Simulation of electrical tree propagation in a solid insulating material containing spherical insulating particle of a different permittivity with the aid of cellular automata

Abstract

The electrical tree propagation inside a solid insulating material is simulated in the present paper. The effect of a small insulating spherical particle inside the solid insulating material is investigated as far as the electrical field is concerned. Laplace's equation is solved inside the solid insulating material setting the boundary conditions around the spherical particle. An attempt for comparison between the simulation results and experimental data from the technical literature is being made, trying to shed light to the physical mechanisms that are involved in the phenomenon.