Waveform Equivalence Method for Non-Standard Impulse Voltages Based on Gas–Solid Interface Flashover Probability

The characteristics of failure of a dielectric subjected to measured impulse voltages are significantly different compared with those under the double-exponential impulse voltages (DEIVs). This poses a daunting challenge to the coordination and design of insulation. The key issue in responding to this difficulty is identifying the relationship of universal equivalence between the nonstandard impulse voltages and the DEIV. This study uses this idea to establish a test platform for the damped alternating impulse voltages (DAIVs) and DEIV to experimentally examine the characteristics of flashover probability on the surface of samples of silicone rubber under two types of 207 waveforms. This is used to determine the influence of waveform parameters on the flashover probability. The results indicate that the flashover probability on a gas–solid interface under the DAIV is generally higher than that under the DEIV. Based on the error backpropagation algorithm and a large amount of experimental data, models to predict the flashover probability of the DEIV and DAIV are established and yielded a maximum relative error of lower than 7.5% in experiments. In light of the assessment of the quality of images, a method to assess the equivalence of the waveforms of the DAIV and DEIV is also proposed by using the flashover probability as the object of evaluation. The results of experiments show that the overall error in equivalence is lower than 1.5%. The proposed method, thus, provides a feasible route for statistically coordinating insulations.