TEEE

Transacticns on Eletc
i l

Ins-i+ in V-ol.

I-21 No .5,, 0

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-Q
36

Jr C

ACOUSTIC THEORY APPLIED To THE PHYSICS

OF ELECTRICAL BREAKDOWN IN DIELECTRICS
R. T. Harrold

Dielectrics and Insulation Department

Westinghouse R&,D Center
Pittsburgh, PA

ABSTRACT
In order to stimulate further thought and research within
the science of dielectrics, this paper discusses the remarkable correlation between acoustic theory and the physics of
electrical breakdown in dielectrics.
Following a brief, simplified review of acoustic theory and the propagation and attenuation of soundwaves in gases, liquids and solids, three areas
in dielectrics are addressed in which the breakdown mechanisms
require further clarification.
These are the relative electrical
strengths of gases and mixtures; streamer initiation in liquid
hydrocarbons; and the incubation period before treeing or breakdown occurs within solid dielectrics.
Acoustic analysis of gas
breakdown clearly shows that the relative electrical strengths
of gases and mixtures vary as the inverse square of sound
velocity, and consequently, are closely related to both the
molecular weight and specific heat ratio of the gas or mixture.
For liquid hydrocarbons, an analysis of acoustic emission levels
from partial discharges combined with acoustic cavitation theory,
supports the hypothesis that cavitation (collapse) of microbubbles attached to dust particles may provide the conditions
for streamer initiation.

Finally, attention is drawn to the relationship between the

velocity of sound within solid dielectrics and Young's modulus,
Poisson's ratio and density, which suggests a potential application of acoustics for assessing the mechanical strength of
dielectrics as they age.
Thus, simple acoustic measurements
performed on solid dielectrics may provide some information on
the structural condition Qf these dielectrics before treeing
and subsequent breakdown occurs.

1.

INTRODUCTION

In order to stimulate further thought and research

within the science of dielectrics, this paper is directed toward introducing the reader to the remarkable
correlation between acoustic theory and the physics of
electrical breakdown in dielectrics. The experience of
the author leads him to conclude that the measurement
and analysis of acoustic wave velocity and attenuation
within dielectrics can increase the understanding of
their molecular structure and also provide a fresh look
into failure mechanisms which require further clarification.
Of all the techniques used to determine the structure
and properties of gases, liquids and solids, acoustics

has unique features in that a medium is required for

wave transmission, and the waves do not in general
harm, or permanently change, the medium. This is in
contrast to other forms of radiation such as electromagnetic waves, x-rays and light waves, which do not
require a transmitting medium, but can sometimes affect the properties of the medium being examined.
Study of acoustic wave propagation through a dielectric
offers a safe and non-destructive means of obtaining
information in regard to such properties as molecular
velocity and packing. For example, in gases the
acoustic wave velocity is close to the mean molecular
velocity and will obviously change with temperature as
the molecules speed up or slow down; and, in liquid
hydrocarbons, the wave velocity is very sensitive to

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_.L
cllef--trjj,-,--3..'t-i-

the degree of molecular packing. Apart from learning

about the state and structure of dielectrics by acoustic wave interrogation and analysis, acoustics also
allows analysis in the listening mode, i.e., the sensing of acoustic emissions or pressure waves from
microcracks, partial discharges and other events which
can occur within dielectrics.
Although a vast body of literature exists relative to
acoustic theory and the analysis of gases, liquids and
solids, only a few selected papers will be listed.
However, it should be noted that the Journals of the
Acoustical Society of America represent a storehouse of
knowledge. In addition, Philip M. Morse [1] presented
an invited paper, "Acoustics and Basic Physics", at the
Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Celebration of the Acoustical
Society in 1954, which described several areas in physics where basic progress was made by application of
acoustic theory, analogy and observation. These areas
include, for example; (a) much of the wave theory of
light being worked out by analogy with sound; (b)
Einstein's work on the analysis of atmospheric temperature fluctuations into their component plane waves of
sound before he computed the light scattering of each
component wave; and (c) heat transferring through
helium II (liquid helium close to absolute zero) moving
like waves, with a wave velocity and relation between
heat flow and temperature like that between volume flow
and pressure in an ordinary sound wave.
A major similarity between acoustic wave propagation
and electrical breakdown processes is that they both
require a medium. If no molecules are present, no
acoustic waves can propagate and also no electrical
breakdown can occur (with the exception of surfaceemitted electrons bridging a gap). Electrical breakdown processes, whether of the form of streamers in
gases and liquids, or surface tracking or treeing within solids, require a medium for propagation. Even the
best vacuum insulation has about 10 molecules per cm3
(-10-8 Pa), and "vacuum" breakdown processes can be
initiated or supplemented by surface outgassing (adding
to the medium) and electron emission. So, a "vacuum"
condition can provide a medium for breakdown.
It is the author's intent in this paper to include
sufficient theory for credibility and to stimulate interest, but not to become complex unnecessarily; however, acoustic theory can be extremely complex and become a mathematician's delight if the reader is so
inclined.

Following a brief, simplified, review of acoustic

theory and the propagation and attenuation of sound
waves in gases, liquids, and solids, three areas in
dielectrics are addressed in which there is no general
agreement on the conditions prior to breakdown or on
the mechanisms initiating certain critical phenomena.
These are the relative electrical strength of gases and
mixtures; streamer initiation in liquid hydrocarbons;
and the incubation period before treeing or breakdown
occurs within solid dielectrics. It is shown that in
these areas acoustic theory, analogy and reasoning can
provide a fresh look at these problems and perhaps give
a new interpretation of the actual events occurring.
2.
2.1

SIMPLIFIED ACOUSTIC THEORY APPLIED

TO GASES, LIQUIDS AND SOLIDS

Acoustic Imrpedance

The characteristic impedance or specific acoustic impedance of a material depends on the product of the

..-

'' I
vo
,

L.

