INSULATORS

Historical Overview of Insulators

 With increase in Generation of Electricity,

Transmission became a necessesity.
 Transmission required a ‘Component’ to insulate
line wire from ground.
 Though almost any solid non conductive materials
can insulate 100/1000V in Dry Condition, the real
challenge is to design a insulator to work
satisfactorily in ‘Wet Polluted Conditions’
Early / Present Insulators
 Basic Requirement of Insulator
 Good Mechanical Properties
 High Dielectric Strength
 Should be immune to environmental affects
such as UV lights, radiation, contamination
& Lightning over voltages.
 Cost of Insulator: It is relatively small %
of the cost of building a new line.
 Hence, the FOS can be more.
 Also no significant research has been
done in this field.
 Material used to make Insulators
 Porcelain :Consists of
– Clay
– Feldspar
– Quartz
 Glass
 Polymer
 Porcelain Insulators.
 +ve attributes  -ve attributes
– Inert, inorganic, immune to – Brittle, so vulnerable to
degradation by environment breaking, clipping
– Does not get damaged by – Low Tensile & Cantilever
surface electrical discharge Strength
or leakage current.
– Easy to form variety of
Shape
– High Compressive
Strength

Conclusion : Design of Insulator should be such

that it uses its high compressive strength
CAP & PIN DISC INSULATOR
DISC INSULATOR
PORCELAIN DISC INSULATOR STRING
PORCELAIN LONG ROD INSULATOR STRING
Cap & Pin Disc Insulator
 Glass Insulators
 +ve attributes  -ve attributes
– Resistance to Damage – Brittle, so vulnerable to
by UV & other breaking, clipping
environmental effects – Shatters, so ideal
– High Dielectric strength targets for vandals
& resistance to electrical – Low Tensile &
puncture Cantilever Strength
– Shatters if damaged, so
easy to identify
– High Compressive
Strength
Shattering of Glass Insulator
 Polymer Composite Insulators
 Consists of Two Materials.
– Fibre glass core which provides Mechanical
Strength
– Housing, to protect the core from environment
and to give required electrical characteristics.
 Made of :
– Silicon Rubber
– Ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM)
– Ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA)
– High Density polyethylene (PE)
– Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)
 Polymer Composite Insulators
 +ve attributes  -ve attributes
– High Tensile strength
to weight ratio
– Improved performance
in highly polluted areas
– Unattractive targets for
vandals
– Difficult to detect
damaged insulator
– Careful handling
– Special care needed to
design and
manufacture to ensure
elimination of moisture
ingress at interfaces.
Hydrophobicity
 Physical Aspects of Insulators
 The most fundamental dimensions affecting
the insulators electrical performance
– Arching Distance
– Creepage Distance
– Puncture Distance
Arching Distance
 Influences
– Power Frequency
flashover when clean
– Impulse Flashover
Creepage Distance
 Influences
– Power frequency
flashover when surface
are polluted.
 How Flashover occurs ?

 Pollution – Wetting – Gives a path for

current – Dry Bands formed- Bridged by
arcs – leads to flashover across the
insulator- line to earth fault.
 Specific Creepage Distance :Total Creepage distance divided by
phase to phase system voltage (unit mm/kV)
(Here convention dictates that ph-ph voltage is used eventhough it phase to ground
voltage that is actually applied to the insulator)

The specific creepage distance recommended for various pollution severity

classes are given below. (IEC-60815 : Guide for selection of insulators in
respect of polluted condition)
Pollution severity class Minm Specific
Creepage Distance.
I Light 16
II Medium 20
III Heavy 25
IV Very Heavy 31

Quality of Creepage :Basic profiling rules as recommended in IEC

60815 must be followed.
 Site Severity Assessment
(wrt to pollution)
 To establish the pollution levels the following
two methods are generally used
1. Surface pollution Deposit Technique
2. Dust Deposit Gauges

Active Pollution : Equivalent Salt Deposit Density (ESDD)

: Equivalent amount of NaCl deposit, in mg/cm2 on the surface of
the insulator which will have an electrical conductivity equal to
that of actual deposit dissolved in the same amount of water.
Inert Pollution : Non Soluble Deposit Density (NSDD)
: Amount of non soluble, inert pollution deposit per cm2 on insulator
surface.
Surface Deposit Index: Directly given by ESDD value

Surface Deposit Pollution severity class

Index, (ESDD)
< 0.06 I Light
0.06 – 0.12 II Medium
> 0.12 – 0.24 III Heavy
> 0.24 IV Very Heavy

NSDD also influences the F/O values: The severity class should be
increased by one level if the measured NSDD > 2mg/cm 2
Puncture Distance
 Shortest Distance through
insulating material

 Vital to ensure that the

insulator suffers no
permanent damage when
subjected to overvoltages
– esp Steep fronted
lightning impulses.
 On the basis of Puncture Distance,
insulators are classified into two Classes

– Class A: PD ≥ ½ Arching Distance.

 Eg : Longrod Insulators

– Class B: PD < ½ Arching Distance.

 Eg. Disc Insulators.
Different type of insulator
Different Type of Cap & Pin Insulator
 Failure
Insulators are highly reliable component of
electrical network. (failure rate of 1/10,000 p.a
can be expected)

Failure may lead to different consequence

1. A punctured porcelain insulator or a shattered glass insulator in a
string of three or more insulator does not require immediate
attention.
2. A mechanical or physical separation of insulator needs immediate
attention.
 Failure Mechanism
 Glass Insulators:
Shattering : (does not affect its mechanical strength)
1. Inclusion left in glass during manufacturing , may shatter when subjected to
steep fronted electrical impulse
2. Thermal Runaway (HVDC): Resistivity of glass decreases with temp.
3. Localised erosion of dielectric surface : Dry bands across pin (region of
highest leakage current density)
Mechanical Failure
1. Corrosion of Pin : In highly polluted condition due to formation of dry bands
 Porcelain Insulators
1. Electrical Puncture by Steep fronted impulse.
2. Cracking of Insulators :
1. Rough Handling, swelling of Cement etc
2. Thermal Stress: Rapid Thermal Changes & Uneven heating
3. Power Arcs

Mechanical Failure
1. Corrosion of Pin : In highly polluted condition due to formation of dry
bands
 Composite Insulator
 Housing :
1. If material not good, presence of voltage & environmental stresses
may lead to tracking & erosion may take place, thus reducing the
creepage distance.
2. Rodents, termites, birds can damage the housing during storage.
3. Improper handling.
 Core :
1. If housing is damaged, electrical discharges will occur on core leading
to tracking on surface of core, which may erode the core thereby
leading to mechanical failure.
2. Can be damaged if subjected to tensional or cantilever load.
3. Brittlle Fracture: When rod is subjected to acid and tensile force
simultaneously.