SCIENCE

Experimental study of factors affecting capacitance of high-voltage compressed-gas capacitors

J. Rungis, M.Sc, Ph.D., M.A.I.P., and D.E. Brown, A.S.T.C.
Indexing terms: Capacitance and capacitors, Transportation Abstract: Various factors affecting the value and voltage dependence of the capacitance of high-voltage compressed-gas capacitors, used as high-voltage measurement standards, are considered. An experimental method for testing the mechanical stability of the electrodes is presented. Results of the comparison of a standard capacitor with other gas capacitors are presented, and it is concluded that a compressed-gas capacitor can be transported successfully if some precautions are taken. 1 Introduction.

The compressed-gas capacitor is used by high-voltage laboratories as the most suitable means of scaling high AC voltages down to measurable levels [1]. Although extensive tests have been reported on the effects of various parameters on the value of capacitance [2], the capacitors have been regarded generally as unsuitable for transport, especially in the compressed state, because of safety considerations and lack of information on their mechanical stability. In this paper, extensive tests on a 330 kV, 100 pF capacitor used in a mobile calibration unit [3] are described, and a method for testing the mechanical, and hence electrical, stability of such capacitors is presented. The voltage dependence of the capacitance value is calculated. A comparison of this capacitor with 20 other gas capacitors at various sites has been made, and the results obtained do not

indicate any problems associated with transport of the standard gas capacitor.
2 Description of capacitor

The capacitor shown schematically in Fig. 1 is a commercial unit of the Schering-Vieweg [4] design. This type of capacitor has been discussed in the literature [57], so only some adjustments made in the laboratory will be described. The capacitor was depressurised and dismantled for inspection and cleaning. Prior to reassembly, the two ceramic discs separating the low-voltage electrodes (measurement and guard) were lapped, and the seats in the electrodes were remachined, both to an accuracy of better than 10~6 m. The electrodes were adjusted for parallelism and concentricity by movement and shimming of the base while monitoring the annular space between the electrodes with a differential-capacitance probe [8]. The final adjustments were made to achieve a minimum value of the capacitance between the electrodes.
2.1 Effect of gas pressure

Fig. 1 Schematic diagram of capacitor 0 guard 6 high-voltage connection 1 high-voltage electrode 7 corona shield 2 measurement electrode 8 electrical leadthrough 3 inert-gas voltage arrester E earth 4 carbon-electrode spark gap G CO, gas 5 measurement connection Paper 1289A, first received 19th August and in revised form 21st November 1980 The authors are with CSIRO, Division of Applied Physics, National Measurement Laboratory, Bradfield Road, West Lindfield, Sydney, Australia IEE PROC, Vol. 128, Pt. A, No. 4, MA Y 1981

The gas used in the capacitor is CO2 at a pressure of 1.4 MPa with a pressure dependence of capacitance of approximately 1 pF/MPa. If the capacitor is refilled, and the capacitance value is to be calculated to 1 ppm, at a given temperature, from a reading of the pressure, the pressure has to be known to better than 0.1 kPa. The gauge normally supplied with a commercial capacitor (least division 50 kPa) is totally inadequate for this purpose and is useful only as an indicator. If a capacitor is refilled, care has to be taken that impurities are not introduced during the process. 'Conditioning', the application of successively higher voltage steps to the capacitor, generally, improves the loss angle. Therefore, capacitors that have had gas in them for a long time, and that have been conditioned to the maximum working voltage, generally have smaller loss angles. For best stability and measurement accuracy a capacitor should be maintained under pressure and be periodically energised to its maximum working voltage. The present capacitor has been transported in the compressed state for a number of years without any problems arising. Precautions are taken to contain fragments in the event of the capacitor rupturing owing to involvement in a possible road accident [3].
2.2 Effect of temperature