-,--

I - - - ----

IFI-21 No.5, October 1986

- -

density (p in kg/mi3) of the material and the velocity

(c in m/s) of sound in that material and is expressed
as pc in kg/m2s.
2.2

Transmission of Acoustic Waves at the Interface

between Media of Different Acoustic Impedance

In order for ultrasound to pass without loss from one

medium to another, it is necessary for the characteristic impedances of the media to be identical. Obviously, the more two media, 1 and 2, are acoustically mismatched, the greater the reflection of ultrasonic waves
at the media interface, and this effect is described by
the reflection coefficient,

RO
2. 3

(PlCl-P2C2)/(PlC1

P2c2)

(1)

Acoustic Wave VeZocity

In gases

/Pp/P

(2)

where y is the ratio of principal specific heats, and P

the pressure. As p=m/V, where m is mass and V is volume
and PV=mkfT, where R is a gas constant, it follows that c
is proportional to VT, where T is the absolute
temperature.
Where incompressible liquids are concerned

e V21-p
=

(3)

where K is the bulk modulus. For liquids which are compressible, ethyl ether for example

e =

ryK/P

(4)

c =

Y/pY(l-b)

(5)

In solids

where Y is Young's modulus and b=2o2(1-oj), where o is

Poisson's ratio.

2. 4

Acoustic Wave Attenuation

Acoustic wave attenuation or losses in gases, liquids

and solids are very complex and depend on molecular absorption, viscosity and heat conduction. Theory and experimental results do not agree well [3]; however,
Stokes and Kirchoff [3] have considered the absorption
of sound through a medium due to heat conduction and internal friction and developed the following equation:
4
4 2[(y-1)
=_
=Absorption 2a 2a
j+ Ppk]
3

(6)

where 2a is the intensity absorption coefficient of a

plane wave, p is the coefficient of viscosity, f the
frequency, po the mean density, c the velocity of sound
in the medium, y the ratio of the specific heats, Cp the
specific heat at constant pressure, and k the thermal
conductivity. Apart from the attenuation trends predicted by this equation, the attenuation of acoustic waves
versus frequency is generally approximately proportional
to f for solids. Eq. (6) does predict a direct effect
of viscosity on the acoustic wave attenuation, an inverse
effect of density (note pc is acoustic impedence) and an
inverse cubic effect of sound velocity.

H-srrol d: A-coustic: theory appl iedi to the

py-,yi cs of

AN ACOUSTIC INSIGHT INTO THE

ELECTRICAL BREAKDOWN
STRENGTH OF GASES AND MIXTURES

3.

Paschen's law states that the breakdown voltage, Vd,

of a gas in a uniform electric field is a simple function of the product, pd, of the pressure, p, and the
spacing, d. This applies only at a constant temperature, and at atmospheric pressure and a temperature of
20 or 250C, at which copious measurement data are available. The breakdown voltage is, therefore, a simple
function of p and the spacing d, where p is the gas
density. As gas breakdown data have accumulated over
years of research, it has gradually become clear that
the relative electrical strengths of different gases
and mixtures generally depend upon their densities or
molecular weights. For example, Camilli [2] demonstrated the correlation between electric strength and the
molecular weight of fluorogases. Olivier, Gervais and
Mukhedkar [3] showed that ac or dc uniform-field voltage breakdown in gases can be described by the equation,
U=pGdst, where p is the gas density, d the gap length
and G, s, and t are constants. Cooke and Cookson [4]
have shown that the high molecular weight SF6 and very
low molecular weight He, have similar electrical
strengths at similar densities; Pelletier, Gervais and
Mukhedkar [5] have successfully applied the above equation to the data obtained from the electrical breakdown
of gas mixtures.

A simplified view of electrical breakdown in gases is

an electron avalanche followed by a primary streamer and
secondary streamers to complete the process. With electronegative gases, breakdown should not occur if the
rate of electron attachment to neutral molecules is
greater than the ionization rate, or rate of release, of
electrons. The influence of the gas molecular weight on
these processes has been described by Camilli [2]: "The
character of gas molecules determines both the ionization
and electron attachment. Large molecules are obviously
more easily hit and will cause more collisions which reduce the average electron velocity. Thus, a gas of
higher molecular weight would ionize at higher voltage
and will exhibit a greater electron attachment than one
of lower molecular weight".

The analogy between acoustics and these factors controlling the electrical breakdown in gases is that
acoustic waves propagate in gases by molecular collision
and the molecular weights of the gases influence the
penetration and velocity of the acoustic waves. A way
in which this analogy can be critically examined is to
compare the acoustic wave velocities in gases and mixtures with a large amount of uniform field gas breakdown
data. Fortunately, Vijh [6], in examining the correlation between the relative electrical strength and molecular weights of gases, accumulated and normalized a
large amount of data. These data are relative to the
dielectric strength of N2 as unity and are for atmospheric pressure and, presumably, mostly at room temperature. In addition, Wootton [7] has examined the electrical strength of mixtures of SF6 and He, and Pelletier
[5] the strength of N2-He mixtures. This author [8] has
measured the acoustic wave velocities in SF6-He and
other mixtures, Table 1. There are, therefore, about
100 electrical breakdown data points available covering
the range of 0.1 to 10, relative to N2; with measured
acoustic wave velocities ranging from -140 m/s (SF6) to
-960 m/s (He).
These data are plotted in Fig. 1, and a very clear relationship is observed between the relative electrical
strength (RES) and acoustic wave velocity c, i.e. the

ele- tri-cal bre-akdo-w'n in diel ectr-is

RES is inversely proportional to c2. From Eq. (2)

where c2=p/yP, the RES at one atmosphere is then proportional to p/y, where p is the gas density and y is
the ratio of the principal specific heats.

Table I

Measurements of the Velocity

of Sound in Gas Mixtures [8]

(Atmosphere Pressure & loom Temperature, 88 kms)

Bound
Velocity

GCs Mixture

rn/sec

-2

-8

100%

Gas Mixture
H-

Sound

Gas mixture

Velocity

135

100%

a/sec
136

SF8

Sound

Velocity

a/sec

100%

135

90%

10

143

90%

10

142

9l

10

138

80%

20

149

80%

20

150

60%

20

143

70%

30

156

70%

30

161

70%

30

149

60%

40

168

80%

40

177

60%

40

155

50%

60

180

50%

60

198

60%

60

161

40%

80

198

40%

60

217

40%

80

168

30%

70

213

30%

70

260

30%

70

178

20%

80

247

20%

80

308

20%

80

187

10%

go

274

10%

90

444

10%

90

204

100%

345

100%

061

100%

217

ct11* 751673-1

1U

Ir

Data Relative to N as Unity and

Mainly tor Atmospheric Pressure

Room Temperature. Quasi-Uniform

Fields and Eectrode Spaings In

5 to 2Q mm Region
-l e* Data Compiled by Vijh ( 6 )
O SF6- He I Wotton 17) 1
* N2 - He I Peiletler. Gervais and Mukhfedar I 5 )

:5
8

o
,;

SF6-C02t.

....

