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High-voltage engineering - theory and practice,

2nd edition [Book Review]
Article in IEEE Electrical Insulation Magazine June 2001
DOI: 10.1109/MEI.2001.925303 Source: IEEE Xplore

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J.J. Shea
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Retrieved on: 25 October 2016

by
John J. Shea

Electrical, Optical, and

Magnetic Properties of
Organic Solid-State
Materials V, vol. 598

S. Ermer, J.R. Reynolds, J.W. Perry, A.

Jen, and Z. Bao, Eds.
Materials Research Society
506 Keystone Drive
Warrendale, PA 15086
ISBN# 1-55899-506-4
Phone: +1 724 779 3003
Fax: +1 724 779 8313
http://www.mrs.org
629 pp. - $84.00 members, $97.00
non-members (Hardback), 2000
These proceedings are from the
1999 MRS Fall meeting held in Boston,
MA. This symposium featured papers
on the development and application of
materials with novel electrical, magnetic, or optical properties. Currently,
research in organic light-emitting
polymers is accelerating because of
their high potential in future applications. Their potential low cost from being mass produced in large arrays may
have widespread use in electronics, information technology, and high-speed
communications.
The proceedings are broken down
into six sections: self-assembly, LEDs,
nonlinear optics, conducting polymers,
organic photonics, and semiconducting
polymers. The three papers on self-assembly cover electroluminescent devices and structural organization in
general. There are many papers associated with light-emitting diode (LED)
materials. There are papers on new materials, including novel luminescent
polymers, blue LEDs, fluorescent and
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phosphorescent materials, along with

recent research in advances in material
properties (thermal and life data, etc.).
The five conducting polymer papers
covered synthesis of chiral polymers,
silicon/polypyrrole junctions, polyaniline coating for inhibiting corrosion,
and phenylenevinylenes for LED applications. There were also numerous papers on polymeric materials used for
non-linear optical switching and other
applications. There were two very interesting invited papers on nonlinear
optics. They both dealt with low voltage polymeric electro-optic modulators. The first described materials that
switched at less than one volt driving
voltage. The second covered materials
driven by 4-5 volts at 10 GHz for dense
wavelength division multiplexing
(DWDM) applications. Various other
papers were on plastic solar cells inorganic-organic magnets, nanocomposite
thin-films, and low work-function electrodes for organic devices.
Readers interested in electro-optic
polymers, conducting polymers organic LEDs, electroluminescent devices, and new advances in electropolymers would benefit from these
proceedings.

High-Voltage
EngineeringTheory and
Practice, 2nd edition

M. Abdel-Salam, H. Anis,
A. El-Morshedy, and R. Radwan
Marcel Dekker, Inc.
270 Madison Ave.
New York, NY 10016
Phone: +1 800 228 1160
Fax: +1 212 685 4540
http://www.dekker.com
ISBN# 0-8247-0402-9
725 pp. - $195.00 (Hardback), 2000
Unlike many books on high-voltage
engineering, this one is primarily focused towards the power transmission
and distribution industry. There are

many chapters dealing with high-voltage power distribution components

like busbars, switchgear, cables, insulation coordination, and overvoltage on
power systems.
The book is divided into three parts,
presenting theory, applications in various high-voltage components, and industrial applications. The first section,
high-voltage engineering theory, describes the theories and models of insulating
materials
and
dielectric
phenomena. These theories include
methods of field computation and
mapping, gas breakdown mechanisms,
corona and arc discharges, liquid and
solid insulating materials. The insulating materials are briefly described
from an engineering aspect (i.e., effects
of temperature, ageing, moisture content, applications, etc.) are briefly described. The second section, consisting
of 10 chapters, contains details on
high-voltage busbars, gas-insulated
switchgear, circuit-breaking techniques, high-voltage cables, grounding
systems, overvoltages on power systems, insulation coordination, highvoltage generation, and measurement.
The third section, applications, summarizes various testing techniques
(overvoltage gaps, partial discharge,
dielectric loss, insulation resistance,
circuit breaker, cable, surge arrestors,
and transformer testing). Also included are industrial applications involving electrostatics (precipitators,
separators, painters, imaging, smoke
detectors, ink-jets, air cleaning, and
microphones). There is a final chapter
on safety and electrostatic hazards.
Some of the new topics in this second edition are versatile boundary-element method of field computation,
long-air gap breakdown characteristics, and comprehensive accounts of
streamers in oils and tracking and treeing in solids. There are more detailed
discussions on basic circuit interruption and controlled switching, as well
IEEE Electrical Insulation Magazine

as insulation contamination and insulation coordination in power system

components. Also, the last two chapters devoted to applications and safety
is new to this edition.
Engineers responsible for the design
and operation of power transmission
and distribution systems at all voltage
levels would find this book to be a very
good practical reference. In addition,
power component design engineers,
researchers, and faculty involved with
high-voltage engineering also would
find this book very useful.

