Preface to First Edition

Preface to First Edition

The need for an up-to-date textbook in High Voltage Engineering fundamentals has been apparent for some time. The earlier text of Kuffel and Abdullah published in 1970, although it had a wide circulation, was of somewhat limited scope and has now become partly outdated. In this book an attempt is made to cover the basics of high voltage laboratory techniques and high voltage phenomena together with the principles governing design of high voltage insulation. Following the historical introduction the chapters 2 and 3 present a comprehensive and rigorous treatment of laboratory, high voltage generation and measurement techniques and make extensive references to the various international standards. Chapter 4 reviews methods used in controlling electric stresses and introduces the reader to modern numerical methods and their applications in the calculation of electric stresses in simple practical insulations. Chapter 5 includes an extensive treatment of the subject of gas discharges and the basic mechanisms of electrical breakdown of gaseous, liquid and solid insulations. Chapter 6 deals with modern techniques for discharge detection and measurement. The final chapter gives an overview treatment of systems overvoltages and insulation coordination. It is hoped the text will fill the needs of senior undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in high voltage engineering courses as well as junior researchers engaged in the field of gas discharges. The in-depth treatment of high voltage techniques should make the book particularly useful to designers and operators of high voltage equipment and utility engineers. The authors gratefully acknowledge Dr. M. M. Abdullah's permission to reproduce some material from the book High Voltage Engineering, Pergamon Press, 1970. E. KUFFEC, W.S. ZAENGAL March 1984