RES. 1C2

SF sf6.fH

H~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
O

200

I Cl

400

00

oD

10

1200

Sound Velocity In Gas or Mixture IMeters/ Seondl1

Fig. 1: Relative eZectricaZ strength (RES) of

and mixtures versus sound veZocity (C).

gases

This suggests that apart from density p, the specific

heat ratio y is also an important factor which influences
the electrical breakdown strength of a gas or mixture.
The specific heat ratios vary with the type of gas or
vapor and some published [9] values are listed in Table
2.

n-

.,

.4
.%

- an

f,

Table II

Specific Heat Ratio (y) of Gases

Gas

Monatomic Gases
Helium
Argon

Diatomic Gases
Air
Hydrogen
Oxygen
Triatomic Gases
Carbon Dioxide
Sulphur Dioxide
Nitrous Oxide

Te

k-l

X tE l

1.630

1.667

0-17
4-17
5-14

1.40112

4-11
16-34

1.300
1.260
1.324

1.407/8
1.400

.n

4
.
1i n XVs*

-.i

1N.;
'

perfect monatomic gas with three degrees of freedom has

y=1.67, a perfect diatomic gas with five degress of
freedom has y=1.4, and a triatomic gas having three
translational and three rotational degrees of freedom,
a y=1.33. In general, y=1+2/n, where n is the total
number of degrees of freedom. Exact measurements of
the specific heat ratio of a gas depend upon its purity,
and small quantities of moisture, for example, can
change the specific heat ratio [10]. It is interesting
to note that many of these characteristics of gases, including the effects of impurities which can also be explored by acoustic analysis, can influence the RES of
gases.
The analogy between acoustic theory and electrical
breakdown in gases becomes more credible by considering
the data for measured and calculated values of the limiting breakdown voltage for SF6-He mixtures, versus SF6
concentration, published by Kline, Davies, Chen and
Chantry [11], with much of the data attributed to
Moruzzi and Craggs [12]. These data generally follow
an inverse sound velocity squared relationship, Fig. 2,
as can be readily checked. In addition, Nonken, in a
CUFve 751934-A

4 xlO1

r-

Theory

With Ionizaion"d SF by He
+ +
SF6, He+ only
Experiment
J L Pack, Glow Discharge
Ij
v J LMoruzzi
& J D Craggs
Spatial Current Growth
O LI Kline, etal.J
J L Moruzzi, Breakdown Voltage
& J D Craggs

~~~6

---

Polyatomic Gases
Benzene (C6H6)

20

1.40

Trichloroethylene (CM4)
Sulphur Hexafluoride (SF6)

20

1.130
1.2
(Calc. from

E
v

sonic wave

velocity)

It is interesting to note that the specific heat ratio

of a gas is usually determined [9] by some method involving an adiabatic expansion, such as the determination of the velocity of sound in the gas. The actual

sound velocities measured in gas mixtures of SF6-He and

SF6-N2 were used in the Fig. 1 curve, while the remainder of the sound velocity data were calculated. It
should be noted that the SF6-He data fit the curve very
well which tends to confirm the importance of the effect
of the specific heat ratio on the RES of a gas or mixture, because the measurement of the sound velocity does
represent a measurement of y.

Hydrogen is the one gas which does not seem to fit on

the RES curve of Fig. 1, as its RES is clearly much higher than predicted (assuming that the published RES values
are actually for pure H2). However, if an acoustic analogy is pursued, then hydrogen could be considered a
"transition dielectric". In other words, most of the gases and mixtures (Fig.l) have decreasing RES with increasing sound velocity, with the clear exception of hydrogen,
which has a sound velocity close to that of liquid hydrocarbons and begins the transition to the higher RES of
liquid dielectrics.
As the specific heat ratio of a gas or mixture appears
to be an important factor associated with the RES, it is
worth considering its implication. The specific heat
ratio of a gas is the ratio of specific heat at constant
pressure to that at constant volume and depends upon the
type of gas molecules and their associated degrees of

0.1

Relative Values
* Based on Acoustk
Wave Velocty

10

I
%

100

SF6

Comparison of measured and calculated

of the Zimiting breakdown voltage for
SF6-He mixtures vs. SF6 concentration (After
KZine, Davies, Chen and Chantry [11]).

Fig. 2:

values

translational, rotational, and vibrational freedom. A

discussion of a Camilli [13] paper, draws attention to
the decrease in breakdown strength of nonuniform field
gaps with increasing gas pressure and the relationship
of this phenomenon to the rate of diffusion of space
charge of the positive ions. He also notes that ion
diffusion is inversely proportional to the square root
of molecular weight, which of course is a measure of
sound velocity because c=lyP/p. Also, it should be
mentioned that the mean free path between molecular
collisions in a gas is inversely proportional to the gas
density.
The author believes that sufficient data and evidence
have been presented to justify the claim that acoustic

Harrold: AcO-&tij

t-heory appl ied to the

p-ys_i

theory can help in understanding and predicting- electrical breakdown phenomena in gases. In any event, it
is clear that simply by making laboratory measurements
of soundwave velocity in gases and mixtures, good estimates can be made of their relative electrical
strengths.

ACOUSTIC CAVITATION AND THE

INITIATION OF ELECTRICAL
BREAKDOWN IN LIQUID DIELECTRICS
(INCLUDING THE DEGREE OF
MOLECULAR PACKING)
4.

Electrical breakdown in liquid dielectrics is very

susceptible to impurities, such as moisture and particles, to the electrode surface condition, and to the
volume of liquid under electrical stress. For these
reasons, there are insufficient reliable published data
available for attempting to correlate the breakdown
values with acoustic wave velocity in order to yield
information similar to that found for gases. It is
possible that this may be achievable in the future by
using point-to-plane breakdown data which are believed
to be insensitive to liquid impurities; however, one
area in liquid breakdown which is not well agreed upon
is the mechanism by which a streamer initiates at an
electrode surface. Many authors [14-17] have proposed
that breakdown begins with a cavitation process at the
electrode surface, and, as this is an area related to
acoustic theory, it is worth some examination.
One way in which acoustic theory could perhaps contribute to the hypothesis that cavitation processes
initiate streamers in liquid dielectrics can be understood by first considering the levels of acoustic emissions associated with different magnitudes of electrical
discharges in liquids. The data illustrated in Fig. 3

bre,k;dow-

of electrical

in

dielectric -7-76.

signal level of -1 mV which is evident over a discharge

range from -5 to -5000 pC, with large (up to two orders
of magnitude) fluctuations in the associated acoustic
emission levels. This infers at least two processes
generating acoustic emissions in liquid dielectrics:
a low level of emission (perhaps from cavitation at the
electrode surface) and a much higher level of emission
most likely from a positive streamer channel. Note, during these large fluctuations in acoustic emission level,
that the electrical pulse charge values were steady,
so an alternative explanation is that discharges sometimes occur in a gas phase between the electrodes which
gives a lower acoustic signal level due to poor acoustic
coupling to the liquid, and at other times discharges
in the form of positive streamers occur with higher
acoustic emission levels and good acoustic coupling to
the liquid; however, pursuing the cavitation concept,
the "cavitation" signal is near 1 mV over several orders
of discharge value, Fig. 3. Furthermore, for partial
discharge magnitudes from about 50 pC down to -17 pC,
there is no significant change in this 1 mV acoustic
emission signal. If these acoustic emissions were
associated with streamer-type discharges, lower levels
[18] would be expected as the discharge magnitude fell.
It is worth pointing out that it is extremely difficult
to activate partial discharges in mineral oil with a
value less than -10 pC and there is certainly a lack
of published data in this regime. Larger discharge
values are fairly readily obtained, which suggests that
a certain minimum energy level is required to activate
a partial discharge in a liquid dielectric.
A good estimate of the actual energy associated with
1 and 10 pC ac point discharges in mineral oil can be
made from the data, Fig. 4, obtained by this author
Curve 75200t-A

lU

Positive Streamer

Point-to-Insulated Plane
-)
UI

.a

Point b Plane
IC

100Ee rcll

0.4

la,4

ki

L-

tn

Point Discharge

E102

,.'

.=lo10
Ca

-,

Plane 10 mm,-

