Electrical Power and Energy Systems 117 (2020) 105679

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Electrical Power and Energy Systems

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijepes

Reliability assessment of aged SiR insulators under humidity and pollution T

conditions
⁎
Mohammad reza Ahmadi-veshki, Mohammad Mirzaie , Reza Sobhani
Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Babol Noshirvani University of Technology, Babol, Iran

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: In this paper, the effect of different pollution and humidity variations on the reliability of aged Silicone Rubber
SiR insulators (SiR) insulators are investigated. Firstly, four different types of 20 kV SiR insulators have been selected to
Accelerated aging test evaluate the effect of different insulator profiles on Flashover Voltage (FOV). Then artificially accelerated aging
Pollution tests with 1000 h duration have been conducted for the aging of insulators. Numerous FOV tests have been
Reliability
carried out on the aged SiR insulators under different humidity and pollutions. Next, the risk of insulators
Risk estimation
Flashover probability
utilization under different ambient conditions have been calculated by using the experimental test's data. Finally,
the reliability of insulators under different conditions have been calculated and a new mathematical model for
the reliability in different humidity has been proposed. The effect of SiR insulator profiles on FOV has been
studied and the results have been shown that lower FOV is related to insulators with thicker profiles as well.

1. Introduction humid environments or metallic pollutions, mechanical and electrical

Insulators are one of the power system equipment that their duty is
standing the electrical stresses and mechanical forces caused by con-
ductors, ice, and snow weight or the tensions that caused by wind and
mechanical oscillations. Outdoor insulators of an electrical system are
considered as the vital components of power transmission lines. The
exposure of insulators to environmental conditions strongly affects its
performance, shape, and material properties [1].
In order to stand electrical stresses, the surface of insulators is de-
signed to make a longer path for arcs and the upper layer materials of
them are developed to have the most possible hydrophobicity.
Composite insulators have the best surface material due to their high
hydrophobicity and surface resistance. These insulators, also have a
short term surface recovery which allows them to recover their surface
hydrophobicity over time. Due to these advantages, recently utilization
of these insulators, especially Ethylene Propylene Diene Mouomer
(EPDM) and Silicone-Rubber (SiR) insulators have been increased
considerably [2–4].
The polymeric insulators will age if exposed in sunlight and UV
radiations. These radiations make some damages on the surface of these
insulators such as crazing, chalking, color changing, hydrophobicity
loss, and brittle fracture due to the breaking of polymeric chains [5].
Aging progress will be accelerated by bad environmental conditions
such as acid rains, conductive pollutions the same as Ionic pollutions in
tensions and the ambient temperature difference.
It is a very critical issue to build a reliable power transmission
network such that electric power can be stably supplied. The flashover
phenomenon in overhead power lines insulators under contaminated
environmental conditions has a great impact on the power grid relia-
bility. Flashover of contaminated insulators in polluted areas has
proven to be one of the most important factors influencing the opera-
tion of distribution lines and substations [6–8].
In order to evaluate the effect of aging, pollution, and humidity on
FOV of polymeric insulators, many experimental tests have been de-
signed. There are many accelerated aging methods like the thermal test,
accelerated QUV-aging test, tracking wheel test, Rotating wheel dip
test, Ozone, Acid resistance test, and multi stress environmental aging
test [9]. Each of these tests methods considers different aspects of
polymeric aging. In this reference, an accelerated aging method base on
the IEC standard has been employed. An accelerated multi-stress aging
test with San Francisco coastal environmental conditions has been
conducted and used visual, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), and
Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) test results to evaluate the amount
of polymeric insulator's aging [10]. A fractured insulator has been
analyzed to study the aging mechanism and then methods for online
monitoring of them have been recommended in [11]. In [12], an at-
tempt has been made to fabricate the experimental facility, study the
multiple stresses (humidity, temperature, UV and electric stress) on

