Reliability Assessment of Forest Fire on EHV Polymer Insulator Strings

송전용 폴리머애자의 산불 영향 신뢰성 평가

Porcelain insulators have generally been used in Korea but polymer insulators which are superior in that they are light weight, explosion proof, impact proof, economical with construction characteristics, have been in use for the 154kV transmission line since 1999 following a worldwide trend towards the reduced weight, simplification and compact usage of new material insulators. However there have been approximately 500 cases of forest fires in Korea, so the transmission lines that for the most part pass through mountainous areas have been highly effected and the highly polymerized compound polymer insulator has raised concern about reliability in cases of exposure to forest fires. Therefore for the reliability assessment of the effect of forest fires on polymer insulators, mechanical and electrical characteristics are analyzed by an artificial flare test device and transmission facility surrounding conditions along with forest fire characteristics are surveyed. In addition to this, actual 90kV energized transmission line was tested with an artificial forest fire and the expanded usage of polymer insulators is presented through the analysis of mechanical and electrical characteristics and physical properties, and a study on the influence of forest fires on polymer insulators.