Design and Management of High Voltage Power Systems and Insulation Materials

1. Introduction

To satisfy the fast-growing electricity demand, high-voltage power systems with higher performance and better stability are required, which raises challenges including the design of power systems, the control of high-power electronics, the synthesis and preparation of high-performance insulation materials, evaluation of the insulation conditions, dielectric insulation tests, material modification, environment protection, etc. In the past few decades, with the development of power equipment, control methodologies, and advanced power-conversion techniques, the performance of high-voltage power systems has been improved. In the meantime, a lot of effort has also been devoted to the development of novel evaluation methods for insulation aging, new processing for material modification, and low-carbon-emission treatment by low-temperature plasma, which improves the safety and reliability of the key electrical insulation equipment in power systems.

This Special Issue, entitled “Design and Management on High Voltage Power Systems and Insulation Materials”, aims to present the most recent advances related to the design, management, and modeling of high-voltage power systems; and the preparation, modification, and testing of insulation materials. Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to:

• Control and application of high-power electronics for AC-DC power conversion;
• Switching overvoltage, lightning overvoltage and overvoltage protection of high voltage power systems;
• Power equipment condition monitoring and diagnosis by partial discharge, dielectric loss, polarization and depolarization current;
• High-voltage testing and measuring techniques;
• Novel synthesis and preparation of nano-dielectrics and new insulation materials;
• Material modification and improvement by coating, doping, fluorination, functionalization, and plasma treatment;
• Dielectric insulation test and aging state evaluation by physicochemical parameter, space charge, breakdown, and flashover voltage;
• Numerical analysis and simulation of dielectrics by multiphysics, molecular dynamics, and quantum chemistry;
• Pulsed power science and technology;
• Computation, measurements, and biomedical effects of intensive electromagnetic fields.

2. Design and Management of High Voltage Power Systems and Insulation Materials

In the past decades, the high-voltage power systems have developed fast to ensure the development of the economy and security of industrial production and of urban and rural residents [1,2,3]. Related devices, high-voltage measurement technology, dielectric insulation test, insulation materials, and long-distance power transmission have made great progress. Due to limited space in devices and increasing power consumption, high-voltage power systems are required to deliver more power with smaller volume. In particular, the AC/DC converter [4] and the switch [5], as key components of high voltage power systems, are under the pressure of continuously increasing power density. Related techniques have been developed and used to improve the power density of the AC/DC converter and the switch of pulsed power with great progress. Equipment defects, aging, and extreme operating environments are the main reasons for high voltage power systems, which require the development of the high-voltage testing and measuring techniques, dielectric insulation testing, and overvoltage protection. The corona discharge, corresponding energy loss, split line design, and biomedical effects of intensive electromagnetic fields within long-distance power transmission are also important for the high-voltage power system safe and efficient operation [6]. The most recent progress has been the construction of environment-friendly, economic, and reasonable high-voltage transmission lines. What is more, the properties of the insulating materials determines the safety and performance of high-voltage power systems [7]. It is noted that the insulation diagnosis and aging assessment of the insulation are of great significance to the safe and reliable operation of the power system, such as insulation resistance, dielectric loss, partial discharge, and relaxation test [8]. Recently, using inorganic nano-particles to modify insulating materials greatly improves the performance of insulating materials in terms of withstand voltage and corona resistance, and extends the service life of electrical devices [9]. However, the electrical properties of composite insulation, especially the space charge characteristics still need to be further explored. The electric field distortion caused by the space-charge accumulation at the interface of composite insulation seriously threatens the safe and stable operation of power equipment, the mechanism of which is still unclear [10]. Low temperature plasma treatment is also a new appearing material surface modification technology, which can induce the surface physical and chemical changes of insulating materials [11]. With proper experimental conditions and precursors, the surface conductivity, surface charge dissipation, and insulating performance of the insulating materials can be improved significantly. Numerical analysis and simulation of powerful tools are widely used for high-voltage power system operation and monitoring, structure design, and molecular dynamics process [12].

3. Conclusions

This Special Issue, entitled “Design and Management on High Voltage Power Systems and Insulation Materials”, encourages the contributions of original research articles with new data, information, and findings, and comprehensive reviews on the design of power systems, the control of high-power electronics, the synthesis and preparation of high-performance insulation materials, evaluation of insulation state, dielectric insulation tests, material modification, environment protection, and the other relevant topics. We firmly believe that the findings of this Special Issue will contribute to the high voltage and insulation community, thereby promoting the performance of high-voltage power systems as well as the safety and reliability of the key electrical insulation equipment in power systems.