Conduction and

Breakdown in Gases
Faculty of Electrical Engineering
Department of Power Engineering

Breakdown in Gas
 Breakdown happen when a
sparks happen between
electrodes due to the applied
voltage.
 A small current flow between
electrodes when the applied
voltage is low. This situation
will not change the insulation
criteria.
A process when gas/air in atmosphere
changes from insulator to a conductor
 Breakdown voltage is maximum
voltage during breakdown that
the insulation material can
withstand.
 If the applied voltage is high and a
large current flows will cause
sparks between electrodes. This
situation will change the
insulation to become conductor
due to ionization process.
Gas as Insulation media
 Gases are the most common dielectrics
 Dielectric strength of insulation depends on the dielectric stress
developed due to high voltages.

Dielectric strength : maximum stress that the

insulation material can withstand.

 Gases as insulating medium in electrical apparatus: air, nitrogen (N2),

carbon dioxide (CO2), Freon (CCl2F2) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6)
 Two types of electrical discharges in gases
 Non self-sustaining discharges
 Self-sustaining discharges
Non self – sustaining Self – sustaining
Spark
discharge discharge

Breakdown

 2 theories of gas breakdown:

 Streamer Theory
 Townsend Theory
Factor that can affect a dielectric
breakdown in gases

Pressure
Temperature

Humidity

Nature of
Materials of applied
electrode voltage
 Breakdown in Gas

Gas
React as React as

Caused by By using

Air, nitrogen(N2), carbon dioxide (CO2),

Ionization process Freon (CCl2F2) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6)
 Ionization processes are responsible toward conduction and
breakdown in gases
 Ionization processes of neutral atoms / molecules generate charged
particles (electrons, positive ions and negative ions) within pure
gases.
 Interaction with electric field causes these charged particles
migrate to anode (+ve electrode) and cathode (-ve electrode)
respectively and lead to conduction current (high or low in
magnitude)
 In other words, ionization process occurred when total number of
electron is not equal to proton.
Parameters for Charged Particles / Charge
Carrier



Ionization factors

Presence of
Pressure
others material

Electrode Heat/temperature
Configuration
Charge Generation Mechanisms
 2 type of ionization:
1. First Ionization
2. Second Ionization
 There are 3 type of first ionization process:
1. Ionization by collision
2. Photo-ionization
3. Thermal ionization
IONIZATION BY COLLISION

PHOTO-IONIZATION


THERMAL IONIZATION

 Ionizing actions of electron collisions, molecular collisions and

radiation occurring in gases at high temperature
 If a gas is heated to a sufficiently high temperature, gas
atoms/molecules will have high kinetic energy.
 These molecules will collide each other and cause ionization 
produce electron.
 SECONDARY IONIZATION PROCESSES

 Cathode processes – secondary effects

 Electron emission from cathode surface
 The minimum energy required for an electron to leave a metal surface is known as work function
(Wa)
 Under normal conditions, electrons are prevented from leaving the solid electrode by
electrostatic forces between the electrons and the ions in the lattice.

Element Wa (eV)
Silver (Ag) 4.74
Aluminium (Al) 2.98-4.43
Copper (Cu) 4.07-4.7
Iron (Fe) 3.91-4.6
Tungsten (W) 4.35-4.6
ELECTRON EMISSION DUE TO POSITIVE ION IMPACT

ELECTRON EMISSION DUE TO METASTABLE AND
NEUTRAL ATOMS
 Electrons are ejected from the metal surface by the impact of
excited (metastable) atoms.
 Excited states of metastable atoms is too short, thus, this process
only involves metastable atoms that are very near to cathode.
ELECTRON EMISSION DUE TO PHOTONS

 Photons incident on the cathode surface whose energy exceeds the

metal work function may eject electrons from the surface (hv > Wa).
 For most metals, the critical frequency, v0 for photo-emission to
occur lies in the UV range.
 ELECTRON EMISSION DUE TO THERMAL
 Also called as thermionic emission
 At room temperature, the average thermal energy of an electron in gas is
3.8 x 10-2 eV, which is much lower than the metal work function.
 However, if the metal temperature is increased to 1500-2000 K, the
electrons will receive energy from the violent thermal lattice vibrations
that sufficient to cross the surface barrier and leave the metal.
 Same principle as thermal ionization. But, instead of generating electrons
by heating the gas, electrons are produced by applying heat on the
electrode.
ELECTRON EMISSION DUE TO APPLIED FIELD

