A new mathematical model for equivalent salt deposit density and chemical anions and cations of busbar insulators

Abstract

Performance of busbar insulators is affected by the accumulation of pollutants on their surfaces. The combined action of both the chemical and natural dust pollutants accumulated on the surfaces of the insulators results in the likelihood of surface flashovers. In this paper, the pollution level in terms of equivalent salt deposit density (ESDD) and chemical analyses of a 12-kV generator busbar insulators are carried out to identify the impacts of pollutants presented on the insulators. It is found by actual measurements that the ESDD values of five types of busbar insulators are 0.569, 1.66, 1.61, 1.58, and $$2.44~\hbox {mg}/\hbox {cm}^{2}$$ , respectively, and all of these values are beyond the acceptable limits. New mathematical models are proposed in between ESDD and chemical anions/cations using a multivariable linear regression analysis. A positive correlation is found between ESDD and cations for the T1-type insulator, whereas for the T5-type insulator, it is found between ESDD and anions.