Changes of temperature cause dimensional changes of the capacitor, thus producing capacitance changes due to two factors: (a) change of density of the gas (b) change of size and separation of the electrodes. The change of gas density is caused by an increase in the
0143-702X181/040273 + 05 $01.50/0 273

volume of the vessel due to an increase in temperature. For this capacitor, the change in capacitance due to this effect has been calculated to be 2 ppm/C. The change in capacitance due to changes in electrode dimensions was estimated using formulas given by Snow [9] for the capacitance of two eccentric cylinders and of a plane and sphere. These calculations show that the main effect of an increase in temperature is to increase the capacitance owing to an increase in the length of the inner electrode. The resinimpregnated paper cylinder, which supports the outer electrode, has a higher thermal expansion coefficient than the inner brass electrode. Thus, the spacing between the electrodes
100 Z

at the top of the capacitor increases with increasing temperature, thereby decreasing the total capacitance but this change is small compared with that due to the change in length of the inner electrode. The increase in the radii of the inner and outer electrodes has a negligible effect on the capacitance. The temperature coefficient of the capacitor has been measured to be 20ppm/C. For practical purposes, the thermal time constant of the capacitor is more important than its temperature coefficient. For the base, this has been measured to be 3 h. The thermal time constant of the inner electrode is more difficult to obtain. Fig. 2 shows the effect of periodic changes of ambient temperature on the

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Fig. 2 Variation in measured capacitance, capacitance calculated from base temperature and difference between the two with time capacitance difference measured capacitance capacitance calculated from base temperature
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80 120 160 200 force applied to top , N 240

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Fig. 3 Deflection of top of capacitor with horizontally applied force for five loads
Slope - 1.25 X 10~6 m/N 274

Fig. 4 Deflection of top of capacitor for five angles of tilt from vertical
Slope = 1.78 X 10" 3 m

IEEPROC, Vol. 128, Pt. A, No. 4, MA Y 1981

temperature of the capacitor base and of the value of the capacitance. It can be seen that large errors can occur if the value of the capacitance is calculated from the base temperature. The use of ambient temperature could lead to even greater errors. Before and after each comparison at high voltage, the capacitors are measured at low voltage so that any change in capacitance due to changes in temperature can be noted. The most accurate measurements can be performed only if the capacitors have been at a steady temperature (change < 2C) for at least 6h. When studying changes of capacitance the absolute value of temperture is not important as the changes are not expected to be temperature-dependent for small variations about the ambient temperature.
2.3 Effects of force on electrodes

the light beam. The results for an externally applied horizontal force are shown in Fig. 3, and for tilting the capacitor in Fig. 4. In both cases, no variation with the direction of the applied force with respect to the circumference of the capacitor was found. From these measurements, it can deduced that the force acting at 90 to the axis of the capacitor is 1420 sin 0 N when the capacitor is tilted through an angle 6 from the vertical. This means that the effective mass
99.3A6P force applied to top 212N 125N 38 N ON

The most important feature of a high-voltage compressed-gas capacitor to be determined is the change in its capacitance with applied voltage. A good measurement capacitor should either have negligible voltage dependence, or, at least, a known voltage dependence. Capacitors with specially constructed electrodes [10, 11] and a double frequency measurement method [12] have been reported. The main contribution to the voltage dependence of capacitance in a concentric cylinder capacitor will be due to movement of the electrodes caused by out-of-balance electrostatic forces resulting from a lack of perfect concentricity. The effect of force on the electrodes can be measured by directly applying a force to the top of the capacitor and measuring the deflection and the change in capacitance. Tilting the capacitor will subject the inner, as well as the outer, electrode to a gravitational force, and, again the deflection of the outer electrode and the change of capacitance can be measured. The deflection of the outer electrode was measured by mounting a laser on the base of the capacitor and directing the light onto a photoresistor mounted at the top of the capacitor. The deflection was determined by measuring the movement of the photoresistor necessary to realign it with

99.340E angle 180 270 of rotation, degrees

Fig. 6 Variation of the capacitance of vertical capacitor with angle of rotation for four horizontal loads applied ot top of capacitor
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80

120 160 200 force applied t o t o p , N

240

Fig. 7 Change in capacitance from equilibrium value with horizontal force applied to top of capacitor for four loads Slope = 0.11 ppm/N 30r
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0.1 0.15 sine of angle of tilt

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Fig. 5

Tilted 300 k V test capacitor and 550 k V reference capacitor

Change in capacitance with angle of tilt expected change in capacitance due to bending (slope 150 ppm) measured change in capacitance (slope = 9.5 ppm) 275

