Abstract
An environmental chamber was designed in which sand and dust storms of known characteristics can be simulated for investigating breakdown trends in transmission line air gaps. Tests were conducted with dust particles of less than 150 mu m in diameter and using switching as well as lightning impulse voltages of up to 1 MN in addition to high AC voltages of up to 200 kV. The presence of sand/dust particles was found to greatly influence the breakdown voltages of air gaps. This effect is dependent on the electrode shape, the gap length, and the type of applied voltage.