ON INSULATOR SHAPE OPTIMIZATION FOR HIGH-VOLTAGE IMPULSE DEVICES WITH AQUEOUS INSULATION.

Considers advantages of distilled water as insulation for capacitive energy stores for large impulsive devices. Studies the effect of insulator and electrode shape on flashover voltage in water with rho equals 2 multiplied by (times) 10**6 OMEGA /cm in a uniform field and in the field of coaxial cylinders. Flashover is effected by oblique-angled 10** minus **6 sec impulses up to 1 MV in amplitude. Discharge gradients are related to gap length and electrode diameter ratio for clear plastic, polyethylene and capronol insulation. Intensive testing in a real energy store shows field regulation to be little effective so that simple shapes are optimum in most cases.