TRANSMISSION & DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

EEE 471

Avijit Saha
Lecturer, Dept. of EEE, UIU

Insulator
 Insulators

Avijit Saha EEE 471 Dept. of EEE, UIU

 Purpose of Using Insulators
 The overhead conductors should be supported
on towers/poles in such a way that currents do
not flow from conductor to earth through tower.

 Line conductors should be properly insulated

from support.

 Insulators provide sufficient insulation between

conductor & support and hence prevents
leakage current from conductor to earth.

Avijit Saha EEE 471 Dept. of EEE, UIU

 Properties of Insulator
 High mechanical strength,
 High electrical resistivity,

 High relative permeability,

 Material should be non-porous, free from impurities &

cracks otherwise permittivity will be lowered
 High ratio of puncture to flashover.

 Most common insulator material is Porcelin (120 kV-

280 kV/cm)
 Toughened glass (1200 kV/cm), Steatite are also
used.
 Porcelin is mechanically stronger, gives less trouble
from leakage & is less affected by change in
temparature.
Avijit Saha EEE 471 Dept. of EEE, UIU
 Types of Insulator
 Shackle insulator
 Pin type insulator
 Suspension type insulator
 Strain insulator

Avijit Saha EEE 471 Dept. of EEE, UIU

 Pin Type

 It is secured to
cross-arm on the
pole.
 Conductor
passes through
groove and is
bound by
annealed wire of
same material as
the conductor
 Not economical
beyond 33 kV
Avijit Saha EEE 471 Dept. of EEE, UIU
 Suspension Type
 For voltages >33 kV
 Consists of a number of
porcelain discs connected
in series by metal links in
the form of a string
 Conductor suspended at
bottom end of string
 Each unit or disc
designed for low voltage,
say 11 kV
 If working voltage is 132
kV, then 11 discs in series
will be provided on string
Avijit Saha EEE 471 Dept. of EEE, UIU
 Strain Type
 When there is a dead end of line or there is
corner or sharp curve strain insulators are used.

Avijit Saha EEE 471 Dept. of EEE, UIU

 Shackle Type

 Used as strain insulator for

low voltage.
 Insulators can be used either
in a horizontal position or in a
vertical position
 Can be directly fixed to pole
with a bolt or to cross arm
 Conductor in groove is fixed
with a soft binding wire

Avijit Saha EEE 471 Dept. of EEE, UIU

Causes of Insulator Failure
 In flash-over, an arc occurs
between the conductor and pin of
the insulator and the discharge
occurs through the air gap.
 In puncture, the discharge
occurs through the body of the
insulator.
 In case of flash-over, insulator will
continue to work in full capacity
unless extreme heat is produced
but in puncture it is destroyed.
 Voltage Distribution Over Insulator
String
 Mutual capacitance
between conductors
 Shunt capacitance
between conductor
and tower
 Due to shunt
capacitance, charging
current is not same
through all discs
 Therefore, voltage
across each disc is
different
 Disc nearest to line
conductor have
maximum voltage

Avijit Saha EEE 471 Dept. of EEE, UIU

String Efficiency
 String Efficiency

Vn+1
= Vn + (V1+V2+……Vn) K

Avijit Saha EEE 471 Dept. of EEE, UIU

Numerical Problem 01
 Numerical Problem 01

Avijit Saha EEE 471 Dept. of EEE, UIU

 Ways of Improving String Efficiency

String efficiency can be improved by ensuring

uniform voltage distribution across each disc.

This can be done by:

 Using longer cross-arms

 Grading the insulators
 Using a guard ring

Avijit Saha EEE 471 Dept. of EEE, UIU

Longer cross-arms
 Value of string efficiency depends on
value of K (= C1/C)
 Lesser value of K, greater string
efficiency
 Value of K can be decreased by
reducing C1
 To reduce C1 distance of conductor
from tower must be increased i.e.,
longer cross-arms should be used
 Limitations of cost and strength of
tower do not allow very long cross-
arms
 In practice, K = 0·1 limit that can be
achieved by this method
 Grading the Insulator
 Insulators are assembled in string in such a way
that top unit has minimum capacitance, increasing
progressively towards bottom
 Since voltage is inversely proportional to
capacitance, this method tends to equalize
voltage distribution
 Disadvantage: large number of different-sized
insulators required
 Good results can be obtained by using standard
insulators for most of the string and larger units for
that near to line conductor

Avijit Saha EEE 471 Dept. of EEE, UIU

Guard Ring
 A guard ring is a metal ring
electrically connected to conductor
and surrounding bottom insulator
 Guard ring introduces capacitance
between metal fittings and line
conductor
 It is contoured in such a way that
shunt capacitance currents i1, i2
etc. are equal to metal fitting line
capacitance currents i′1, i′2 etc.
 Results in same charging current I
flowing through each unit of string
 Consequently, there will be uniform
potential distribution across units
More Numerical Problems

For Practice
 Example 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.5, 8.10, 8.11

Assignment 02 (i)
 Tutorial 1, 2, 5, 7, 8