Characteristics of long-gap AC streamer discharges under low pressure conditions

The generation and propagation of a streamer is a significant physical process of air gap discharge. Research on the mechanism of streamers under low-pressure conditions is helpful for understanding the process of long-gap discharge in a high-altitude area. This paper describes laboratory investigations of streamer discharge under alternating current（AC） voltage in a low pressure test platform for a 60 cm rod–plane gap at 30 kPa, and analyzes the characteristics of streamer generation and propagation. The results show that the partial streamer and breakdown streamer all occur in the positive half-cycle of AC voltage near the peak voltage at 30 kPa. The partial streamer could cause the distortion of current and voltage waveform, and it appears as the branching characteristic at the initial stage. With the extension of the streamer, the branching and tortuosity phenomena become gradually obvious, but the branching is suppressed when the streamer crosses the gap. The low-pressure condition has little influence on the tortuosity length and the tortuosity number of the streamer, but affect the diameter of streamer obviously.

AC operation and runaway electron behaviour in HT-7 tokamak

Operation of HT-7 tokamak in a multicycle alternating square wave plasma current regime is reported. A set of AC operation experiments, including LHW heating to enhance plasma ionization during the current transition and current sustainment, is described. The behaviour of runaway electrons is analysed by four HXR detectors tangentially viewing the plasma in the equatorial plane, within energy ranges 0.3-1.2 MeV and 0.3-7 MeV, separately. High energy runaway electrons （~MeV） axe found to circulate predominantly in the opposite direction to the plasma current, while the number of low energy runaway electrons （~tens to hundreds of keV） circulating along the plasma current is comparable to that in the direction opposite to the plasma current. AC operation with lower hybrid current drive （LHCD） is observed to have an additional benefit of suppressing the runaway electrons if the drop of the loop voltage is large enough.

Distribution of Partial Arc Propagation Path on Insulator and Its Discrimination Method

Pollution flashover is one of themajor insulation accidents that can occur inmodern power systems.If the local arc is not sufficiently elongated by the creepage distance,the flashover performance of the insulator will decrease.The insulator structure and equivalent salt deposition density(ESDD)are the main factors affecting the arc path and length.To investigate the forms of arc paths under different insulator structures and their influence on flashover characteristics,a platformfor recording arc paths is established.This study presents amethod to identify the pattern and distribution of insulator arc paths based on the effect of initial arc on electric field distribution.The results show that there are two main types of local arc paths between umbrellas—the cling-surface arc and the air-jump arc.Moreover,the air-jump arc includes two types—the bridging arc and the gap arc.With the increase in umbrella spacing and ESDD,the probability of arc propagation along the surface increases.The use of the creepage distance can be improved by changing the creepage coefficient to increase the distance between umbrellas.This method has over 90%accuracy.This study is of great significance for improving insulator structure and reducing pollution flashover accidents.