 Also called as field emission

 Electrons are drawn out of a metal surface by very high electric field.
 In the absence of external electric field, the energy of electrons is
subjected to Coulomb’s electrostatic force
 The external fields required to produce emission currents of a few
microamperes are of the order of 107-108 V/cm.
 Such fields are observed at fine wires, sharp points and submicroscopic
irregularities with an average applied voltage of 2-5 kV.
 The potential barrier at the metal surface will be reduce with the
introduction of external field
 The higher the applied field, the higher the probability of electrons to be
emitted from the electrode
ELECTRON ATTACHMENT

 Electrons attached to atoms / molecules by collisions to form negative ions

 Depends on the energy of electron and the nature of the gas
 Types of gases that exhibit this property: O2, CO2, Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6),
Hexafluoroethane (C2F6), Perfluoropropane (C3F8),
Trifluoroiodomethane (CF3I)

𝐴 + 𝑒− 𝐴−
THEORIES RELATED TO CHARGE GENERATION
TOWNSEND THEORY (FIRST IONIZATION)
 In the absence of electric field the rate of electron and positive ion generation in an
ordinary gas is counterbalanced by decay (recombination) processes  Lead to equilibrium
state
 Variation of the gas current measured between two parallel plate electrodes was first
studied as a function of the applied voltage by Townsend.
 Townsend found that:
 Initially, the current increases proportionately with the applied voltage
 Then, the current remains nearly constant at Io which corresponds to the saturation
current, or if the cathode was irradiated with a UV light, Io is the emitted
photocurrent.
 At a higher voltage (higher electric field), the current increased above Io at an
exponential rate. This is associated with ionization of gas molecules by electron
collision (first ionization).
Figure shows the current-voltage relationship based on Townsend Theory

 For 0 < voltage < V1 : current increases linearly

 For V1 < voltage < V2 : current is almost constant at Io
 For voltage > V2 : current increases exponentially, and then
breakdown occurs (dominated by first ionization)
 To explain the current increases exponentially in the current –voltage relationship,
Townsend introduced a quantity known as Townsend’s first ionization coefficient,
α.
 α represents the number of electrons produced by an electron (from ionizing
collisions) per unit length of path in the direction of the field. (Unit: 1/m @ 1/cm
@ etc).
Figure shows the schematic representation of electron multiplication
a) Gap arrangement
b) Electron avalanche
 Assume nx is the number of electrons at distance x from the cathode.
 Remember, α is the number of electrons produced by an electron per unit length.
 Hence, when the nx electrons travel for a distance dx, the new number of electrons is given as

𝑑𝑛𝑥 = 𝛼 𝑛𝑥 𝑑𝑥
 Rearrange the equation
1
𝑑𝑛𝑥 = 𝛼 𝑑𝑥
𝑛𝑥
 Integrating the equation
1
න 𝑑𝑛 = න 𝛼 𝑑𝑥
𝑛𝑥

ln 𝑛𝑥 = 𝛼 𝑥

𝑛𝑥 = 𝑒 𝛼𝑥
 At x = 0, nx = n0 (initial value)
 Thus,
𝑛𝑥 = 𝑛0 𝑒 𝛼𝑥
At x = d, nx = nd
𝑛𝑥 = 𝑛𝑑 = 𝑛0 𝑒 𝛼𝑑

 In terms of current, the current in the gap (cathode-anode), which is equal to the number of
electrons travelling per second will be:
𝐼 = 𝐼0 𝑒 𝛼𝑑
 The term eαd is called the electron avalanche. It represents the number of electrons produced
by one electron in travelling from cathode to anode.
 According to the current equation in the cathode-anode gap, graph of log I against gap length
should yield a straight line of slope α for a given pressure p, whilst electric field E is kept
constant.
 However, Townsend observed that at higher voltages, the current at a more rapid rate
 Townsend suggested the secondary ionization mechanism must be affecting the current
Assume
 n is the total number of electrons reaching the anode per second.
 n0 is the number of electrons emitted from cathode by UV.
 n+ is the number of electrons released from cathode by positive ion bombardment and
 γ is the coefficient number of electrons released from cathode per incident positive ion.
 Then, the total number of electrons leaving the cathode is

