PERFORMANCE OF COMPOSITE INSULATORS UNDER POLLUTED CONDITIONS
J. Kindersberger, M.Kuhl
Abstract
This paper deals with the long-term insulation capability of
composite insulators for use in high voltage transmission
lines. It is shown that insulator design and materials used are
decisive factors for the long-term performance of composite
insulators. The influence of time on the insulation capability
of composite insulators under polluted conditions is dis-
C d .
1. Introduction
The scarch of alternatives to conventional insulators made
from porcelain or glass iniciated the dcvclopmcnt of compo-
site insulators at several places worldwide and resulted in
several different insulator designs which are used today 111.
Beside different designs also different materials are used for
housing and sheds of composite insulators, whenby silicone
rubber plays an exceptional role 12/. Generally, silicone
rubber insulators show a superior insulating capability when
compared to conventional insulators or other composite in-
sulators /3/, thus allowing for example refurbishment of ex-
isting transmission lines in cases where insulation with con-
ventional insulators is insufficient /4/.
The surface of conventional insulators made from either por-
ceKi or glass is considered mistant against weathering and
electrical discharges. In c u e of composite insulators the sur-
fa- of the polymeric housing materials a n able to interact
with the pollution and under the influence of surrounding
weather conditions. As a consequence the insulation capabili-
ty may vary with time. In order to learn how composite in-
sulators work under polluted conditions. how composite in-
suktors respond to artificial pollution and accelerated ageing
tests and how meaningful such tests are to predict service
life-time of composite insulators it is necessary to understand
the timdcpcndcnt factors of influence.
2. Basic Asoccts of Insulator Desien
The body of composite insulators usually consists of an FRP
rod which is covered by a polymeric housing. The FRP rod
carries the mechanical load while the housing protects the
FRP rod against cnvimnmental impact and provides the rc-
q u i d creepage distance. The insulator design has to make
sure that these two components are assembled in a way that
the insulator does not deteriorate with time.
Attention has to be paid to the fact that FRP rods pertorm
both elongation and lateral contraction when a mechanical
load is applied. The housing has to follow these movements
without forming any gaps in the interface bemeen rod and
housing. Therefore. housings arc made from highly elastic
Hoechst CerdnTec, Germany.
materials, i s . rubbers 151. At any time during normal service
conditions the operating temperature must not be lower than
the freezing point of the rubber. i.e. the housing material
must not bccome hard. For tcmperaturcs down to -5O'C only
a few rubbers are suitable so that that today housings of com-
posite insulators arc made either from silicone rubber or
EPDM rubber.
In order to d a w the housing to follow the FRP md move-
m a t under load variation the interface bcrwetn than must
not have any voids and the housing shall be bonded f m l y to
the FRP rod. To achieve such bonding of the rubber
material to the FRF'rod two mdhods are used today, i.e. ex-
trusion of a seamless sheath onto the FRP rod or forming the
housing by a onc-shot moulding proccss onto the FRP rod.
Attention has to be paid to the remanent mechanical strcss in
the housing material resulting from the production p r o w s .
c.g. shrinkage during vulcanization,coolingdown, ctc.
At both ends of composite insulators metal end fittings are
mounted on the FRF' rod. In general the zone where the
housing comes in contact with the m d end fitting forms a
critical point as slightest movements of the different materials
relative to each other may give rise to the occurrence of gaps
w h e n liquids could be able to penetrate inside a composite
insulator. The application of a s p i n 1 silicone polymer with
m a u u b l e properties proved to be an cxccllent scaling of
such gaps.
3. Housine Materials. Hvdroohobicitv and Aeeing
Under outdoor conditions all polymeric materials show
changes on their surface with time. Le. with ageing. Changes
may be caused by physical and chemical attacks due to
weathering (e.g. solar radiation, water. chemicals) and elcc-
trical activities (e.g. corona and leakage currents). The
changes mainly concern the housings' surface and its hydro-
phobic properties.
Fig. 1 shows the surface roughnus of HTV silicone rubber
sheds after 12 years of service in various sites in Germany.
A comparison bemeen new and aged insulators shows that
ageing had no significant effect on the surface roughness thus
underlining the excellent long-term stability of silicone tub-
bers. The experience with RTV silicone rubbers indicates
that they have a higher tendency to surface changes than
HTV shcone tubbers. However, a judgement of theu sur-
face roughness has to be done with care as during the TC-
moval of the pollution the surface is attacked with the effect
that the cleaned surface shows a higher roughness than the
polluted one.

