Analysis Code for High Gradient Dielectric Insulator Surface Breakdown
High voltage (HV) insulators are critical components in high-energy, accelerator and pulsed power systems that drive diverse applications in the national security, nuclear weapons science, defense and industrial arenas. In these systems, the insulator may separate vacuum/non-vacuum regions or conductors with high electrical field gradients. These insulators will often fail at electric fields over an order of magnitude lower than their intrinsic dielectric strength due to flashover at the dielectric interface. Decades of studies have produced a wealth of information on fundamental processes and mechanisms important for flashover initiation, but only for relatively simple insulator configurations in controlled environments. Accelerator and pulsed power system designers are faced with applying the fundamental knowledge to complex, operational devices with escalating HV requirements. Designers are forced to rely on “best practices” and expensive prototype testing, providing boundaries for successful operation. However, the safety margin is difficult to estimate, and system design must be very conservative for situations where testing is not practicable, or replacement of failed parts is disruptive or expensive. The Phase I program demonstrated the feasibility of developing an advanced code for modeling insulator breakdown. Such a code would be of great interest for a number of applications, including high energy physics, microwave source development, fusion sciences, and other research and industrial applications using high voltage devices.