The Physical Mechanism of Frequency-Induced Inflection Point for Oil–Paper Insulation Under High-Frequency Square-Wave Voltage

High-frequency (HF) oil-immersed transformers with small size and light weight have been paid wide attention by researchers. Its oil–paper insulation frequently withstands HF over-voltages at frequencies of several kilohertz and above, resulting in the too early failure of oil–paper insulation. In order to investigate the effect of HF on oil–paper insulation, this article investigates the partial discharge (PD) characteristics of oil–paper insulation under HF stress. The experimental results show that a frequency-induced inflection point is existed near 10 kHz and the PD parameters of HF voltages is much higher than that ac voltages. Besides, the theoretical mechanism is expounded to interpret and understand the formation process of frequency-induced inflection points more easily. It can be found that the change in frequency causes the change in the charge decay time constant and the residual charge on the insulating surface, resulting in the formation of the frequency-induced inflection point at HF. These results might contribute to determine the characteristics of PDs between HF voltages and ac voltages. It can provide references for the research and production of HF transformers.