~~~Series

>
o

Point-to-Insulated

11kV ihara (20)l

8
1

;: ID ~~~Comns Discharges in O li

Z~ ~~\

Tatvio l 21) l

15mm Series Insulation

cL

Insulation

Point Discharge
8 kV I Ogihara (20)-

10
1

For 1 pC the Estimatei

| Discharge Energy Is - a 002 pj

0.1

Fig. 3: Graph of acoustic signaZ (P) versus

electricaZ puLse charge (QJ for corona discharges in oil [18].
indicat'e the range of relative acous-tic emission levels
measured 100 cm from electrical discharges (<10 to
_105 pC) in mi.neral oil. It can be seen that there are
large variations in the acousticsnignal levels which may
in part be due to the attenuation effects of minute gas
bubbles not visible [12] to the naked eye. Nevertheless, the most striking result is a minimumiacoustic

10-3

,,

al,,
,,1,,i ,,1,,

i ,,1,,
lii

1o02 1o61
(WEI

10

lo,

Discharge Energy Microjoules lpjl

I,

lo

Fig. 4: ReZationship between eZectricaZ charge

and electricaZ energy for ac point discharges
in mineraZ oiZ [19].
[19], which correlates with data published by Ogihara
[20] and by Talvio [21]. From these data, which demonstrate that QcWx 0.8, where WE is electrical energy, it
can be projected that a 1 pC partial discharge (PD) in
mineral oil has an energy of -2xlO-3 ,J and a 10 pC

i -t-

'i-s._e-t-

o i_ - ct-%' 'tT-- o l -t

PD, an energy of -4Xl0-2 iJ. These values are for the

total discharge energy which is dissipated
forms, i.e., heat, light, electromagnetic, and acoustic.
In order to learn whether the cavitation hypothesis has
any credibility, it is first necessary to estimate the
quantity of PD energy which is dissipated acoustically.

The acoustic energy of a PD can be estimated from the

pressure level measured near the source. Based on extensive studies [19] by this author of the 30 to 90 kHz
acoustic emission levels from ac point discharges in
mineral oil, and on similar measurements by Ogihara
[20] in the 100 to 300 kHz range, the pressure level 10
cm from a 1 pC discharge is estimated to be 0.2 Pa
-2 pbar)and from a 10 pC discharge 0.6 Pa. Based on
these pressure levels, the acoustic energy WA associated
with 1 and 10 pC discharges can be calculated from the
following formula [22]:
WA= 4Trr2P:at
10-7
2
P

(7)

where P is the peak pressure level in Pa (dynes/cm2), t

is the time in s during which the sensor responds to
the acoustic emissions, p is the density of the sound
transmitting medium in gm/cm3 (kg/m3), c is the velocity
of the ultrasound in cm/s (m/s), and r is the distance
in cm (m) between the ultrasound source and sensor.
From Eq. (7), the calculated acoustic energy associated with a 1 pC PD is _2X10-7 ,uJ and, from a 10 pC PD,

-6X10-7 ,J.

Note, these are the approximate values of the acoustic

emission levels expected from these partial discharge
magnitudes. The next step is to estimate the energy
associated with a likely form of cavitation which could
occur in a mineral oil insulation system.
It has been shown [22] that, in all liquids, microscopic dust particles are present that entrain gas in
the form of extremely small bubbles (10-5 to 10-4 cm
radius) that are stabilized and kept from going into
solution. These bubbles represent potential cavitation
sites, and, under certain conditions and forces, these
bubbles will collapse or implode. From cavitation studies [22] of liquids, it has been demonstrated that these
stable bubbles are cavitation sites and that, at 25 kHz
in mineral oil, the power required for cavitation is
about 14 W/cm2, for a 100 ps pulse. Using these pulse
data, it can be calculated that, for bubbles of 10-5 to
10-4 cm radius, the acoustic energy to cause cavitation
(or collapse) of these bubbles ranges from 20X10-7 to
2000x10-7

pJ

The data for the estimated acoustic energy from 1 to

10 pC PD in mineral oil, as well as the estimated energy
for initiating cavitation (collapse) of microbubbles in
mineral oil, are summarized in Table 3.