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: mirzaie@nit.ac.ir (M. Mirzaie).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijepes.2019.105679
Received 24 March 2019; Received in revised form 10 July 2019; Accepted 3 November 2019
Available online 11 November 2019
0142-0615/ © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
M. reza Ahmadi-veshki, et al.
HTV and LSR silicone based rubber insulators (SiR) to evaluate long-
term performance under different climatic conditions. Leakage current
waveforms were regularly monitored over the experimental duration of
1000 h. FTIR spectroscopy is utilized to assess the surface hydroxylation
phenomenon observed on aged SiR.
FOV is one of the most important indexes to evaluate the working
conditions of an insulator. FOV depends on the insulator profile and
ambient conditions including pollution and humidity. FOV performance
on post insulators has been studied under the pollution condition in
[13]. Contamination has been applied to the specimens with solid layer
method and it has been observed that the shed configuration and rod
diameter had a significant effect on FOV performance of composite
insulators. The effect of ambient conditions on three polluted insulator
strings has been studied in [14]. Natural ambient conditions were ap-
plied to the specimens and flashover progress and its stages have been
studied by a high-definition camera. The results showed that there are
some differences in the FOV stress between results of the field test and
Baker et al. The effect of different pollutions methods on FOV have been
studied in [15]. Three polluting methods (quantitative brushing
method, dipping method, and spraying method) which are commonly
used was applied to the specimens and the results illustrated that FOV
differences were negligible. In [16], a finite element method based
approach has been applied on the porcelain insulator to develop a si-
mulation model, which is mainly based on arc Obenaus model and
Hapmton criteria. It has been found that arc constants are the most
important factors for different types of the insulator.
In this paper, the effect of pollution and humidity on SiR insulators
in different aging times are evaluated by using results of experimental
tests including a 1000 h accelerated aging test with UV, heating, and
continuous electrical stress. Then FOV tests have been carried out in
three different pollution and humidity levels. In order to calculate the
risk of utilization of SiR insulator, some Probability Distribution
Functions (PFDs) has been used. Also, to investigate the effect of SiR
insulators profile on FOV, four different types of SiR insulators with
various profiles have been selected in this research. In this paper, to
calculate Pollution Existence PFD, a Log-Normal Distribution function
has been used. Finally, the reliability of insulators utilization in dif-
ferent pollutions and humidity through the aging process has been
calculated and analysed.
2. Experimental tests
An experimental setup has been provided to perform the practical
tests on four types of SiR insulators under different humidity and pol-
lution severities.
2.1. Accelerated aging and FOV tests setup
Two separate experimental setups have been prepared in order to
perform aging and flashover tests on the SiR insulators. Fig. 1 demon-
strates the aging setup including aging chamber and HV transformer
Fig. 1. Accelerated aging test setup.
2
Electrical Power and Energy Systems 117 (2020) 105679
setup.
The aging chamber consists of a 2m × 2m × 2m frame, UV lamps to
simulate UV-rays caused by the Sun, and the heaters to simulate am-
bient conditions according to IEC 61109 Annex C [17,18].
An air conditioning system has been used to control the temperature
in the chamber. Heaters, air conditioning, and UV systems are con-
nected to the main controller. This controller has been programmed to
keep the chamber temperature under 50 °C at all times to prevent de-
formation of SiR insulators and to control the designed aging cycles.
After the aging test, FOV tests have been carried out in the pollution
chamber. Pollution chamber has been covered through a transparent
plastic layer which humidity sensor and flashover phenomena can be
seen from outside of the chamber.
Two 5KVA HV transformer with the same ratio of 220 V/100 kV
have been connected in the cascade mode to provide the required
voltage. Hence, the output voltage of HV transformer set can be ad-
justed up to 200 kV. A protective resistor (R) has been placed on the HV
transformer's output. A capacitor divider system with the ratio of 1000/
1 which consist of two paralleled 25000 pF and two serried 100pF
capacitors connected to a two channel digital storage oscilloscope is
used to record the FOV results.
There are three wetting methods which are frequently used for the
polluted insulators flashover tests including cold fog, steam fog, and
mixture fog. Steam fog is recommended in the IEC standard method but
by using steam fog, the temperature in the pollution chamber will in-
crease during the test and make it difficult to control the humidity
percentage [19]. For these tests, an Ultrasonic Fog Generator has been
used in order to produce cold fog and provide the required humidity.
2.2. Test specimens
To investigate the effect of weather conditions and aging on the FOV
of different insulators, four different profiles of SiR insulators have been
chosen for experimental tests. The number of four from each type of
insulators was provided and after each step of aging, one insulator of
each type was removed from the aging chamber. The studied insulators
and their technical parameters are shown in Table 1. Notice that in-
sulators type A and B have thick profiles (more sheds in the less arcing
distance) whereas C and D type have wider profiles than others.
2.3. Test procedure
In order to study the effect of aging on the FOV of SiR insulators, a
1000 h aging test has been carried out. Every two weeks (equals to 1/3
aging time), one specimen of the studies insulators is removed from the
Table 1
Pictures and technical parameters of the studied SiR insulators.
No. A B C D
Specimen
Number of sheds 7 7 6 6
Shed parameters* D = 100 mm D = 110 mm D = 105 mm D = 105 mm
d = 70 mm d = 90 mm d = 75 mm d = 80 mm
Creepage distance 660 mm 660 mm 635 mm 710 mm
Arcing distance 285 mm 245 mm 325 mm 328 mm
* D = bigger shed's diameter; d = smaller shed's diameter.
M. reza Ahmadi-veshki, et al.
Table 2
Applied stress in the designed aging cycle.
