Modeling porous structure of oil-pressboard interface and its effect on electric field distribution

The oil-pressboard insulation is a typical composite insulation system widely used in the design and manufactory of large power apparatus. The implement of oil-pressboard insulation may lead to surface electrification and discharge at the interface under certain condition. It is of significant importance to take an insight into the phenomenon occurring at the interface. Through experiment, the pressboard is found as a porous material. The interface changes abruptly from bulk pressboard to the bulk oil as a result of the porous structure. A new model is proposed which divides the interface into bulk oil region, transition region, and bulk pressboard region. The width of the transition region is decided according to the microtome figure. The effective permittivity of the transition region is calculated using a new model based on fractal theory. The model is validated and compared with previous calculation model. The effect of the existence of transition region on the electric field distribution is discussed.