TY - GEN A1 - Mieller, Björn T1 - Effect of electrode configuration on dielectric strength testing N2 - Dielectric strength is a critical property for materials used as electrical insulators. The measurement of dielectric strength is well established and straightforward, but the values determined in a measurement are strongly dependent on the measurement setup and the specimen characteristics. For example, the size of the electrodes has a significant influence on the results. ASTM D149 covers a range of electrode sizes and does not unambiguously prescribe the quality of the electrodes. Thus, different test setups and procedures are used in the field. Consequently, a comparison of dielectric strength values of different origins, for example material supplier and customer, is often not meaningful. To quantify the influence of the test procedure on the dielectric strength values, a batch of industrial thick-film substrates has been tested with different electrode configurations under AC conditions. Opposing cylinders with diameters of 6.4 mm and 25 mm, and a thick-film metallization with a diameter of 25 mm were used in the study. At least 20 specimens were tested with each type of electrodes. The results range from 21.7 ± 0.7 kV/mm measured with printed electrodes to 26.7 ±1.2 kV/mm measured with reused 6.4 mm cylinders. This means a difference of 23 %. Measurements performed with 6.4 mm cylinder electrodes produce significantly lower values (ANOVA, α = 0.01) if a new set of electrodes is used for each measurement instead of reusing the same pair of electrodes for the entire batch. The dielectric strength measured with new 25 mm cylinders is 11.2 % lower than the values determined with new 6.4 mm cylinders. No significant difference (ANOVA, α = 0.01) was found for measurements with printed electrodes and opposing 25 mm cylinders. Weibull evaluation of the data showed that all tested electrode configurations result in a similar reliability of the specimen (Weibull modulus) but in a significantly different characteristic dielectric strength (scale factor, Bonferroni, α = 0.05). This study emphasizes the importance of a thorough and comprehensive documentation and communication of the test procedure for dielectric strength measurements. It further helps to evaluate the significance of differences in dielectric strength data provided by different sources. T2 - 15th Conference & Exhibition of the European Ceramic Society (ECerS2017) CY - Budapest, Hungary DA - 09.07.2017 KW - Dielectric strength KW - Ceramic KW - Insulators KW - Thick-film electrodes PY - 2017 UR - https://opus4.kobv.de/opus4-bam/frontdoor/index/index/docId/41025 AN - OPUS4-41025 AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany