A Study on the DC and Impulse Breakdown Performances of PPLP Insulation in Liquid Nitrogen for DC Applications

A high-$T_c$ superconducting (HTS) DC application has advantages such as the ultimately lower loss, more compact dimensions, and large capacity compared to AC application. In order to optimize the insulation design of a HTS DC machines, it is important to understand the high voltage insulation and materials at cryogenic temperature. Polypropylene laminated paper (PPLP) has been widely used as an insulating material for HTS AC machines. However, the fundamental data under DC voltage have not been revealed satisfactorily until now. In this paper, we will discuss mainly on the breakdown and dielectric characteristics of PPLP in liquid nitrogen ($LN_2$). The polarity effects of DC and impulse voltage were studied by using the semi-rod to cylindrical electrode. The volume resistivity of PPLP in $LN_2$ was studied. Also, the space charge distribution at room temperature was studied. However, it is necessary to study this topic at cryogenic temperature in the near future.