a b C d
Fig. 1: Surface roughness in pm of HTV silicone rubber
sheds from insulators after 12 yean of service
a) 420 kV No& S a Coast, man value 0.31 pm
b) 420 kV n a r Karlaruhc, mean value 0.70 pm
c) 20 kV from Mosel a m , m a n value 0.50 pm
d) n m from stock, m a n value 0.77 pm
Hydrophobicity turned out to be a key factor for the
insulation property of composite insulators. In contrast to
other polymeric materiala silicone rubbera do not only have
high initial surface hydrophobicity but are able to transfer
their hydrophobic properties to pollution layers on their sur-
face. The transfer is linked to the migration of low-molecular
components of the silicone rubber 161. Fig. 2 demonstrates
this effect as follows. An artificial pollution layer consisting
of quartz flour and NaCl is brought on the surface of a plate
of glazed porcelain and a silicone rubber platc. AAcr a
cextain period of time water drops are brought on these
pollution layera. In the case of the pollution layer on the
glazed porcelain the water drop is immdutely abrorbcd in
the pollution layer. In case the platc is made of silicone
rubber the water forms distinct dropleu on the SUrfPCC O f the
pollution and is not able to penetrate the pollution. The
application of this effect to poUutcd silicone rubber insulators
means that wcuing of the pollution layer and consquenrly
the formation of conductive surface layers is p t l y hindered
and the development of leakage currents is h i r e d .
a b
Fig. 2: Comparison of the wettability of artificial
pollution layers on a plate of glazcd porcelain (a)
and a plate of HTV silicone rubber (b)
Corona discharges may influence the hydrophobicity of pol-
luted or pure silicone rubber surfaces 17.81. Under the influ-
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I
ence of excessive partial discharges near the surface thc
hydrophobicity may be reduced temporarily. After a team
period of time the surface hydrophobicity rccovers due to the
migration of low-molecular silicones. Rcvious studies show
that the effect of hydrophobicity transfer depends on the type
of silicone rubber, on temperature, on the thickness of bulk
material and surface layer 161. Under severely polluted
conditions with signiticant partial discharge activity the
reduction of hydrophobicity and its rccovery are competing
processes and the actual insulation property depends on
which process is dominating. Therefore also the ratio of wct
pcriods with discharge activity and dry periods without
discharge activity during which rccovery can take place do
influence thc actual insulation propefiy.
S i c o n e Nbber i n s u b r s nmhtab their hydrophobic pro-
perties cvm after long rervicc. Fig. 4 shows 245 kV com-
posite insulators made from RTV silicone rubber after 16
years' exposure. Their hydrophobicity is clearly seen.
Fig. 3: Hydrophobicity of huo 245 kV RTV silicone
rubber composite insulators after 16 y e a n of
service with industrial pollution
ktl: dead end insulator
right: suspension insulator
Other housing materials. e.g. EPDM, are a b hydrophobic
in their new stage 13.71. But, with continued ageing their
surface becomes more and more hydrophilic. Due to their
chemical structure these materials a n not able to transfer
their initial hydrophobic properties onto pollution layen.
Also a recovery of the lost hydrophobicity on the pure
polymeric surface is not possible. Their long-term insulation
capability is therefore significantly different from silicone
rubber composite insulators.
5. 5
The insulation property of insulators is dctermined by the
conductivity of their surface. In case of conventional insu-
lators the insulating material has no influence on that con-
ductivity. In case of composite insulators the polymeric hous-
ing material is able to interact with the surface layer. As thii
interaction is depending on time the insulation property of the
insulator may change with time.

