An Experimental Study on Novel Gas Discharge Tubes With Graphene as Electron Emission Material

Electrical equipment is subjected to gas discharge tube (GDT) direct current (dc) breakdown voltage dispersion and breakdown voltage drop after a surge. It is noteworthy that GDT damage may even cause the failure of electrical equipment. Accordingly, the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of graphene was proposed in this study as an electron emission material of the GDT based on the existing electron powder GDT. The GDT exhibiting a voltage class of 470 V was prepared, and its structure and surge characteristics were analyzed. The effects of gas pressure, aging time, and ambient temperature on the breakdown voltage of the graphene GDT were studied. The surge process of the graphene GDT was simulated using the 8/20 \mu s impulse current generator, and the resistance ability of the graphene GDT against the surge was examined. Moreover, it was compared with the same type of commercial electron powder GDT. As indicated by the experimental results, a positive correlation was identified between the gas pressure and the dc breakdown voltage of the graphene GDT under a certain pressure. The effect of aging time and ambient temperature on dc breakdown voltage was limited. The breakdown voltage of the graphene GDT was first increased and then decreased with the increase in the number of surges. After 100 surges, the breakdown voltage of the graphene GDT stabilized at 350 V, whose stability was better than that of the electron powder GDT. The above-described analysis confirmed that graphene GDT exhibits better surge resistance ability.