Hydrostatic pressure has a limited effect on breakdown voltage, such as in mineral oil. It is shown that the ratio of impulse to ac breakdown voltage in LN2 is surprisingly low (close to 1), whereas in the same conditions ac breakdown voltage in mineral oil is lower than impulse breakdown voltage. Practical consequences for the design of HV insulation in superconducting systems are discussed.