IEE PROC, Vol. 128, Pt. A, No. 4, MA Y 1981

of the top of the capacitor is 145 kg, which agrees well with calculations from the manufacturer's drawings. The capacitor under test was mounted on a platform which could be tilted and rotated (Fig. 5) while a high voltage was applied. The capacitor was compared, at 100 kV, with a larger standard capacitor in an equal-arm current-comparator bridge. At lOOkV no change in capacitance due to voltage could be detected, but the bridge sensitivity was sufficiently large to provide good resolution. The out-of-balance signal from the bridge was amplified and then converted to DC by a phasesensitive detector. The output was plotted on a chart recorder while the capacitor was rotated through 360 about its vertical axis. Fig. 6 shows the variation in capacitance (for a vertical position) with angle of rotation for four horizontal forces applied to the top of the capacitor, and Fig. 7 shows the maximum deviation from the equilibrium capacitance value for these applied forces. No variation in the loss angle was found. Considering two nearly concentric cylindrical electrodes, if e = the distance between centres in the equilibrium position, d = the displacement of the outer electrode relative to the inner, due to the externally applied force, and 0 = the angle of the applied force relative to a line normal to a line through the centres in the equilibrium position, then b, the ecentricity, or distance between the centres, at any angle 0 is given by: b = Ve 2 + d2 - led sin 0 Using the formula given by Snow [9] for the capacitance between two eccentric cylinders, the solid lines have been fitted to the experimental points in Fig. 6 using values of e = 650 x 10"6 m and d = 85 x 19~6 m for the maximum applied force case, and is proportional to the fraction of the maximum applied force in the other cases. The value of d found here is about 1/3 of the displacement of the top of the capacitor, as shown in Fig. 3. No account has been taken of the different eccentricities along the length of the electrodes which, on assembly, were measured to be approximately 0.5 mm. The capacitance measurement will give an integrated or averaged value of displacement as opposed to a localised measurement at the top of the capacitor; therefore, the values are in reasonable agreement. The expected change in capacitance due to the bending or displacement of the outer electrode when the capacitor is

tilted can be calculated from Figs. 3, 4 and 7. This change will be 150ppm/(sine of the angle of tilt). This line is plotted in Fig. 8, together with the actual change of capacitance measured for various angles of tilt the slope of this line is 9.5ppm/(sine of the angle of tilt). The difference between these two is due to the change in capacitance caused by the bending of the inner electrode. It can be seen that the effect of gravity on both electrodes is nearly equal. Since the mass of the inner electrode is about 1/10 the mass of the outer electrode, the displacement of the inner electrode will be 10 times greater than the displacement of the outer electrode when subjected to equal forces. Therefore, the change in capacitance with applied force for the inner electrode will be about 10 times as large as the change for the outer electrode, or about 1 ppm/N in this case. The electrostatic force / between two nearly concentric cylindrical electrodes is given [9] by:

_ Yl *
* ~ 2 de where V is the RMS voltage, and dC/de is the rate of change of capacitance with eccentricity. For the present capacitor, at an eccentricity of 0.65 mm, it was found from the calculations for Fig. 6 that = 27 x 10' 1 2 F/m de and, therefore, at 330 kV, / = 1.5N The change in capacitance due to force on the outer electrode has been measured (Fig. 7) to be 0.11 ppm/N, and that due to force on the inner electrode has been estimated to be about 10 times greater. Therefore, the change of capacitance at maximum voltage for this capacitor will be approximately: AC = 1.5 x (0.11 + 10 x 0.11)
= 1.8 ppm 3 Comparison with other capacitors

The capacitor has been compared with a range of other gas capacitors, at our laboratory and at other laboratories, when

Table 1 : Voltage dependence of various capacitors referred to standard capacitor discussed in text

Nominal value

Maximum working voltage kV RMS

30 30 30 40 50 50 50 165 200 200 200 200 200 250 330 500 550 800 100 200

Maximum tested voltage kV RMS

30 30 30 40 50 50 50 130 200 200 200 200 200 200 330 270 330 300 75 100

Change in capacitance at maximum test voltage

PF

Voltage coefficient of capacitance pF/V 2 3.0 3.3 5.0 1.3 0.5 0.5 3.0 0.3 0.2 0.4 0.4 0.7 1.5 1.7 0.5 7.0
_ _

