Flashover mechanism of silicone rubber insulators used for outdoor insulation -- 1

Journal Article · Sun Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1995 · IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1109/61.473356· OSTI ID:152941

Karady, G G; Shah, M ^[1]; Brown, R L ^[2]

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1. Arizona State Univ., Tempe, AZ (United States)
2. Bonneville Power Administration, Portland, OR (United States)

Experimental results show that the contamination performance of silicone rubber composite insulators is better than porcelain insulators. This is attributed to the hydrophobicity of the silicone rubber. This suggests that the flashover mechanism of these insulators is different. This paper experimentally investigates contamination build-up, diffusion of low molecular weight (LMW) polymer chains, surface wetting, electrical field caused interaction between droplets, generation of conductive regions and filaments, field intensification caused spot discharge and the ultimate flashover of silicone rubber along wetted filaments. The studies resulted in a new flashover mechanism, which provides a better understanding of the superior performance of silicon rubber outdoor insulators. The results will be useful for development of improved laboratory test procedures and to evaluate composite insulators` performance in contaminated conditions. The paper is divided into two parts: Part 1 describes the overview of flashover mechanism and the diffusion of LMW polymer chains and wetting of the silicone rubber surface in detail.

• OSTI ID: 152941
• Report Number(s): CONF-950103--
• Journal Information: IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, Journal Name: IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 10; ISSN 0885-8977; ISSN ITPDE5
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION
DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES
ELECTRICAL INSULATORS
FLASHOVER
PERFORMANCE
SILICONES