Flashover Prediction of Polymeric Insulators Using PD Signal Time-Frequency Analysis and BPA Neural Network Technique

Flashover of power transmission line insulators is a major threat to the reliable operation of power system. This paper deals with the flashover prediction of polymeric insulators used in power transmission line applications using the novel condition monitoring technique developed by PD signal time-frequency map and neural network technique. Laboratory experiments on polymeric insulators were carried out as per IEC 60507 under AC voltage, at different humidity and contamination levels using NaCl as a contaminant. Partial discharge signals were acquired using advanced ultra wide band detection system. Salient features from the Time-Frequency map and PRPD pattern at different pollution levels were extracted. The flashover prediction of polymeric insulators was automated using artificial neural network (ANN) with back propagation algorithm (BPA). From the results, it can be speculated that PD signal feature extraction along with back propagation classification is a well suited technique to predict flashover of polymeric insulators.