Clearly then, the acoustic energy associated with

cavitation conditions in mineral oil, which cause the
collapse of microbubbles, is much larger than the
acoustic energy estimated to be associated with 1 to 10
pC PD. In addition, the measurements of acoustic emissions from actual 5 to 20 pC PD in mineral oil indicate
much larger values than expected. These facts give
credibility to the hypothesis [23] that electrical discharges in mineral oil can begin with the cavitation
(collapse) of microbubbles attached to dust particles
and that the smallest actual discharge in mineral oil
has a value in the -5 pC range.

i . >-

Nc

-, OC obe-

1986

Table III

Phenomenon
Acoustic Emissions From
1 to 10 pC PD in
Mineral Oil

Cavitation (Collapse) of
10 5 to 10 4 cm [0.1 to hPm]
Radius Gas Bubbles in
Mineral Oil

Estimated Acoustic Energy

2 to 6 x 10 7 UJ

20 to 2000 x

10-7

#J

It should be pointed out that the cavitation forces

are assumed to be caused by high-intensity electric
fields, due to nonuniformities at electrode and particle

surfaces. In addition, the effect of cavitation is

assumed to be the collapse of microscopic bubbles, although other cavitation effects are degassing or the
formation of gas bubbles (proposed by other proponents
of the cavitation hypothesis) and bubble resonance.
Finally, during observations [24] of cavitation (bubble
collapse) in oil and benzene, small explosive ruptures
were seen in dark field illumination. Conditions of
this nature would seem likely to initiate a positive
streamer under suitable electric field conditions.
4.1

The Influence of the Degree of MoZecuZar Packing

of Liquid Hydrocarbons on Sound VeZocity

Another area within the subject of liquid dielectrics

is worth drawing attention to, i.e., the relationship
between sound velocity and the molecular packing of
liquid hydrocarbons. Heuter and Bolt [24], who give a
detailed account of the molecular structure and packing
of liquids, also describe a simple model of a liquid
composed of rigid balls of matter packed in a characteristic way. They explain that the time required for the
transfer of momentum from molecule to molecule in a
soundwave is directly proportional to the mass of the
molecules and the distance between the molecules, and
is inversely proportional to the molecular volume.
Further, they note that measurements of sound velocity
versus temperature will furnish information on the
amount of association (electrical binding forces between
molecules) present in a liquid as well as the boiling
point, critical point, and index of refraction; all of
which are related to the cohesion forces between molecules and the degree of their packing. Heuter and Bolt
[24] also give an example of the sound velocity revealing a large influence of the length or shape of the
molecules on the degree of their packing: "For instance,
if in the benzene ring (C6H6), one H atom is replaced
by N02, giving nitrobenzene, the effective volume is
increased, which causes an increase in sound velocity
from 1326 to 1473 m/s at 200C."

Measurements [24] by Schaaff's of the sound velocity

in 92 different aliphatic hydrocarbon compounds containing C, H, 0, N, and Cl atoms are shown in Fig. 5.
A remarkable correlation is seen between the product of
sound velocity and molar volume, and the product of
molecular volume and Avogadro's number. These small
differences between liquid hydrocarbons which can be
detected from sound velocity measurements, not only
demonstrate the potential of acoustics for the analysis
of liquid molecular structures and for detecting low

ppIied to t r,-s

Harrold;: ACOUStif- theory

p h.yic s.

levels of impurities; but also for an acoustic examination of the RES of liquids when reliable breakdown
data are available.
Curve 751894-A

3 xlo8

of

leetri aI breek'-c-n ii- die1et-r:c 7s .R17

1

period? An acoustic approach, which can yield information regarding the structure and composition of a dielectric, is a simple measurement of the sound velocity
and attenuation in the dielectric.
As discussed earlier, the velocity of sound in a
solid depends upon its density, Young's modulus and
Poisson's ratio, and can be expressed as:

p-(-b)

I-

Eu

(8)

I.)

where Y is Young's modulus, p is the density of the

Vm

(cm3)

dependence of sound veZocity on

packing for 92 hydrocarbon Liquids
(W. Schaaffs). The product of sound velocity
and molar volume V is pZotted versus the
product of molecuZar voZume Vm (as determined
from the atomic constituents) and Avogadro 's
number N; note that VmN=sV. (After Heuter
and Bolt [24]).

Fig. 5:

The

molecular
c

s.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ACOUSTIC

WAVE VELOCITY AND THE STRUCTURAL
PROPERTIES OF SOLID DIELECTRICS

Reliable and agreed upon breakdown data for solid

dielectrics are even more scarce than that for liquids,
which in turn does not approach the copious data available for gases. This is not surprising, because solids
have more impurities and abnormalities than liquids,
and also the breakdown values are susceptible to specimen thicknesses and conditions at the interface between
the dielectric and electrodes. Obviously, with gases,
it is reasonable easy to obtain volume purity in the
99.9% range, but with liquids, 103 particle impurities
per cubic centimeter are not uncommon under the best of
laboratory filtering conditions [25]. For solids the
situation is even more difficult. Consequently, there
are insufficient data for an acoustic analysis like
that carried out for gases, Fig. 1, although it is suspected that for solids, a continuation of the Fig. 1
curve would yield progressively higher electrical breakdown strengths with increasing sonic wave velocity because of increasing values of the material bulk modulus.
However, one unknown area in solid dielectric failure
mechanisms is worth exploring acoustically, i.e., what
is happening within a dielectric during the incubation
period prior to an electrical tree occurring; an event
often followed by electrical breakdown?
In this context, one area that needs to be critically
examined is that of acoustic emissions (AE) from possible microcracks and other events, which may occur in
solid dielectrics under service conditions of cyclical
mechanical stresses due to electrical and other forces.
Provided these emissions can be separated from external
noises, they may provide an early warning of a treeing
event which in itself would likely have a larger acoustic emission signal at initiation; however, these
types of data, although of value, would probably not
yield the answers to the questions as to why the emmissions occurred, and what changes are taking place
within the dielectric structure during the incubation

solid and b=2o2/(j-o), where a is Poisson's ratio.