Hour 1th 2th 3th 4th 5th 6th 7th
Electrical stress
UV radiation
Thermal stress
aging chamber and flashover tests in different pollutions and humidity
are performed.
The aging test is based on IEC 61109 standard Annex C [17] and
redesigned to include UV radiation, electrical stress, and heating. The
effect of using only UV lamps on the FOV and leakage current has been
studied in [5]. In this reference, in addition to UV radiation, heating
influence as an important parameter in polymeric materials aging has
been considered. Accelerated aging tests were also performed in
[20,21] and studied the effect of aging on composite insulators by using
different aging assessment techniques, such as contact angle studies,
SEM, FTIR, and low molecular weight (LMW). In this paper, the effects
of aging, pollution, and humidity on the reliability assessment of SiR
insulators according to experimental test results have been studied.
During 1000 h accelerated aging test, some stresses have been ap-
plied to the four specimens from each profile of the SiR insulators which
are shown in Table 2. The applied AC voltage to the studied insulators is
20 kV/ 3 . Also, in order to create a uniform UV radiation on all sides
of insulators, specimens have been rotated 180° once a week to ensure
equal aging on the whole surface of insulators. In order to simulate the
process aging two UV lamps with the power of 400w have been in-
stalled in aging chamber. The distance between the UV lamp and the
specimen is 50 cm. Thermal stress makes continuous temperature rising
in the aging chamber. For prevention of any deformation of insulators,
the temperature of aging chamber has been kept under defined range
(about 50 °C) by the heater and the main controller.
FOV tests were performed in 0, 2, 4, and 6 weeks of aging test.
Before performing the FOV tests, all specimens that have been removed
from the aging chamber, have been polluted according to IEC 60507
with solid layer method [22]. To minimize the impact of environmental
conditions on the test specimens, we have provided a chamber with
dimensions of 2m × 2m × 2m that has been covered by a transparent
plastic. Also, the amount of temperature and humidity was measured
via a digital sensor in order to compare among the results in the same
conditions. Kaolin has been used in the pollution solution to make the
surface of insulators more hydrophilic. Polluting has been performed in
three levels of pollutions: light, medium, and high which 40 g Kaolin
have been mixed with 20 g, 30 g, and 40 g industrial NaCl in 1 L tap
water for each pollution level, respectively. After the process of aging,
these provided solutions have been sprayed on the surface of insulators.
FOV tests have been performed under 75%, 85%, and 95% humidity
by an automatic cold fog producer in each pollution level. Voltage in-
crease with the rate of 3 kV/sec and flashover tests in each humidity
and pollution level have been carried out at least 5 times with 2 min
intervals to avoid the influence of one flashover on the next one.
In the case of flung FOVs, FOV tests have been repeated until an
acceptable variance has been achieved.
3. FOV results and discussions
In order to calculate the risk of using SiR insulators, some
Probability Distribution Functions (PFDs) is required. Generally, the
risk is the probability of an outcome multiplied by the probability of the
reason for that outcome. In this case, the outcome will be the flashover
and the reason will become the pollution of the insulator. So the needed
PFDs will be the probability of Flashover Occurrence as a function of
pollution severity and the probability of pollution existence as a func-
tion of pollution severity.
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Electrical Power and Energy Systems 117 (2020) 105679
Before the calculation of Flashover Occurrence PFD, we need to find
out the relationship between FOV and pollution severity. There is a
relation between Uf and Equivalent Salt Deposit Density (ESDD) of the
insulator which is shown in Eq. (1) [23,24].
Uf = γ . ESDD−α (1)
where γ is a coefficient related to the shape of the insulator and α is a
characteristic exponent characterizing the influence of ESDD on Uf and
is related to the configuration and material of the insulator. These
parameters can be calculated by fitting the Eq. (1) on the experimental
data.
ESDD is a criterion of pollution severity which can be calculated
from the surface conductivity according to IEC 60507. After collecting
the insulator pollution and dissolving it in the specified volume of
distilled water, conductivity and temperature of the collected pollution
have been measured. ESDD can be calculated by using Eqs. (2)–(4).
σ20 = σθ (1 − b (θ − 20)) (2)
Sa = (5.7 × σ20 )1.03 (3)
Sa × V
ESDD =
A (4)
where σ20 is the solution conductivity (S/m) in 20 °C; θ is solution
temperature (°C); Sa is solution salinity (kg/m3); V is the specified vo-
lume of distilled water in which the pollution has been collected (cm3);
A is the total insulator surface area (cm2) and ESDD is equivalent salt
deposit density (mg/cm2). For a specific insulator, Kf and L are con-
stant. In this paper, the flashover probability of four different types of
SiR insulators in different pollution and humidity levels has been cal-
culated.
Standard deviation of FOV and Uave (Uf) can be evaluated using Eqs.
(5) and (6):
N
∑i = 1 Ui
Uf = U ave =
N (5)
N
∑i = 1 (Ui − Uav )2 100
σ(%) = ×
N−1 Uave (6)
where Ui is ith FOV and N is the total number of performed flashover
tests. A fitted curve on experimental data for insulator type A in 0, 2, 4,
and 6 weeks aging under 85% humidity are shown in Fig. 2.
In Fig. 2 each point represents the average experimental data of FOV
tests in 85% humidity. As shown in Fig. 2 with an increase in pollution
severity (ESDD), the FOV (Uave) will decrease. In addition, it can be
noticed that with an increase in aging time, the average FOV in the
same pollution severity decreases and the rate of reduction of FOV will
increase as the aging continues. With a comparison of the fitted curves
of the insulators A4 and A6 and other experimental data, it can con-
cludes that the rate of reducing FOV with the increase of pollution se-
verity will increase as the SiR insulator ages. Figs. 3–5 represent the
Fig. 2. FOV experimental data and fitted curves for insulator type A in 0, 2, 4,
and 6 weeks aging times.
M. reza Ahmadi-veshki, et al. Electrical Power and Energy Systems 117 (2020) 105679