𝑛′ = 𝑛0 + 𝑛+

 The total number of electrons reaching the anode (x = d) becomes (based on electrons
multiplication / electrons avalanche concept)

𝑛 = 𝑛′ 𝑒 𝛼𝑑

𝑛 = 𝑛0 + 𝑛+ 𝑒 𝛼𝑑
 and

𝑛+ = 𝛾 𝑛 − 𝑛 ′

𝑛+ = 𝛾 𝑛 − 𝑛0 + 𝑛+
 Rearrange the equation
𝛾
𝑛+ = 𝑛 − 𝑛0
1+𝛾
 Eliminating n+
𝛾
𝑛 = 𝑛0 + 𝑛 − 𝑛0 𝑒 𝛼𝑑
1+𝛾
 Rearrange the equation
𝑛0 𝑒 𝛼𝑑
𝑛=
1 + 𝛾 − 𝛾𝑒 𝛼𝑑

𝑛0 𝑒 𝛼𝑑
𝑛=
1 − 𝛾 𝑒 𝛼𝑑 − 1
 Hence, total current (before the occurrence of breakdown) is given as
𝐼0 𝑒 𝛼𝑑
𝐼=
1 − 𝛾 𝑒 𝛼𝑑 − 1
 Townsend Criterion For Breakdown
 As distance d between electrodes is increased, the denominator of the equation tends to
zero and at some critical distance ds (at d = ds)

1 − 𝛾 𝑒 𝛼𝑑𝑠 − 1 = 0

𝛾 𝑒 𝛼𝑑𝑠 − 1 = 1

 At this critical distance, I --> Infinity and will be limited by the resistance of power supply
and the external circuit (protection system).
 This condition is known as Townsend sparking criterion
 Townsend mechanism explains the breakdown phenomena only at low pressure,
corresponding to gas pressure x gap distance (p x d) values of 1000 torr-cm and below.
( 1 atm = 760 torr)
 Townsend Theory for current
 Some gases can readily acquire free electrons and they are called electronegative
gases (e.g. O2 and SF6).
 Free electrons in such gases gets attached to neutral gas molecules to form negative
ions, which move significantly slower than free electrons to cause ionization
 •Thus these gases have high dielectric breakdown strength
 •If the depletion of free electrons available for ionization is denoted by coefficient η,
then the current under this condition becomes

 and the Townsend sparking criterion is

Example:
A 1-cm uniform-field gap in nitrogen, a pressure of 750 torr, breakdown at 30kV. The first
Townsend coefficient /p = 6.50 exp (-250(E/p)-1)cm-1 torr-1, where E is the electric field
strength in V cm-1 and p is the pressure in torr. The second Townsend coefficient may be
considered to be independent of p and E/p. Estimate the breakdown voltage of 2cm
uniform-field gap nitrogen at 1500 torr.
Example

