Drilling effects of corona streamers on insulating films

Abstract

The interactions of streamers with polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) films were studied experimentally. Streamers impinging on polymers subjected to corona discharges were found to add localized disruptive effects to the dispersed chemical effects produced by the corona-activated gas. The time elapsing before disruption of a polymer film has been used to analyze the phenomenon as function of the foil thickness and the discharge current. It is shown that there are at least two different possible mechanisms of disruption, ion sputtering which has been observed on PE films, and another mechanism, observed on PP and PET films, which produces blistering effects like tears.<>