The micro-defects in epoxy-based insulation materials generate a local high electric field which results in continuous degradation, seriously endangering the insulation system of gas-insulated switchgears. A highly sensitive detection technique is reported for micro-defects of insulation pull rods based on the photon counting (PC) technique. The results demonstrated that for an epoxy-based insulation pull rod, the photons released during electroluminescence and ionisation at 2 kV, which is less than the partial discharge inception voltage, can be clearly detected. The findings presented a strong correlation between photon counts and defect severity. Discourse has been conducted to elucidate the mechanism behind defect-induced PC, employing the amplification of ionising luminescence through electric field distortion induced by micro defects and the augmentation of electroluminescence through the aggregation of trap charge. In this regard, the authors verified that PC can serve as a potential tool in the detection of micro-insulation defects, which also has huge potential in online insulation condition monitoring.

中文翻译：

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光子计数技术作为气体绝缘开关设备中环氧绝缘拉杆微缺陷检测的潜在工具

环氧绝缘材料中的微小缺陷会产生局部高电场，导致其持续劣化，严重危害气体绝缘开关设备的绝缘系统。报道了一种基于光子计数（PC）技术的绝缘拉杆微观缺陷的高灵敏度检测技术。结果表明，对于环氧树脂绝缘拉杆，可以清晰地检测到低于局部放电起始电压的2 kV电致发光和电离过程中释放的光子。研究结果表明光子计数和缺陷严重程度之间存在很强的相关性。通过微缺陷引起的电场畸变来放大电离发光，以及通过陷阱电荷的聚集来增强电致发光，已经进行了论述，以阐明缺陷诱导PC背后的机制。对此，作者验证了PC可以作为微绝缘缺陷检测的潜在工具，在在线绝缘状态监测方面也具有巨大潜力。