The design of high voltage (HV) devices, such as gas insulated switchgear and gas circuit breakers (CB), requires – among others – the accurate determination of their dielectric withstand. Unfortunately, it does not only depend on easily predictable quantities such as applied voltage, geometry, and nominal properties of materials (gaseous and solid) but also on uncertain factors such as presence of particles, defects on surfaces, charges on dielectric materials/coatings, etc. These non-idealities can drastically reduce the expected performance of a designed HV device. The quantification of this performance reduction is done through measurements that attempt to reproduce working conditions as much as possible, e.g. by introducing particles in the set-up. The aim of the internship will be twofold: on one hand, provide active support for new project development (in SF6 and alternative gases), by means of electric field simulations, test results analysis and basic tests. On the other hand, support maintaining the existing dielectric tools and the organized collection of available data, with the analysis and addition of recent tests and new data from literature.

Main Objectives

Physical understanding of gaseous breakdown and flashover processes. Analysis and evaluation of measurement data, breakdown database maintenance, including SF6 and alternative gases. Support project teams for new project development (high voltage circuit breakers), by means of electric field simulations, maintenance of dielectric evaluation tools and basic tests.

Tasks

• Familiarize with the internally developed dielectric evaluation tools and contribute to their maintenance

• Data post-processing, analysis and evaluation of internally performed breakdown measurements, and test results; update of breakdown data base

• Collaborate in high voltage circuit breaker (SF6 and alternatives) development project teams related to dielectric design; support the design process with breaker E-field simulations, basic tests, or optimizations.

• Internally developed dielectric tools maintenance

• Literature search on recent work regarding breakdown/flashover in technically relevant conditions, also including gases alternative to SF6, data extraction (includes field simulations, e.g., Comsol)

Requirements

• Student (preferably Master-level) in Physics, Mechanical, Electrical Engineering, or a related field

• Above average proficiency and interest in programming (e.g., Python and/or Matlab, Excel, utilization of Python libraries)

• Knowledge in High-Voltage Engineering is advantageous

• Fluency in written and spoken English

• Ability to work in a team, as well as willingness to handle responsibilities independently