TDHVL member delivers the 2024 "Whitehead Memorial Lecture" at the 99th IEEE CEIDP
Professor George Chen, senior member of Tony Davies High Voltage Laboratory (TDHVL), gave the 2024 ‘Whitehead Memorial Lecture’ in honour of Dr John Boswell Whitehead at the 99th IEEE Conference on Electrical Insulation and Dielectric Phenomena (IEEE CEIDP) held in Auburn, AL, USA on 7th October 2024.
This lecture aims to reveal the understanding of ageing processes and mechanisms in insulation system which are essential for a reliable power supply, especially with the rise of high voltage direct current (HVDC) systems in semiconductor technology and offshore windfarms. In HVDC applications, space charge significantly affects insulation design. Reducing its impact becomes a key requirement for reliable operation of insulation. Recent advancements in space charge measurement have improved its interpretation and modelling. From the published paper, trap parameters are attempted to be used as ageing markers to assess the condition of polymeric insulation, based on changes in energy structures caused by ageing (both chemical and physical changes). A simplified two-level energy trap model was validated with aged XLPE cables, showing that increasing trap density reduces DC breakdown strength.