SILICONE RUBBER EXTRA HIGH VOLTAGE INSULATORS Electrical insulator is a very important component in the electric power systems

such as sub-stations and distribution & transmission lines. In the early days, insulators were made of ceramic and glass materials. But in 1963, polymeric insulators were developed and its improvements in design and manufacturing in the recent years have made them attractive to utilities. It consists of a fiberglass core rod covered by weather-sheds or skirts of polymer such as silicone rubber, equipped with metal end fittings. It is also called composite insulators, which means made of at least two insulating parts a core and housing equipped with end fittings. Polymeric insulators have many advantages over the ceramic and glass insulators such as good performance in contaminated environment, light weight, easy handling, maintenance free, and considerably low cost etc. Because of these properties it is gaining popularity worldwide and replacing the conventional ceramic and glass insulators. This write-up gives the salient features considered by GOLDSTONE in developing SILICONE RUBBER POLYMER INSULATORS. Two aspects are to be essentially considered in the development, one is the material suiting to the requirements and the other is design aspect. The following few lines will briefly describe the important aspects considered. Insulator Construction

SILICONE RUBBER EXTRA HIGH VOLTAGE INSULATORS | MATERIALS Silicone Rubber

Silicon rubber insulators give excellent performance in harsh polluted environment which is explained briefly in subsequent lines. The pollution problem is mainly due to the deposition of the pollutants on the insulator i.e. on the porcelain surface in the case of disc insulator strings. The pollutants, in nature, are hydrophilic, and hence chances of dry band arcing is more which may lead to a flashover and it is not a desired characteristic. Due to this reason periodical cleaning of the insulator is imperative. In case of silicone rubber insulator also, the pollutants will get deposited on the weather shed. But the hydrophobicity transfer characteristics of silicon rubber will play a major role in such circumstances. This property is controlled by proper selection of base Silicone rubber, dosage and particle size of ATH and degree of cross linking of Silicone rubber of the weather shed. The Silicone rubber compound used

by Goldstone is having all the required properties to combat with the harsh environment. The pollutants, which are hydrophilic in nature, are converted into hydrophobic nature due to the hydrophobicity recovery characteristics of silicon rubber which gives a good performance in harsh polluted environments in comparison to porcelain insulators which do not have such characteristic. The silicon rubber compound used by Goldstone has been tested for hydrophobicity after exposing the material to corona, UV radiation, arcing etc., and the results are very good. Hence, in view of the material characteristics, the silicon rubber compound used in manufacturing the insulators, will give good performance in the polluted environments as mentioned above. In addition to corona, UV radiation, the prime importance of silicon rubber material is to possess good resistance to tracking and erosion. The material used by Goldstone has been tested for tracking and erosion as per IEC: 587. FRP Rods

The FRP rods used as the core material in the manufacture of silicon rubber insulators is manufactured by pultrusion method using boron free ECR grade glass fibres. The FRP rods being Produced by Goldstone are having all the required mechanical and electrical characteristics required for the long term uninterrupted performance of High Voltage Composite Insulators. The FRP rods have been tested for Brittle Fracture Test. The rods met the requirements and passed in the test without even slight sign of brittle fracture. Metal Fittings

Both the socket and ball fittings are of forged fittings in High Voltage Insulators, whose tensile strength, elongation, impact strength, melting temperature etc. are best suited for silicon rubber insulators for erecting in harsh polluted environments. Sharp corners have been avoided so as to avoid corona.

SILICONE RUBBER EXTRA HIGH VOLTAGE INSULATORS | DESIGN ASPECTS Dimensions To suit the interchangeability, the overall length of the insulator has been kept within the range of overall length of tension and suspension insulator strings. The metal end fittings have been designed for 20mm designation in case of tension insulators and 16mm designation in case of suspension insulators for Extra High Voltage Insulators. Creepage Distance

With reference to IEC: 60815, a specific creepage distance of 31mm/kV has been specified for very highly polluted condition. The description of polluted condition for Very High Level as per IEC: 60815 pertains to areas subjected to conductive dusts and to industrial smoke producing particularly thick conductive deposits, areas very close to the coast and exposed to sea-spray or to very strong and polluting winds from the sea and desert areas characterized by no rain for long periods, exposed to strong winds carrying sand and salt, and subjected to regular condensation. Hence our Polymer Insulators have been made to design for a specific creepage distance of 31mm/kV for High Voltage Insulators. Shed Profile Even though the profile parameters for the shed as well as whole insulator specified in IEC: 60815 are meant for porcelain insulators, the same have been followed for silicone rubber insulators. All the profile parameters given in IEC: 60815 have been obtained in the design of insulators. Sheath Thickness A normal sheath thickness of 3mm over the FRP rod is being adopted for silicone rubber insulators. But in our design, we have designed a sheath thickness of 5mm so as to get long time with standability of the sheath towards the pollution thus leading for a longer span of life of the silicon rubber insulator.

SILICONE RUBBER EXTRA HIGH VOLTAGE INSULATORS | TESTINGS The different tests that are carried out in our Laboratory: Mechanical & Physical Tests on our Silicone Compound Tensile Strength Elongation at Break Tear Strength Hardness

Specific Gravity Study of process ability and Curing Characteristics at a particular temperature with the help of Oscillating Disc Rheometer The report from this study helps us to know the processing characteristics and total spectrum of curing characteristics of our Silicone rubber compound, which in turn guide the production department to maintain consistent quality Electrical Tests on our Silicone compound Volume Resistivity Break down Voltage

Tracking and Erosion Resistance Test Resistance to Corona Here a cured sheet from our Silicone compound is put in a cell under corona generating electrodes, thereby exposing the Silicone rubber under corona. In this test the Silicone rubber is subjected to combined stress from electrons, ozone, UV and high temperature simultaneously. UV Resistance Test (ASTM G53)

We are equipped with the facility for exposing the vulcanized sheet made from Silicone rubber to UV light (315 nm) and dry heat simulating normal day condition. Test for Hydrophobicity We have sophisticated camera based instrument for measuring contact angle of liquids on solids. This instrument is interfaced to PC. Liquid drop shape analysis makes the instrument an error free. By measuring contact angle, we can assess the state of hydrophobicity character of Silicone rubber under various conditions. Facilities available for carrying out different tests on FRP rod & Viscosity of Resin Mixture: Measurement of viscosity of epoxy mixture in the impregnated bath is very important, as the viscosity of resin mixture will control the impregnation of the bunch of glass fibers. Our quality control department in their process control collects samples from resin bath time to time and checks the viscosity and gives their feedback to the production department to maintain the required viscosity. Glass Content We have the facility for measuring glass content in FRP rods. Our Quality Control department collects the samples time to time from production line and measures the glass content. Dye Penetration Test It is one of the very basic tests to assess the quality of the FRP rod. We regularly carry out this test on our FRP rod. Water Diffusion Test This is a critical test for FRP rod. Though it is quite time consuming, we are carrying out this tests on our FRP rod on regular basis. Besides the above-mentioned tests, we carry out the following tests regularly on our FRP rods: Water absorption test Specific gravity

All these are to convey that we understand the importance of role of composite insulators in power transmission and the importance of their long term uninterrupted performance. We believe a thorough testing of components and in-process can ensure the quality of this new generation product to give service for years together.

SILICONE RUBBER EXTRA HIGH VOLTAGE INSULATORS | HYDROPHOBICITY

Hydrophobicity effect of silicone housed composite insulators The intrinsic hydrophobic property in combination with very good uv, tracking and erosion resistances of well designed silicone rubber formulations make this kind of rubber superior to all other electrometric and duromeric polymeric housing materials. Further on, a phenomenon well known as Hydrophobicity transfer to different kinds of pollution layers offer great benefits regarding the electrical insulation capability even under heavy pollution conditions. The ability to transfer the hydrophobic effect to pollution layers located on insulator surfaces can be regarded as an intelligent or advanced property and can only be observed for silicone rubbers. Coastal or marine environments are characterized by increased ESDD (Equivalent salt deposition density) values due to salt pollution. Especially in the Mediterranean countries a combination of salt pollution from the sea and dusty and

sandy pollution can be observed on insulator surfaces. The latter kind of pollution results in increased NSDD (Non Soluble deposit density) values of the pollution layer. Silicone housed composite insulators show outstanding service experiences in environments where high ESDD and high NSDD values are existing. This positive service behaviour is based on the above mentioned transfer of the hydrophobic effect to pollution layers. Hydrophobicity Transfer Mechanism In the bulk of Silicone rubber there exists some quantity of highly mobile low molecular weight chains. It is a homologous compound of PDMS (Polydimethyl Siloxane), defined as LMW. Smaller units n=1 ~20 (or even higher) are called LMWS. Migration process of Silicone LMWS are mainly responsible for the hydrophobicity of PDMS surface and the hydrophobicity transfer to pollution layers. Due to the coating of the deposited pollutants by LMWS, the pollution layer behaves like a Silicone surface and becomes hydrophobic. The intrinsic hydrophobic behavior of Silicone is caused by the orientation of CH3 groups towards the Silicone/air interface and by the adhesion of LMWS on the surface. A generation mechanism of LMWS was found to work in Silicone where the LMW content is in an equilibrium state with PDMS backbone. This means that PDMS bulk material produces as much LMWS as needed for the external hydrophobicity transfer to pollution layer. This equilibrium reaction is also responsible for the excellent function of the hydrophobicity transfer to heavy polluted Silicone surfaces even after decades. Considering this generation mechanism, there is no lifetime limitation for hydrophobicity transfer effect. Because of the hydrophobicity transfer behavior there is no need to wash the Composite Insulator having specially formulated Silicone rubber housing.

SILICONE RUBBER EXTRA HIGH VOLTAGE INSULATORS | MATCHLESS DESIGN

The automatic microprocessor controlled crimping machine ensures uniform crimping without any stress concentration.

STATE-OF-THE-ART SUPERIORITY Self - Cleaning Function The specially designed Polymeric material used in making the housing of these insulators have a selfcleaning property by recovering the Hydrophobic characteristic due to migration of low moleculor weight / oligomeric PDMS, making it possible to maintain anti-tracking performance over an extended period. Shatter Resistance Composite Insulators are practically unbreakable.

Hydrophobicity Surface hydrophobicity is maintained throughout the lifetime of the insulator. This is very important in polluted environment.

High Tensile Strength The composite FRP pultruded rod has a very high mechanical strength. Our special crimping technique allows this high strength to be maintained. Light Weight In a typical comparison, the Composite Insulator weighs 10-35% of a Ceramic Insulator. This ensures easy installation, less manpower, low transportation and installation cost.