Thus, any changes in the acoustic wave velocity (c),
in a dielectric with time, could indicate a change in
the ratio, tensile str-ess/tensile strain (X), or the
ratio, fractional lateral contraction/fractional longitudinal extension (6), or density (p). If, for example
(Y) reduced, then c would fall and if (6) increased in
value c would also fall. Consequently, a falling
acoustic wave velocity with the age of dielectrics
could be an indication of changing mechanical propetties
which may contribute to sudden electrical failure.
Before pursuing this thought further, it is worth examining the spread of measured acoustic wave velocities
for a large number of plastics, many of which are common dielectrics. Fortunately, Zacharias, Zacharias
and Parnell [26], who developed a very accurate sound
velocity measurement system for solids, based on the
velocity difference in a constant-temperature liquid
with and without an immersed specimen, measured the
sound velocity in 53 different plastic materials at
both 25 and 500C. These are valuable, hard to find
data, not only because of the measurement comparison on
the same system, but also because of the accuracy
(0.01%) of the measurement system. These data are reproduced in Table 4. All the materials exhibit a
falling sound velocity with increasing temperature (the
reverse of the situation for gases), ranging from -2
to -10 m/s/OC. Also, these data include the material
density values as well as the abiabatic bulk modulus
B, calculated from B=pc2. The values of B are plotted
against sound velocity in Fig. 6 and the relationship
with c2 is clear; however, the scatter in the data
seems larger than that which can be attributed to the
different values of material density. This infers,
bearing in mind that the sound velocity data are very
accurate, that the materials examined are not pure,
and contain impurities or suffer from density variations which influence the velocities of sound within
them.
Although various mechanical tests can be employed to
estimate the strength of a dielectric, a measurement
based on acoustic wave velocity is attractive because
it can often be performed without destroying or damaging a specimen. In addition, it may be possible to
measure the wave velocity within an insulator or cable
dielectric in situ and gain information with regard to
remaining life. It is intriguing to consider that as
materials age the acoustic wave velocity within them
may change. To examine this hypothesis, different age
materials of similar constituents and manufactured under
similar conditions are required. This author has examined the sound velocity within polyethylene of different age from RF coaxial cables, but before reporting
these results, it should be mentioned that a brief
search of the literature has revealed that this is not
a new idea. As far back as 1962, Goldman [27] in his
book on "Ultrasonic Technology" discussed the concept
of sound velocity and attenuation measurements in

=p -r

-~-It

-tr

-tr

In

LI---

.nVt

Ttna

A-2-1

Table IV
Sound Velocity and Bulk Modulus of Plastics

(E. M. Zacharias, Jr., M. W. Zacharias, and R. A. Parnell, Modern Plastics, May 1974) [26]

Item No. and Description

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10)
11)
12)
13)
14)
15)
16)
17)
18)
19)
20)
21)
22)
23)
24)
25)
26)
27)
28)
29)
30)
31)
32)

33)
34)

Bettle cellulose-filled UFa

Cymel 1077 cellulose-filled IWa

Polyester casting

AM1000 ABSb
CIT-31336 ABSb
DH-10OO ABSb

resilno

KA10 ABSb
LE-1000 ABSb
TD-1001 ABSb
X7-1000 ABSb
X17-1000 ABSb
X27-1000 ABSb
800-1000 ABSb

Polyester GRPc

25053 HDPEd
35063 IIDPEd
Styron 475 high-impact PS d
Styron 678 general-purpose PSd
LDPE type 950d
LDPB type XlP-4212.35d

DC 306 silicone e
Silastic 4505 filled silicone
rubber e
XRi 90504 silicone e (discont.)
Vespel SP-1 polyimide
Vespel SP-21 polyimide f
Surlyn 1650 ionomer resin
Surlyn 1652 ionomer GRP
Teflon FEP resin f
Teflon TFE resins
Tefzel ETFE fluoropolymer
B995 phenolic with wood flour
and cotton flock filr
Nylafil G-1/30 6/6 nylon with
30% long glass fibersh
Nylafil G-10/40 6/6 nylon with
40% long glass fibersh
Nylafil G-12/40 6/10 nylon with
40% long glass fibersh

Sound Velocity,m/sec
At 25*C
At 50*C

Temp. Coeff.
(per 'C)

g/Ccc
Density
(25"C)

Modulus,10 psi
Adiabatic Bulk

2983
3044
2475
2148
2143
2214
2032
1991
2091
2141
2196
2208
2228
2618
2269
2313
2122
2264
1988
1968
2606
977

2870
2983
2353
2091
2045
2152
1954
1926
2030
2078
2119
2146
2156
2401
2096
2176
2048
2195
1777
1745
2448
911

-4.56
-2.46
-4.88
-2.31
-3.93
-2.48
-3.14
-2.60
-2.43
-2.55
-3.09
-2.50
-2.90
-8.68
-6.95
-5.52
-2.95
-2.78
-8.47
-8.93
-6.30
-2.66

1.46
1.49
1.23
1.05
1.08
1.05
1.19
1.02
1.04
1.04
1.06
1.06
1.39
1.80
0.93
0.96
1.04
1.05
0.92
0.91
1.86
1.74

18.9
20.1
11.0
7.02
7.27
7.52
7.18
5.89
-6.63
6.95
7.43
7.52
10.0
18.2
7.05
7.50
6.80
7.84
5.36
5.21
18.5
2.44

1866
2507
2594
1887
2053
1258
1456
1610
2941

1706
2314
2349
1741
1852
1164
1331
1504
2824

-6.41
-7.75
-9.86
-5.87
-8.07
-3.77
-5.00
-4.23
-4.72

1.15
1.42
1.57
0.95
1.09
2.15
2.21
1.71
1.35

5.87
13.1
15.6
4.98
6.75
4.99
6.87
3.80
17.0

2517

2348

-6.75

1.36

12.6

2594

2422

-6.88

1.48

14.6

2422

2269

-6.16

1.42

12.2

1 e

Harrold: Ac:o_

tic thec,y ar-lied ti th-- p.hysics Of eieCtric

1--'-makt-doi, - nr

d e1 etr

2284

2137

-6.26

1.31

10.0

2215

2091

-4.98

1.40

10.1

2368

2206

-6.52

1.52

12.5

2377

2240

-5.51

1.62

13.4

2173

2101

-2.89

1.20

8.23

2176

2093

-3.34

1.20

8.29

2180

2094

-3.43

1.20

8.32

2582
2615
2647
2651
2401

2451
2389
2552
2554
2205

-5.27
-9.05
-3.79
-3.90
-7.85

1.15
1.16
1.19
1.37

11.2
11.7
12.1
12.2
11.6

2613

2493

-4.81

1.32

13.2

2509

2387

-4.87

1.39

12.7

49) Astrel 360,polyarylsulfone

thermoplasticn
50) Kel-F 81 type 60600
51) Polysufono
52) Nylon-6/6
53) PVC
54) 2024 aluminum
55) 6061 aluminum
56) 7075 aluminum
57) Ti6A14V titanium
58) Brass
59) 303 stainless steel
60) 316 stainless steel
61) Cold-rolled steel

2148

2081

-2.70

1.36

9.15

1816
2221
2313
2252
5930
5965
5840
5730
4120
5360
5310
5520

1715
2171
2116
2173
5900
5900
5790
5695
4100
5305
5275
5470

-4.06
-2.01
-7.89
-3.16
-1.15
-2.54
-2.02
-1.36
-0.88
-2.22
-1.34
-1.88

2.12
1.24
0.94
1.39
2.77
2.68
2.79
4.40
8.40
7.76
7.92
7.79

10.2
8.92
7.41
10.3
141
139
138
210
207
324
324
344

a--American Cyanamid

f--Du Pont Co.

g--Durez Div., Hooker Chemical
h--Fiberfil Div., Dart Ind.
i--General Electric
k--Polymer Corp.

