NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF

TECHNOLOGY DURGAPUR

HIGH VOLTAGE AND MEASUREMENTS LABORATORY

EE 751
SUBMITTED BY
NAME: RAVI SHANKAR SAINI
ROLL NO: 13/EE/90
SECTION: EEB
GROUP: 7
DATE: 29/08/2016
Experiment no. 1
Objective: - Study of breakdown voltage under
various pressure and vacuum conditions using 100kv AC
BDV test set.

ABSTRACT:-The paper presents a measurement

system of breakdown voltage of gases in various pressure
and vacuum condition using point flat electrode. The
breakdown phenomina in gases is explained by Panchens
law which states that the breakdown voltage, that is
the voltage necessary to start a discharge or electric
arc, between two electrodes in a gas as a function of
pressure and gap length.

Theory: - The breakdown in gases, called spark

breakdown is the transition of a non-sustaining
discharge into a self-sustaining discharge .the build-
up of high current in a breakdown is due to the
process known as ionization in which electrons and
ions are created from neutral atoms or molecules,
and their migration to the anode and cathode
respectively leads to high currents.
 At present two types of theories (1) TOWNSEND
THEORY and (2). Streamer theory are known which
explain the mechanism for breakdown under
differents conditions.
But in practices the breakdown purely depends on
gap distance between the electrodes which was
discussed by Panchens law, The law essentially states
that the breakdown characteristics of a gap are a function
(generally not linear) of the product of the gas pressure
and the gap length, usually written as V= f (pad),
where p is the pressure and d is the gap distance.

Observation table
Laboratory pressure in mm of Hg =747mm of Hg
Electrode gap = 40mm
Electrode gap(mm) Pressure(mm of Breakdown
Hg) voltage (kiva)
40 32.2
40 33.4
40 33.0
40 760 58.6
40 760 56.3
40 760 53.1
40 1140 68.7
40 1140 67.0
40 1140 65.7
40 150 24.1
40 150 25.7
40 150 25.5
40 300 17.1
40 300 21.7
40 300 22.0

Conclusion:-
In this experiment the characteristic of breakdown
voltage of gases under various condition is studied. It is
observed that if there is increase in pressure the
breakdown voltage decreases (not linearly) and reaches
to its minimum value and then start increasing
continuously.