Investigation into the Breakdown Voltage of a Wire

Document #:

LIGO-E2000430-v1

Document type:

E - Engineering documents

Abstract:

An experiment was conducted to determine the actual breakdown voltage (BDV) of the given wire. The manufacturer lists the BDV as 11kV. Given the physical dimensions of the wire, predictions for the lowest and highest breakdown voltages were calculated. Weight was added to the wire to increase the chance of encountering a BDV. However, because the wire physically broke when 12.525 kg was applied to it, the wire could not be tested further and thus the BDV of the wire could not be determined. Additional data showed that after a BDV is encountered when a clamp is applying a force to the wire, there is lasting damage to its dielectric and the wire will breakdown almost immediately upon testing. This data substantiates claims that the wire should be discarded after a breakdown as its ability to resist arcing decreases. The data also provided insight into further research that can be conducted. Richard Abbott supervised and provided insight for the experiment.

Files in Document:

• BDVReport_v1.0.pdf (5.6 MB)

Topics:

• Basic R&D

Authors:

• Reeya Chenanda

Keywords:

hipot wire breakdown voltage dielectric