35) Valox 310, thermoplastic

polyester GRPi
36) Valox 310-SED, thermoplastic
polyester GRPil
37) Valox 420, thermoplastic
polyester GRPi
38) Valox 420-SED, thermoplastic
polyester GrP'
39) Lexan grade MR4004-112,

MIL:500 PCi
Lexan
grade 9034-112,
40)

Mfl:250 PCi
41) Lexan grade 9034-112,

MIL:375 PCi
42) Polypenco nylon 101k
43) Polypenco nylon 901k
44) Plexiglas acrylic (sample

#1)1

45) Plexiglas acrylic (sample #2)1

46) MX-1430, paper-base phenolic
laminatem
47) CEF, fine-weave-canvas phenolic

laminatem
48) MX-1403 grade CE, medium-weave-

1.19

phenolic laminate with

1/32-in. Buna S centerm

canvas

b--Borg-Warner
c--Cincinnati Milacron
d--Dow Chemical
e--Dow Corning

l--Rohm and Haas Co.

m--Synthane-Taylor
n--3M Co.
o--Union Carbide Corp.

$C B9

Ti.-

_'

22
F

0/

0/

18
r-

16

x
0

14
L-l

l a= KT-2e1

No

Oc

The most striking observation from these simple

ex-

This effect was especially evident in the first two temperature runs of the old polyethylene, with signals increasingly varying from 700 to 750 pV at 250C and from
50 to 150 iPV at 500C. The third temperature run, with
old polyethylene, produced much less signal change, as
did the two runs with new polyethylene. At 500C, all
the experiments exhibited a substantial change in signal level. Due to these signal fluctuations, the best
way to present these dat-a is to take average readings
and convert these to signal attenuation values in decibels, for example, 6 dB represents a signal reduction
of 2:1 and 20 dB, 10:1. In Fig. 7 the signal attenuation values are plotted against temperature for the

%.0
a//
/
/

6
*

0?w

4 _
/

e 00'

2 _
0

200

'-70'1
II
600 1000 1400 1800 2200 2600 3000 3400
(C) Sound Velocity Meters/ Sec. 250C

Fig. 6: Adiabatic buZk moduZus of pZastics versus

sound veZocity (Data from Zacharias, Zacharias &
ParneZZ [26]).
materials for assessing changes in their elastic constants and for determining the occurrence of microcracks and other phenomena which increase the attenuation of ultrasound. Specific information is given of
measurements by Truell [28] of the ultrasound attenuation within aluminum, subject to cylical stresses.
It is postulated that during the stress cycles, microcracks occur, which cause an increase in ultrasound
attenuation; however, this promising work may not have
been pursued and does not appear to have been applied
to dielectric materials. Aging of dielectric materials
is a very important subject which is experiencing increased interest. A recent paper by Lamarre [29] describes work directed toward characterizing aged electrical insulating materials by viscoelastic methods.
The measurements reported are mainly the dynamic modulus and loss factor (tangent delta) of aged, crosslinked polyethylene and other polymers in relation to
temperature. Lamarre concludes that this technique can
measure changes occurring during aging, but interpretation is difficult, and temperature cycles during a
material lifetime may "anneal out" any changes; neverthe less, investigations of this nature serve to encourage the application of acoustic techniques to materials in order to measure possible changes due to age.

UZtrasound VeZocity and Attenuation Measurements

New PoZyethyZene

in Old and

This author carried out some sound velocity and attenuation experiments using old and new polyethylene of the
same density ( 0.87 gm/cm3) from RG59B/U 75 Q RF coaxial
cable. The old sample was at least 10 years old and had
been kept in a laboratory drawer. It had apparently
turned yellow with age. The new sample was white and
fresh from a new supply in the laboratory storeroom.

Curve 752007-A

100

II

,II

*I

80

07
'O

5.1

periments was received acoustic signal levels jittering

and cylically (every second or so) varying in magnitude.

12

10
:-

04

=p C2

l_.

The inner and outer copper conductors were removed to

leave only the polyethylene. The specimens used were
10 cm in length. Acoustic transducers were bonded to
each end of the polyethylene and, as pulsed acoustic
wavetrains (65 kHz) were transmitted through the polyethylene (acting as a waveguide), the wave transit time
(velocity) and attenuation were measured. During this
time, the polyethylene was inside an oven with a thermocouple bonded to its surface and was heated from -20 to
-500C and allowed to cool. The heating time was approximately 35 min and cooling time near 70 min.

20

I-t

70

.2

'60

$::

'cr50
V

Old

Polyethylene
_

Newhl

Polyethylene> I

40

=3

Q30
-

H eat

Cool

20 _-

10
nV

.
II

10

20

30

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I

40
5)
Temperature C

40

30

20

10

Fig. 7: Average attenuation of 65 kHz acoustic waves

transmitted aZong 10 cm Zengths of old and new
poZyethyZene insuZation from RG59/RF coaxiaZ
cabZes for terperatures ranging from 200C to 500C.
heating and cooling of both the old and new polyethylene.
Clearly, there is a difference between the signal attenuation levels for the two specimens. Generally, at 250C,
there is -15 dB more attenuation offered by the old
polyethylene, and at 500C, 6 dB more attenuation. This
type of effect could be an indication of a change in
cyrstallinity or the development of microcracks within
the old polyethylene.
With regard to the measurements of acoustic wave velocity, these were in the range of 1100 m/s at 250C and
reduced to -650 m/s at 500C. Rates of change of sonic
velocity were typically in the range of 10 to 20 m/s/OC.
Due to the small signal levels transmitted along the

H-iarrold : A-COU

i-- the or v ap,p 1I i e

o--

p c'ys-c n-f el.

polyethylene specimens, the transit time measurements

were sometimes difficult to interpret precisely, so
comparisons of the wave velocities in the old and new
specimens cannot be considered precise. However, it
is worth noting that, for two temperature runs on the
old polyethylene, the sound velocity values were generally lower (-10%) than those of the new. This result
would be expected if the old material had a lower
modulus than the new.
It is speculated that the cylical variations in the
acoustic signal levels transmitted along the polyethylene specimens could be due to changes in crystallinity
or crystal alignment, or due to a sort of "material
flow" at -300C and above as the polyethylene softens.
This latter effect can be duplicated by transmitting a
sonic beam through a stationary liquid in a vessel and
then rocking the vessel so that the liquid wobbles up
and down in the container. Although the acoustic beam
is transmitted well below the liquid surface, the received acoustic signal follows the surface motion and
varies perhaps one to three times in level.