Fig. 6. Fitted curves for all types of the tested SiR insulators after aging time
under the humidity of 75%.
Fig. 3. FOV experimental data and fitted curves for insulator type B in 0, 2, 4,
and 6 weeks aging times.
Table 3
Calculated coefficients by curve fitting for the studied SiR insulators before the
process of aging.
Humidity coefficients

Type A Type B Type C Type D

γ α γ α γ α γ α

75% 60.12 0.257 32.66 0.409 68.3 0.215 63.83 0.264

85% 36.08 0.413 28.08 0.415 42.56 0.378 45.98 0.295
95% 18.44 0.657 28.25 0.381 15.18 0.699 27.28 0.438

3.1. Flashover occurance probability distribution function

Fig. 4. FOV experimental data and fitted curves for insulator type C in 0, 2, 4,
By considering Eq. (1) and the researches that have been done in
and 6 weeks aging times.
[25], the Flashover Occurrence PFD as a function of pollution severity
can be calculated. Three parameters Weibull distribution function have
been used for Flashover Occurrence statistical model and can be ex-
pressed as the following Eq. (7) [26]. Required equations to calculate
the parameters of this PFD have been given in Eqs. (8)–(12).
α k
− 1 × ⎜⎛ ⎛ ESDD ⎞ − 1⎟⎞
P (ESDD) = 1 − e β ⎝ ⎝ ESDD0 ⎠ ⎠ (7)

U0
ESDD0 = ESDDave × α
Uave (8)

