Breakdown of CF3I Gas and its Mixtures under Lightning Impulse in Coaxial-GIL Geometry

SF6 is widely used in modern transmission and distribution networks because of its outstanding dual qualities: arc quenching and dielectric insulation. As a gas medium, SF6 is chemically inert, non-toxic, and non-flammable, which makes possible the construction of compact S(F)6 switchgear. One major known disadvantage of the gas is that it has a global warming potential which is 23,900 times higher than CO2. This has led to research into alternative gases with a much lower environmental impact, and one of the emerging candidates is CF3I. The high boiling temperature of CF3I means that it has to be used as part of a mixture inside gas-insulated equipment. To carry out the investigation on CF3I, a scaled-down coaxial system that replicates the maximum electric field of a 400 kV GIL system was designed and fabricated. The insulation performances of CF3I/CO2 and CF3I/N-2 gas mixtures were then examined by measuring the 50% breakdown voltage, U-50, using a standard lightning impulse waveform (1.2/50) under absolute pressures of 1 to 4 bar. The experimental results show that CF3I gas mixtures have promising potential as an insulation medium for application in gas-insulated lines.