These sonic measurements on polyethylene are included

for interest and to demonstrate the capability of
acoustic analysis of dielectrics. The data can only be
considered as preliminary and obviously more precise
experiments are required using materials of known composition and age before definite conclusions can be
drawn. In addition, the sonic velocity measurements
near 1100 m/s are about half of the published values
for longitudinal waves in polyethylene, and this may
indicate that shear waves or surface waves which travel
at lower velocities are actually propagated.

6-

SUMMARY

The thrust of this paper has been directed toward introducing the reader to the remarkable correlation'
between acoustic theory and the physics of electrical
breakdown in dielectrics. Several different phenomena
associated with electrical breakdown in gaseous, liquid,
and solid dielectrics have been examined from an
acoustic viewpoint. Acoustic analysis of gas breakdown
data clearly shows that the relative electrical
strengths of gases and mixtures vary as the inverse
square of sound velocity, and consequently, are closely
related to both the molecular weight and specific heat
ratio of the gas or mixture. Based on this analysis,
it is anticipated that laboratory measurements of
soundwave velocity can be used for predicting the relative electrical strengths of gases and mixtures.
In the area of liquid dielectrics, the cavitation
hypothesis of breakdown initiation has been addressed.
Specifically, this hypothesis was examined by comparison of the relative energies associated with both
partial discharges and with the collapse of microbubbles. This analysis suggests that a breakdown streamer
in, for example, mineral oil, begins with electric
field-induced cavitation (collapse) of a microbubble

attached to a dust particle. Another important feature

of liquid dielectrics is their degree of molecular packing. It is shown that this packing correlates remarkably well with data from sound velocity measurements.
In regard to solid dielectrics, attention has been
drawn to the relationship between acoustic wave velocity
and the material age and its mechanical strength. It
is proposed that simple temperature and sound attenuation and velocity measurements, made throughout the
lifetime of a solid dielectric, may yield information
on its mechanical properties during the incubation

Jri f c-I.
V-

de-z
t,-j

-;..I

period before the occurrence of a tree or other events

which precede electrical breakdown.
It is hoped that the analyses presented in this paper
will help stimulate thought and research within the
science of dielectrics.

7.

REFERENCES

[1]

P. M. Morse, "Acoustics and Basic Physics",

Invited Paper presented at the Twenty-Fifth
Anniversary Celebration of the Acoustical
Society of America on June 24, 19-54. Journal
of the Acoustical Society of America, Vol. 27,
pp. 213-216, 1955.

[2]

G. Camilli, "Gas-Insulated Power Transformers",

The Institution of Electrical Engineers, London,
Paper No. 3288S, 1960.

[3]

G. Olivier, Y. Gervais and D. Mukhedkar, "A

New Approach to Compute Uniform Field Breakdown
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[4]

C. M. Cooke and A. H. Cookson, "The Nature and

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[5]

J. M. Pelletier, Y. Gervais and D. Mukhedkar,

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[6]

A. K. Vijh, "On the Relative Electrical

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[7]

R. E. Wootton, Final Report, "Gases Superior

to SF6 for Insulation and Interruption",
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[8]

R. T. Harrold, "Acoustical Properties of

Dielectrics and Electrical Strength", National
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Insulation and Dielectric Phenomena, Whitehaven,

PA, pp. 256-267, 1979.

[9]

G. W. C. Kaye and T. H. Laby, "Physical and

Chemical Constants", 11th Edition, Longsman,
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[10] M. N. Saha and B. N. Srivastava, "A Treatise

on Heat", Published by the Indian Press, Private
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p. 94, 1958.

[11] L. E. Kline, D. K. Davies, C. L. Chen and P. J.

ChanDtry, "Dielectric Properties for SF6 and SF6
Mixtures Predicted from Basic Data", Journal
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[12] J. L. Moruzzi and J. D. Craggs, "Ionization and

Attachment and Breakdown Measurements in Mixtures

of SF6 with Helium, Argon and Hydrogen", Proc.
of 12th International Conference on Phenomena in
Ionized Gases, Eindhoven, The Netherlands, p. 226,
1975.

~--

tJ

--E

rIE

[13] G. Camilli and J. J. Chapman, "Gas Insulation

for High-Voltage Apparatus", AIEE Trans., Vol.
66, pp. 1463-1470, 1947.

[14] P. K. Watson and J. B. Higham, "Electric Breakdown of Transformer Oil", IEEE Symp on Insulating Materials, 1953.

[15] N. Klein, Y. Amariglio and E. Burstein,

"Cavitation in Transformer Oil Due to Electric

Fields", National Academy of Sciences, Conf. on

Electrical Insulation and Dielectric Phenomena,

Annual Report, pp. 5-7, 1964.

[16] W. B. Smith-White, "On the Mechanical Forces in

Dielectrics", Proc. Royal Society, pp. 466-478,
1948.

[17] C. J. Frei and G. Rey Mermier, "Influence of

Ultrasonic Excitation on Breakdown Time Lag
Distributions in a Liquid Dielectric", IEEE
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Measurements and Applications, Univ. of Aston,

Birmingham, 1979.

[18] R. T. Harrold, "The Relationship Between

Ultrasonic and Electrical Measurements of

Under-Oil Corona Sources", IEEE Trans. on
Electrical Insulation, Vol. EI-ll, No. 1,
pp. 8-11, 1976.

[19] R. T. Harrold, "The Electro-Acoustic Energy

Relationship of Partial Discharges in Mineral

Oil and Air", National Academy of Sciences,

Conf. on Electrical Insulation and Dielectric
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[20] H. Ogihara, "Detection and Location of

Coronas in Oil Immersed Transformers with

Corona Detector", Electrical Engrg., Japan,
Vol. 84, pp. 12-21, 1967.

_trn i

-t:v- ,l-1

T-

i3

[21] E. Talvio, "Partial Discharge Carrier Currents",

Sahko, 41, Vol. 2, Finland, pp. 50-53, 1968.
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Manuscript was received 16 May 1986, in revised

form 13 August 1986.