γ
ESDDave = α
Uc (9)
Fig. 5. FOV experimental data and fitted curves for insulator type D in 0, 2, 4,
n. σ
and 6 weeks aging times. β=
U0 (Ln2)1/ k (10)

fitted curves for the other tested insulators. What is clear is that, the
same as insulator A other types of insulators have the analogous trends
and for all of the tested insulators, the minimum FOVs are associated
with aged conditions.
In order to compare the FOV for different profile of insulators, they
shall be studied in the same conditions. Fig. 6 Shows Uf -ESDD curves
for all types of the tested SiR insulators after 6 weeks aging in humidity
75%. Also, the coefficients of Eq. (5) for all types of the studied in-
sulators before the process of aging have been summarized in Table 3.
Different profiles have different Uf -ESDD curves but based on la-
boratory results, in general, we can conclude that insulators with
thicker profiles (more sheds in shorter rods) have lower FOV than in-
sulators with wider profiles (less shed in longer rods). insulator type B,
for instance, in Fig. 6 has the lowest FOV between other types of the
tested SiR insulators. It should be expressed, other profile features will
effect on the FOV results such as the angle between sheds and rod which
for the insulator type A is about 90°.
1.38
k=
Ln ( )
n
n−1 (11)
U0 = Uave − n. σ (12)
where U0 is the voltage that the probability of Flashover Occurrence
will be zero; Uc the continuous operating voltage; ESDD0 the amount of
ESDD which the probability of flashover occurrence will be equal to
zero; k, α, and γ are constant; ESDDave the average pollution severity of
the insulator environment; σ logarithmic standard deviation and finally
n is a constant that is considered 2.1 according to [27].
In this paper, two methods have been used to calculate the flashover
occurrence PFD. The first method has been used to show the variation
of flashover probability with humidity or aging duration. So the
average data from each flashover test has been used. Fig. 7 shows the
flashover occurrence PFD for insulator type A before the process of
aging under different humidity.
Fig. 8 illustrates the flashover occurrence PFD for insulator type A
after aging (A6) in different humidity. As it shows, with an increase of
humidity, flashover occurrence probability in the same ESDD has been

