| In a variety of high-voltage applications, surface flashover and dielectric breakdown are major concerns to the engineering design team. With the decrease in device size as time passes, the need for quality insulators becomes more important. Not only is the dielectric strength of an insulator important, but any predictions that can be made concerning the lifetime of an insulator are invaluable to engineers. One means of determining the lifetime of a dielectric is partial discharge analysis [1]. In the past, partial discharge was often seen as a phenomenon that did not play a significant role in the quality/lifetime of an insulator; however, this view has changed [2]. Partial discharges actually change the chemical characteristics of a material; therefore, it is significant to study the susceptibility of an insulator to partial discharge [3]. This research is intended to investigate the behavior of partial discharges in Alumina. Laser annealing the surface of Alumina promises to be a viable tool in increasing the inception voltage of partial discharges and in providing satisfactory partial discharge activity levels for high voltage applications. Thus in the context of this work an investigation will be conducted to show that annealed Alumina show favorable inception values and partial discharge profiles for high voltage applications. |
