Breakdown properties of rail gap switch with voltage of ±100 kV

A three-electrode, field-distortion-triggered rail gap switch was developed. The self-breakdown curve of the rail gap switch was obtained with different gas species for insulation, i.e. N2, SF6(15%)/Ar(85%) and dry air, which shows a linearity and a small standard deviation. The experimental results of triggering breakdown demonstrate that, the switch has with the mixed gas of SF6 and Ar wider working voltage, lower working ratio, shorter breakdown delay and smaller jitter compared with that with pure N2 gas or dry air. By using digital camera to record the integral discharging image, the influence of the insulation gas and deposited energy etc. on discharging channel formation was investigated. The results demonstrate that it is helpful to incre