A SimulationModel forElectricalTree inSolid InsulationUsing CSM Coupled with GAs

A newmodelforinvestigating thegrowthofelectrical treeinsolid insulation usinghyperbolic needle-to-plane gapsis used. Accurate computation ofelectric field isapre-requisite for calculating thegrowthofelectrical tree.The electric field distribution isobtained fromLaplace's equation bytreating the treestructure asan extension ofthestressed electrode i.e. conducting medium. Theelectric field isredistributed during each growthoftheelectrical tree. Thisisachieved byusingcharge simulation methodcoupled withgenetic algorithms. Series of vertical andinclined line charges areusedforsimulating thetree, fortheseinclined linecharges, a coordinate transformation is performed. Then,theelectric field iscalculated intheoriginal coordinate system. Theusedneedle tipradius is3gmwhilethe gapspacing varies from0.3to15mm. Theresults havebeen assessed through comparison withexperimental data.