4
M. reza Ahmadi-veshki, et al.
Fig. 7. Flashover occurrence probability as a function of pollution severity for
insulator A0 under different humidity.
Fig. 8. Flashover occurrence probability as a function of pollution severity for
insulator A6 in different humidity.
increased. It also can be seen that by increasing the pollution severity,
the ratio of increase of flashover occurrence with the rise of humidity
will increase.
The second method does not consider the aging duration of in-
sulators which is used to compare the effect of insulator profile on
flashover occurrence probability. For this purpose, the average of all
data from each type of tested SiR insulators in a specific humidity has
been used. Fig. 9 shows the calculated PFDs for all types of the tested
insulators. A comparison between Fig. 9 and Fig. 10 shows that during
the SiR insulators aging time, sensitivity against humidity will increase.
In other words, as the SiR insulator ages, the ratio of increase of FOV
with the rise of humidity will go higher. This fact can be explained by
the effect of aging on SiR insulators which is a decrease of
Fig. 9. Flashover occurrence probability as a function of pollution severity for
the tested SiR insulators under humidity 75%.
5
Electrical Power and Energy Systems 117 (2020) 105679
Fig. 10. Flashover occurrence probability as a function of pollution severity for
the tested SiR insulators under humidity 95%.
hydrophobicity. This effect will cause more absorption of water in the
contaminated conditions and also increase the conduction of insulator
surface which will cause lower FOV and a higher probability of flash-
over occurrence.
By what can be observed, the insulator type B has the highest
flashover occurrence probability next to the type A which as mentioned
before, these two types of insulators have thick profile characteristic.
On the other hand, the insulators types C and D have less flashover
occurrence probability than other types due to the wider profile char-
acteristic. It seems that the curve of insulator type A must be nearer to
the curve of insulator type D but due to the less angle among sheds and
rod in insulator type A, it has higher flashover probability.
Fig. 10 shows flashover occurrence PFD for the tested SiR insulators
under humidity 95%. The difference between thicker and wider profiles
is more visible in Fig. 10. Comparison between Figs. 9 and 10 shows
that insulator type B is less sensitive against humidity variations than
insulator type A.
3.2. Pollution existence probability distribution function
In this section, in order to calculate Pollution Existence PFD, a Log-
Normal Distribution function has been used and can be expressed by the
following equation:
2
log (ESDD) − log (ESDDave ) ⎞
1 − 1 ×⎛
f (ESDD) = .e
⎜
2 ⎝ σ ⎟
⎠
σ. 2π (13)
where ESDDave is defined as the average pollution severity of the in-
sulator’s environment and σ is the standard deviation of Ln(ESDD) [28].
These parameters can be calculated using the ESDD of collected pol-
lution from the surface of studied insulators.
Two methods are frequently used to calculate the pollution ex-
istence PFD from laboratory data. In the first method, different pollu-
tion severity will not be separated from each other and all ESDD data
from the laboratory tests will be applied in relation (13) to calculate
pollution existence PFD for each type of tested insulators. This method
simulates an area which has average pollution severity near the created
medium pollution severity with very high deviation due to using high
and low pollution severities. In other words, this simulated area has
seasons with high pollution severity and some seasons with low ones.
Fig. 11 shows the pollution existence probability as a function of ESDD
for all types of tested insulators by using this method.
As expected there is not much difference between pollution ex-
istence PFDs for all types of the studied insulators. The reason for this
trend can be the dependence of pollution existence PFD to the surface
ESDD of insulators in the laboratory or the ambient pollution severity in
the studied area, and the type of insulator has an ignorable effect on the
probability of pollution existence. In fact, this little difference can be
caused by the pollution method which is a spray method. Insulators
M. reza Ahmadi-veshki, et al.
Fig. 11. Pollution existence probability as a function of pollution severity for
the tested SiR insulators.
with thicker profiles will absorb more of the sprayed pollution and so
they will have a higher pollution existence probability than insulator
with wider profiles.
In the second method, each pollution level data will be used to
calculate pollution existence PFDs for different pollution levels and
different types of tested insulators. This method will simulate three
different areas with low, medium and high pollution levels. The cal-
culated curves from this method have a lower deviation in the pollution
severity than the first method. The simulated areas will model regions
with permanent average pollution severity in each separate pollution
level. Fig. 12 represents pollution existence probability as a function of
ESDD for insulator type A by using the second method.
Due to using the same composites for pollution solutions in any
pollution severity, curves with very low deviation like medium pollu-
tion in Fig. 12 will be unavoidable and this curve will model an area
with nearly permanent and constant pollution severity. Hence, in this
paper, the first method has been used to calculate the risk and relia-
bility of insulator utilization due to the fact that this method is closer to
reality.
3.3. Risk of sir insulators utilization
In order to calculate the risk of SiR insulators utilization, flashover
occurrence probability must be multiplied by pollution existence
probability. Integral of the produced curve will be the risk of insulator
utilization. Fig. 13 shows the risk of insulator utilization for insulator
type A0 in humidity 85%.
Fig. 14 shows the risk of flashover occurrence for all types of in-
sulators, regardless of the aging process, in humidity 75%. According to
this figure, through obtained probability distribution functions, the risk
of using of insulator for the insulators with thick profiles (more sheds in
less rod length) will be more than the insulators with wider profiles
(fewer sheds in longer rods).
Fig. 12. Pollution existence probability as a function of ESDD for insulator type
A0 in different pollution severity levels.
6
Electrical Power and Energy Systems 117 (2020) 105679
Fig. 13. Calculation of risk of insulator utilization for insulator type A0 in
humidity 85%.
Fig. 14. The risk of insulator utilization for all types of insulators before aging
process in humidity 75%.
In order to investigate the effect of aging time on the risk of flash-
over occurrence, Table 4 demonstrates the calculated risk of the studied
insulators during aging test in different humidity. By investigation of
Table 4, it can be found out that the apparent specifics of the insulators
have a noticeable importance when they are used in the power system.
4. Reliability calculation
As it is known, the risk of insulators utilization is the expectation
value of flashover occurrence in different pollution severities. Also, the
reliability of insulator utilization will be defined as the continuous
operation of insulator without fault occurrence. In other words, the
reliability of insulator utilization will be the expectation value of the
absence of flashover occurrence under different conditions. So it can be
concluded the reliability and risk of insulator utilization are com-
plementary to each other and Eq. (14) can be used to calculate the
reliability of insulator utilization.
R=1−Q (14)
where Q is the estimated risk and R is the reliability of insulator utili-
zation. Fig. 15 illustrates the reliability of using insulator type A as a
function of humidity through aging. As well as, Figs. 16–18 show the
reliability for insulators type B, C, and D. Actually, pollution PFDs
(Fig. 11) and flashover occurrence PFDs (Fig. 9) in each aging step and
humidity has been used to calculate these reliabilities.
As it is shown in Fig. 15, the reliability of insulator utilization will
decrease with the rise of humidity. This reduction of reliability will
intensify as the SiR insulator utilization. So the best reliability will
happen at before aging and lowest humidity and the worst reliability
will be at the end of aging time and the highest humidity.
A comparison among Figs. 15–18 represent that the insulator type B
has the worst reliability and the insulator type C has the best reliability.
M. reza Ahmadi-veshki, et al. Electrical Power and Energy Systems 117 (2020) 105679

