Abstract
The advancement of material technology has contributed to the variation of high-performance composites with good electrical insulation and mechanical properties. Their usage in electrical applications has grown since then. In Malaysia, the composite made of Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) has been adopted for crossarm manufacturing and has successfully served 275 kV lines for a few decades. However, the combination of extreme conditions such as lightning transient and tropical climate can impose threats to the material. These issues have become major topics of discussion among the utilities in the Southeast Asian (SEA) region, and also in previous research. In Malaysia, more than 50% of total interruptions were caused by lightning. Limited studies can be found on the composite crossarm, especially on the square tube GFRP filled crossarm used in Malaysia. Therefore, this paper proposes to study the behavior of the particular GFRP crossarm, by means of its insulation characteristics. Experimental and simulation approaches are used. Throughout the study, the GFRP specimen is known to have an average breakdown strength at 7.2 kV/mm. In addition, the CFO voltages of the crossarm at different lengths are presented, whereby the behavior under dry and wet conditions is comparably discussed. At the same time, the polarity effect on the CFO voltages is highlighted. The maximum E-fields at the immediate moment before breakdown are analyzed by adopting the finite element method (FEM). Non-uniform distribution of E-fields is witnessed at different parts of the crossarm structure. Simultaneously, the maximum field localized on the crossarm immediately before the breakdown is also presented.
Highlights
The trend of using composite material in electrical applications is increasing since the last decades
Glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) composite has been used as the core structure for an insulating crossarm used on compact transmission lines [13,14]
The behavior of typical 275 kV crossarm samples used in Malaysia was investigated
Summary
The trend of using composite material in electrical applications is increasing since the last decades. Fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) composites have been utilized for manufacturing pylons, wind turbine blades, insulators, crossarms, etc. The concept of using composite material is due to the mechanical strength, and the good insulation properties [7]. The combination of these two characteristics is a significant advantage for designing a compact and reliable transmission system where Right-of-Way (ROW) has been an issue [5]. Glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) composite has been used as the core structure for an insulating crossarm used on compact transmission lines [13,14]
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