Lightning Arrester Spark Gaps

Triggering of Trigatron Spark Gaps

The trigatron has been in widespread use as a demand-triggered, high-voltage switch for more than 40 years. In spite of the popularity and maturity of the technology, there persists an uncertainty over the basic physical mechanism(s) responsible for triggering breakdown in the devices. We present the results of an empirical study which directly demonstrate that in the normal operating region of...

Performance of Surge Arrester to Multiple Lightning Strokes on Nearby Distribution Transformer

Overhead distribution lines are prone to lightning overvoltages due to their configurations and characteristics. Metal Oxide Varistor (MOVs) arresters for many years have proven to be more advantageous than others arresters in lightning surge protection; therefore it is worthwhile to continually assess the behavior and performance of these arresters to different kind of overvoltages caused by l...

Surface Studies of Dielectric Materials Used in Spark Gaps

Dielectric: materials commonly used as insulators in spark gaps (Lexan, Nylon, Lucite, Macor, Boron Nitride, Delrin and G-10) have been exposed to the by-products of arcs in three different spark gap experiments. The first was a 60 kV, 0.05 Caul/shot spark gap using copper-tungsten or graphite electrodes at various pressures of N2 or SF6 gas. The second was a 5-30 kV, 4-25 kA, .l-.6 Coul/shot, ...

Triggering in trigatron spark gaps: A fundamental study

Physical mechanism of triggering in trigatron spark gaps