A Review of the Dynamic Modelling of Pollution Flashover on High Voltage Outdoor Insulators

Abstract

In this paper, a dynamic model that simulated and tested the flashover of polluted insulators with HV voltage is presented. Generally, developing the performance of the transmission line depends on the improvement of the insulators due to the pollutants deposited on its surface. This study focused on the classification of insulators and the factors that affect the insulators to cause flashover as well as the analysis of the insulator’s electric properties. The electric field and voltage distribution along with composite insulators used in transmission systems under different conditions were also presented. The problem of nonlinearity of the electric field and voltage distribution, especially along insulators used for HV transmission systems, was investigated and a solution for improving the electric field and voltage distribution along the insulators was suggested. Findings showed that the presence of water droplets and pollution layer distributed on weather sheds enhanced the local electric field but it did not really affect the electric field distribution inside the fibre reinforced plastic core. Moreover, for the pollution case, the effect of pollution layer conductivity was significant to the electric field. For thicker pollution layers, the maximum electric field point moved from the triple junction point. Finally, the study also found that the corona ring might be necessary for the HV insulator for both ends (HV and ground) and its behaviour was affected under polluted and wet conditions.