I p ESDD-
Fig. 4: lnsulation characteristic of conventional insulators
and new composite insulators
/ and mobility of the mot points of partid d l c h a r g a . This
Fig. 5 : Lukage current development with time
of composite insulators under various stress
conditions (e.g. in a fog chamber)
ttme t - cover their hydrophobic propedes. Therefore during subs&
Fig. 6 : Leakage current development with time during
salt fog tcst at 16 mSlcm (ESDD + const;
U = const.)
Fig. 4 shows in principle the insulation characteristic of a
conventional insulator and a new composite insulator. Due to
its initial hydrophobic property the composite insulator
shows a superior performance compared to the conventional
insulator. Wi
th increasing time partial discharge activity, if
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any, may mfluence the hydrophobicity and the lcakage cur-
rent o i the composite msulator may shghtiy mcrease as
shown m the marked box of Fig. 5 . As a result of leakage
current activity the hydrophobicity of the composite insulator
may be further rcducui and the leakage current is further
increased ar shown in Fig. 6. Such curves are known h m
accelerated ageing t t proadurea 181. Aw. to Fig. 6 the
a
lealuge current development i c h a r a c t e d by three do-
m i n a whereby the current shows relatively low v a l u a in
domain 1, increases steeply in domain 2 and has relatively
high but constant v d u a in domain 3. The current and thus
the partial dicharge intensity in domain 1 is very low and
does not effect polymeric materials. In domain 3 thc lcakage
currcnt is relatively high which ruults in a high instability
mcu~l that the partid dirch.rgcr move uound to quickly
thy they h r d l y w damage the polymeric turfaccr /9/.
Lukage cumnrs in donuin 2 an? critical as they have M
intensity which may be able to damage polymeric materials,
but which is not sufficient to drive around the partial
discharge.
I 1 -
1g ESDD -
Fig. 7: Operating range of HV insulaton
A composite insulators
B conventional inauLtors
The consideration of t h e baric phenomena leads to a clarsi-
tication of the insulation perfo-cc. ar qualitatively shown
in Fig. 7. A new composite insulator is characterized by the
curve to. In m e the composite insulators are polluted and
become WCQcd then after a certain time the insulation
property will change to curve t l . In a following drying
period the baric difference bctwcm silicone and non-silicone
insulators bccoma obvious as silicone rubber insulators re-
qucnt wening they show a characteristic acc. to curve to
whiie composite insulators made from other polymeric mate-
rials remain at curve t l . AAcr an extended period of welting
the silicone rubber insulator again moves towards t l . This
means that the silicone rubber insulator will always move
bctwccn to and t l when going through several cycles of wet-
ting and drying. Composite insulators made from non-sili-
cone rubber materiak may steadily degrade with time and
move to insulation properties characterized by curve ’2 and
so on. Going through many cycles of w b g and drying
these insulators will bccome more and more hydrophilic and
thus thcir insulation property will fmally bccomc identical to then agcing will not result in deterioration which would
a conventional msulator havmg the same design 171. adversely effect theu properties. The dynamic processes of
partial discharge activity and especially hydrophobicity trans-
Given there baric behaviour the operating range for conven- fer and recovery have to be considercd when judging the
tional and composite insulators can be d e h e d as per Fig. 7. insulation properties of composite insulators.
For a given pollution level and Wating and drying periods
according to a cyclc which usually occurs under normal Refcrenccs
service conditions the operating range of a silicone rubber Ill H.D i e and w-workers
insulator is characterized by a m A, i.e. lies bdwccn curve Latcrt developmcnta and experience with composite longrod
to and ‘1. The working arc. A is characterized by low insulators
l&gc currents which are uncritical for silicone rubber. In CIGRE 1986 acssion, paper 15-09
c u e silicone rubbers arc working in this area, they arc not
influenced by ageing and maintain their hydrophobic proper- l2/ R.S. GONr and Co-WOrkC~
tics and thus their insulation properties. Ageing in silicone rubber used for outdoor insulation
IEEE Truu. Pow. Del. Vol. 2,April 1992,p. 525-538
For the long-term perfornuncc of non-silicone composite in-
a u h n it is i m p o m t a h wiut time thcir insulation /3/ E.M. Shcrif, A.E. vlut6s
characteristic develops to& the curve of convcntional in- Influence of agcing on the e l d c a l properties of composite
sulators. In thii connection it shall be noted that a broad insUktofS
variety of polymeric materials is used for composite insu- 5th ISH Braunachwcig, Aug. 1987,paper 51.01
lators. The service or test experience gained with one par-
ticular insulator is usually not appticablc to other insulators. 141 P.J. Lambah
Exterml insulation for HVDC teminals on liner:
6. Discussion Expericncca and n m developments
Knowing how composite insulators work in principle the CIGRE Int. Coll. on HVDC Pow. Transm.. New Delhi,
mahods of testing, i.e. the applicability of altificil pollution scpt. 1991
tests and accelerated ageing test have to be reviewad and rc-
considcrcd. According to the phenomena discussed above I51 H. Kirner
test methods have to be developped which take into account KoMrruLtiver Aufbau, Eigemchaftcn und Betricbsverhaltcn
the dynamic bchaviour for the polymeric mcucriala of com- Cines KuMtatoff-hgstabiroLtors
posite insulators under service conditions. ETZ-A91(1970)NO.7, p. 392 - 395

In c u e of the artificial pollution test the original approach 161 J. Kindersberger, M. Kuhl
wu governed by the cxpericnce with conventional inaukton. Effcct of hydrophobicity on insulator performance
Testa were conducted expecting that surfam of all com- 6th ISH New Orlanr, Aug. 1989,paper 12.01
posite insulators will sooner or Ltcr become hydrophilic.
Thii m a s it war expected that composite insulators will 171 S.M.Gubanaki. A.E. Vlast6s
behavc like conventional inulators which justified the applied Wdtnbility of naturally aged silicone and EPDM composite
mahod of testing. However, the results of these test methods insUlatol3
did not reflect the performance of these insulators in service. IEEE Trans. on Pow. Deliv. Vol. 5, No. 3. July 1990 p.
The appplication of such test mahods to composite insulators 1527-1535
is therefore qucstionable.
181 S.H. Kim. E.A. Cherney. R. Hackam
In case of accelerated ageing tests it must be made sure that The loss and rccovery of hydrophobicity of RTV silicone
the mechanism of ageing is not changed due to the requircd rubber insulator coatings
acceleration factor and possible oventressing. Concerning 90 W M 024-0PWRD IEEE/PES Winter Meeting, Atlanta,
accelerated ageing tests it seems that the methods used up to Georgia, Febr. 1990
now are not yet able to predict the long-tcrm performance of
composite insulators. Thereforc still today the long-term use 191 H. Suhr
under service conditions givcs the most valuable information Kricchstromfcstigkeit bei Spannungen Cber lo00 Volt
on the long-term performance 1101. ETZ-B 22 (1970)H. 24

7. Conclusion 1101 A.E. Vlast6s

A good service performance of composite insulators even
under severely polluted conditions requires the choice and
use of appropriate design and materials. Silicone rubber
composite insulators turned out to have superior insulation
performance. If such insukton are properly dimensioned
Peak leak c u m n u oi silicone and EPDM transmission line
polymeric insulator families
7th ISH Dresden. August 1992,paper 24.05

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