Manufacturer

PF 100 100 100

1000
100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 50 100 67 100 100

0.0027 0.0030 0.0045 0.0208 0.0013 0.0013 0.0075 0.0054 0.0008 0.0014 0.0016 0.0026 0.0060 0.0068 0.0005 0.0051 0.0002 0.0001 - 0.0002 0.0001

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

10"' 10" 1 10"' 10"' 10"' 10'' 10"' 10"' 10"' 10"' 10"' 10'' 10"' 10' 1 10"' 10" 1 4

1 1 1 2 3 4 4 5 5 1 1 1 1 1 2 6 4 1 7 8

276

IEE PROC, Vol. 128, Pt. A, No. 4, MA Y 1981

used as the main high-voltage standard in a mobile calibration unit [3]. The results shown in Table 1 were obtained using a current-comparator bridge. The capacitor has been transported for a total distance of about 8000 km, in the compressed state, solidly clamped to the chassis of the truck. No change in capacitance or weakening of the electrode structure, as measured with the tilt test, has been detected during this time. In Table 1, the capacitors from manufacturers 1 to 6 have cylindrical or plate electrodes which are cantilevered. Those from manufacturers 7 and 8 consist of an insulating tube with earthed ends, the high voltage being applied through a leadthrough at the midpoint of the tube. The electrodes are also coaxial cylinders, but the earth electrode is not cantilevered. In all except the two highest-voltage cantilevered capacitors, the change in capacitance has been found to be proportional to the square of the applied voltage. No significant variation in loss angle with voltage was found. The smaller (low-workingvoltage) capacitors generally have a higher voltage coefficient, because the spacing of the electrodes is smaller. Only one capacitor showed a relative decrease in capacitance with increasing voltage, but this was only 2ppm. The uncertainty of the measurement was about 2 ppm.
4 Conclusion

with other compressed-gas capacitors confirms the very small voltage coefficient found by this method.
5 References

A compressed-gas high-voltage capacitor can be successfully transported if reasonable precautions are taken. The mechanical manipulation described provides a convenient method of monitoring the stability of the capacitor, and for estimating its voltage coefficient of capacitance. Comparison

1 ANDERSON, W.E., DAVIS, R.S., PETERSONS, O., and MOORE, W.J.M.: 'An international comparison of high voltage capacitor calibrations', IEEE Trans., 1978, PAS-97, pp. 1217-1223 2 KUSTERS, N.L., and PETERSONS, O.: 'The voltage coefficients of precision capacitors', ibid., 1963, CE-60, pp. 612-621 3 RUNGIS, J., and BROWN, D.E.: 'Mobile high-voltage calibration unit', TheAust. Physicist, 1979, 16, pp. 160-161 4 SCHERING, H., and VIEWEG, F.: 'Ein Messkondensator fur Hochstspannungen', Z. Tech. Phys., 1928, 9, p. 442 5 KELLER, A.: 'Pressgaskondensatoren als verlustfreis Normal fin Hochspannungsmessungen', ETZ-A, 1954, 75, pp. 817-819 6 KELLER, A.: 'Konstanz der Kapazitat von Pressgaskondensatoren', ETZ-A, 1959, 80, pp. 757-761 7 FOORD, T.R.: 'A 100 kV compressed-gas standard capacitor', J. Sci. Inst., 1957, 34, pp. 68-70 8 MORGAN, V.T., and BROWN, D.E.: 'A differential capacitance transducer for measuring small displacements', J. Phys. E., 1969, 2, pp. 793-795 9 SNOW, C: 'Formulas for computing capacitance and inductance'. National Bureau of Standards, Washington DC, Circular 544, 1954, p.7 10 HILLHOUSE, D.L., and PETERSON, A.E.: 'A 300 kV compressed gas standard capacitor with negligible voltage dependence', IEEE Trans., 1973, IM-22, pp. 408-416 11 ZINKERNAGEL, J.: 'Hochspannungsmesskondensator fur 420kV Nennspannung ohne Spannungsabhangigkeit der Kapazitat', PTBMitt., 1976, 86, pp. 19-28 12 ZINKERNAGEL, J.: 'A double frequency method for the determination of the voltage dependent capacitance variation of compressed gas capacitors', IEEE Trans., 1979, PAS-98,pp. 304-309

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