The high-temperature effect on the breakdown voltage of an air-gap at atmospheric pressure with reference to paschen curve

The breakdown voltage of an air-gap was determined as a function of gap pressurespacing product as given by Paschen curve at 20 °C. This was followed by experimental research on the effect of temperature on the breakdown voltage. In this paper, a family of Paschen curves is calculated as a function of the temperature and gap-spacing. A comparison between the corresponding calculated Paschen curves and the recorded test data is then made. The results validate the theory presented and confirm its limitations at higher temperatures.