A steady current of 600 A flows through the plane electrode separated by a distance of 0.5
cm when a voltage of 10 kV is applied. Determine the Townsend’s first ionization
coefficient if a current of 60 A flows when the distance of electrode separation is reduced
to 0.1 cm and the field is kept constant at the previous value.
 Drawbacks of Townsend Theory
 Townsend mechanism explains the breakdown phenomena only at low pressure,
corresponding to gas pressure x gap distance (p x d) values of 1000 torr-cm and
below. ( 1 atm = 760 torr)
 Current growth is due to ionization processes in parallel plate gap only without
considering other factors. In practice, breakdown voltages depend on gas pressure
and geometry of the gap
 Townsend theory predicts breakdown time (time lags) of the order of 10-5 s, while in
actual practice, breakdown was observed to occur at very short times of the order of
10-8 s.
 Townsend theory predicts a very diffused form of discharge, although in actual
practice, discharges were found to be filamentary and irregular.
 Then, in 1940, Raether, Meek and Loeb proposed Streamer Theory.
 Streamer Theory
 Remember: Townsend Theory is associated with the growth of charge carriers in
an avalanche in a uniform field (parallel plate) due to first ionization and
secondary emission is described by eαd.
 Townsend Theory is valid only as long as influence of the space charge due to ions
is very small compared to the applied field  Espace_charge << Eexternal_field
 However, Streamer Theory proposed that electric field due to space charge plays
important role in discharge propagation and leads to the modification of original
applied field.
 It has been observed that
 when charge concentration is between 106 and 108, the growth of avalanche is
weak
 when charge concentration is higher than 108, the growth of avalanche is strong
and there will be a steep rise in current between electrodes leading to
breakdown of the gap
 Both slow growth at low charge concentrations and fast growth at high charge
concentrations have been attributed to the modification of the original applied
field by the presence of space charge
 When the avalanche in the gap reaches critical size, the combined applied field and
space charge field cause intense ionization and excitation of gas particles in front
of the avalanche
 The figure shows
o The electric field caused by space charge of electron avalanche as it progresses along the
gap.
o Space charge at the head of the avalanche is assumed concentrated within a spherical
volume. The negative charge ahead is due to higher electron mobility.
o The resulting modification to the original field E0.
a) The field is enhanced in front of the head of the avalanche through interaction of
negative charge with anode.
b) The field between the electrons and positive ions reduced the applied field
c) The field between the cathode and positive ions is enhanced again
 Occurrence of streamers may also lead to photoionization through photons
released by instantaneous recombination between positive ions and electrons.
Why do you think?
 Paschen’s Law
 Experimentally found by Friedrich Paschen in 1889
 In addition to applied field, gas pressures also play important role in breakdown phenomena.
 Pressure alters the number of molecules that electrons may encounter, thus affecting the
number of collisions and number of electrons produced.
 Paschen found that the breakdown voltage, Vb of a uniform field gap is a unique function of the
product of pressure, p and electrode separation, d for a particular gas and electrode material

𝑉𝑏 = 𝑓 𝑝𝑑

 The equation does not imply that Vb increases linearly with the product pd, although it is found
to be nearly linear over certain regions
 Paschen’s curve shows the relationship between Vb (kV) and pd (torr-cm)
 How to understand the curve?
 Assume the pressure, p is constant and the gap distance, d is varied (reduce from long gap to
short gap)
 The voltage needed to cause a spark/breakdown reduces with the gap size but only up to a
point, Vbmin
 As the gap is reduced further, the required voltage began to rise again
 Same goes when the gap distance is constant and the pressure is varied
 Therefore, based on the Paschen’s curve, the breakdown voltage goes through a minimum
value Vbmin at a particular value of the product pdmin
 Why is the curve like that? Why there can be two different pd values sharing one
breakdown voltage?
 Existence of the minimum value for Paschen’s curve can be explained based on
the number of effective collisions to cause for ionization, and therefore
electron avalanche
 Collision between molecules and/or charged particles is dictated by its mean
free path
 Mean free path of a molecule is the average distance between its collisions with
other molecules
 Assuming constant pressure, longer gap distance between electrodes (higher pd)
suggests more energy is required to initiate electron avalanche
 If the gap distance is very short and leads to than the mean free path (lower
pd), then higher energy is needed to produce more electrons to cause electron
avalanche
Examples

Breakdown voltage measurements on a uniform-field gap in air gave the following results:
Determine the breakdown voltage of a 3cm gap for the standard atmospheric conditions.

Gap length Humidity Pressure Temp Breakdown Voltage

cm g/m3 mb ºC kV
4 7 1000 5 106.8

2 13 500 32 29.9
Breakdown voltage measurement on a uniform-field gap in nitrogen at
293K gave the following values of pd and E/p at breakdown:
Find the breakdown voltage of 1 cm gap at 2100mm Hg and 300K.
pd (mm Hg-cm) E/p (V/mm Hg-
cm)

900 34.2
8100 30.6