Effect of core diameter of cylindrical polymer insulators on contamination flashover voltage—part I

Abstract

AbstractThis paper presents the investigation results of the effect of the core diameter on the flashover voltage of cylindrical polymer insulators under contaminated and heavy fog conditions. The specimens had the same or very similar shed profiles but different core diameters. The results confirmed a large reduction in flashover voltage when the core diameter was increased from 26 mm for transmission line insulators to 73 mm for post insulators; however, change is not so significant from post insulators to bushing shells having larger core diameters. Higher flashover voltages of line insulators are attributable to the large difference in the leakage current density between the trunk and shed portions so that the wetting conditions are very different between these portions. This causes the applied voltage to the whole insulator to be divided and allotted to almost all the dried trunks, preventing the concentration of the applied voltage to only a few portions, resulting in higher flashover voltages. The quantitative assessment of contamination flashover voltage characteristics of hydrophobic polymer insulators presented in this paper will be helpful in the selection and design of polymer insulators for contamination areas. © 2006 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.