Study on Initial Discharge Process of Insulator Pollution Flashover Considering Quantum Transition

Insulator pollution flashover has a high probability in the faults of transmission and distribution system. Due to its complex formation process and various influencing factors, the relevant studies are mostly based on experimental tests and empirical formulas, which do not fully consider the impact of random factors on the flashover process. The quantifiable algorithms are lacking, and it is difficult to effectively predict pollution flashover. In this article, the quantum transition theory is introduced in the streamer theory to calculate the energy-level transition probability of the particle on the surface of polluted insulator. The randomness of particle collision cross section is considered, and the initial discharge voltage is calculated by probability theory. The effects of active particle content, ambient temperature, and relative humidity on the initial charge number of insulator pollution flashover are analyzed. On this basis, the initial discharge process of insulator pollution flashover is studied. The experimental results show that the calculated results of insulator pollution flashover initial discharge voltage based on quantum energy-level transition probability are consistent with the experimental values, which has engineering application value for insulator pollution flashover prediction.