Power Quality
SolutionsCase Studies for
Troubleshooters
G.J. Porter and J.A. VanSciver, Eds.
The Fairmont Press, Inc.
700 Indian Trail
Lilburn, GA 30047
http://www.fairmontpress.com
ISBN# 0-88173-279-6
Phone: +1 770 925 9388
Fax: +1 770 381 9865
277 pp. - $85.00 (Hardback), 1998

troubleshooters. There are five

examples of good grounding practices
including isolated grounding, earth
grounding, emergency generators,
intersystem noise, improper panel wiring, and protection for communication
cables. There are ten case studies for
the problem-solving section. These
case studies reveal the methodology
and thought process that went into
solving various problems like voltage
sags, power factor correction capacitors, adjustable speed drives, magnetic
fields, ground loops, and interference
from other devices. The final section
on harmonics offers a brief overview of
a sometimes confusing subject. Topics
include how to eliminate neutral current harmonics, how to use transformers to eliminate harmonics, and how to
cope with harmonics in general.
This book provides excellent case
studies rather than basic theory. Power
engineers and power facility personnel
who have to solve power problems will
certainly benefit from this book.

Explosive Electron Emission

A very powerful way to learn is to
learn by example. This book can help
engineers, facility managers, and maintenance personnel start down the right
path to solving their power quality
problems. The chapters in this book reflect the authors insights into troubleshooting methodology they used to
solve various problems and how to design a solution.
The book is organized in four major
sections, each of which approaches the
problem from a different perspective.
The first section, design, describes how
to do it right the first time. This is applicable for those planning a new
power system. There are some excellent examples on computer center
power design, generator set installation, high-speed transfer switch for
medium voltage, power protection
techniques, remote site power, and
spot networks. The wiring and
grounding sections apply to existing
systems and are probably the most frequently encountered situations facing

May/June 2001 Vol. 17, No. 3

G.A. Mesyats
URO Press
Ekaterinburg, Russia
Order from:
Swallow Research
39 Linden Lane
Shirley, NY 11967
Phone: +1 631 399 7875
Fax: +1 707 667 0630
ISBN# 5-7691-0881-5
http://www.swallowresearch.com
240 pp. - $69.99 (Hardback), 1998

When energy is concentrated in a

microvolume emitter on the surface of
a cathode, explosive electron emission
(EEE)discovered by the author and
his coworkerscan occur. A packet of
high-energy electrons is released from
the explosively heated emitter. These
micro-emitters are generally either inherent on the surface of metal conductors or are purposely formed, for
example, in field emission displays.
This phenomenon has been widely exploited in high-power pulsed electron

beams, microwaves, and x-ray diodes.

This process is also present in the role
of initiating vacuum discharges, arcs,
and gas discharges. Much research has
been performed in the area of electron
field emission but this is perhaps the
first book to comprehensively cover
EEE and the conditions associated
with this process.
The translation of the book, originally written in Russian, is outstanding. The text is clearly written and the
authors writing style makes this book
very easy to read and comprehend. The
book contains eleven chapters, covering the properties of the cathode
plasma, liquid metal, materials removal and erosion products from the
cathode, and processes initiated at the
anode caused by EEE. Specifically,
chapters 1-3 clearly describe the initiation process of EEE from point-plane
cathodes and the cathode plasma. Although pertaining to pulsed power,
chapter 4 may be of particular interest
to some of our readers who work with
metal-dielectric interfaces in general.
The chapter describes the mechanism
for EEE in metal-dielectric interfaces
and how dielectrics, which could be
adsorbed gases on the metal surface or
a discrete dielectric layer placed on the
electrode surface, influence EEE.
Some of the theory may apply to other
situations normally encountered in
metal-film dielectrics. Chapter 5 describes the mechanism for the formation of ectons (electron bunches). The
next four chapters describe the physical processes occurring in explosive
emission diodes. These include plasma
processes, cathode microrelief, current
properties, and material removal from
the cathode. Mathematical modeling
of EEE is detailed in chapter 10, and
the last chapter describes applications
in high-current electron accelerators.
This book is written for engineers
performing research in pulsed power,
vacuum switches, high-current accelerators, pulsed x-ray diodes, pulsed
metal deposition, and for physicists
studying vacuum breakdown, electron
emission, and intense beams.

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