Table 4
Calculated risk percentage for the studied SiR insulators.
Humidity Risk (%)

Type A Type B Type C Type D

A0 A2 A4 A6 B0 B2 B4 B6 C0 C2 C4 C6 D0 D2 D4 D6

75% 0.937 1.115 1.677 2.329 1.665 2.051 2.575 3.479 0.455 0.54 0.675 0.837 0.558 0.627 0.766 1.029
85% 1.061 1.253 2.107 3.015 1.818 2.29 2.756 3.650 0.461 0.576 0.718 0.962 0.567 0.649 0.818 1.282
95% 1.259 1.717 2.83 3.977 1.980 2.634 3.059 3.956 0.547 0.655 0.862 1.294 0.643 0.757 1.02 1.830

Fig. 18. Reliability of insulator type D utilization as a function of humidity

Fig. 15. Reliability of insulator type A utilization as a function of humidity through aging time.
through aging time.

It can be noted that B type insulator's reliability has less sensitivity

against humidity variations than other types.
Generally, it can be concluded that insulators with thick profiles are
less reliable than insulators with a wider profile. The reliability of in-
sulators type C and D has fewer differences than others because of the
lower flashover probability and nearly the same pollution existence
curves which results in the lower risk and higher reliability.
In this paper, an exponential function has been proposed to calcu-
late the function which relates the reliability and humidity. The general
form of this function is shown in (15).

R = A − B. e (polynomial (H )) (15)

where A, B are constants and polynomial(H) is a polynomial function in

Fig. 16. Reliability of using insulator type B utilization as a function of hu-
midity through aging time.
terms of humidity content and it can be of any degree needed de-
pending on the needed accuracy. To simplify (15) and due to the fact
that the maximum reliability will be 1 (p.u.), we can use (16) to cal-
culate the reliability of any SiR insulator utilization as a function of
humidity.

R = 1 − e (polynomial (H )) (16)

For more accuracy, B can be added to variables but results show that
(16) with a first-degree polynomial has acceptable accuracy. Fig. 19
demonstrates estimated reliability function for insulator type A with

Fig. 17. Reliability of insulator type C utilization as a function of humidity

through aging time.

Fig. 19. Reliability of insulator type A utilization after 6 weeks aging as a

function of humidity with its estimated function.

7
M. reza Ahmadi-veshki, et al.
using a polynomial function of one and two degrees. As expected, in-
creasing the degree of polynomial function will result in more accuracy.
5. Conclusion
Four types of 20 kV SiR insulators have been selected to study the
effect of pollution, humidity, and 1000 h aging time on FOV. Aging
process was divided into 4 steps and in each step, flashover test under
different humidity and pollution levels was applied to the insulators. By
using experimental data, flashover probability, risk, and reliability of
insulator utilization have been calculated and the following results
were concluded:
• Increase in the humidity and pollution severity will cause more
probable flashover as well as an increase in aging time.
• By applying aging on insulators, was observed the rate of increase of
flashover probability and reduction of reliability, with an increase of
humidity and pollution severity will be more.
•
Insulators with a thick profile (more sheds in less rod length) have
more risk of utilization in the system than insulators with wider
profiles (fewer sheds in longer rods) and wide type are more reli-
able.
• Insulator type B has less sensitivity against humidity variations than
insulator type A. Generally, insulators with thick profile have more
sensitivity against humidity variations.
By using the calculated reliabilities, a new mathematical model was
proposed to demonstrate the relationship between the reliability of
insulator utilization and percentage of humidity.
Declaration of Competing Interest
All authors have participated in (a) conception and design, or
analysis and interpretation of the data; (b) drafting the article or re-
vising it critically for important intellectual content; and (c) approval of
the final version.
This manuscript has not been submitted to, nor is under review at,
another journal or other publishing venue.
The authors have no affiliation with any organization with a direct
or indirect financial interest in the subject matter discussed in the
manuscript.
Acknowledgement
The authors acknowledge the funding support of Babol Noshirvani
University of Technology through Grant program No. BNUT /370669/
98.
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