• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.207-210
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• 2017

The suspension arrangement of insulators provides flexibility and assists in power transmission in transmission lines. The performance of the insulator string is strongly influenced by the environmental conditions to which it is exposed, its shape and the inherent material properties of suspension-type insulators. The suspension-type insulators are mostly made from glass, porcelain and ceramic material due to their high resistivity. Irregularity in charge distribution throughout the porcelain insulator may lead to accelerated aging and electrical breakdown. A very high and steep lightning impulse voltage may also cause breakdown of suspension-type insulators. We investigated various material characteristics such as alumina addition, surface morphology, x-ray diffraction pattern and relative density of suspension porcelain insulators manufactured in 1989 (36,000 lbs.), 1995 (36,000 lbs.) and 2001 (36,000 lbs.) by the KRI Company for use in 154 kV high power transmission lines. We compared the material characteristics of these porcelain insulators with that of the top-of-the-line porcelain insulators (36,000 lbs.) manufactured by the NGK Company in 2000. These suspension-type porcelain insulators were exposed to arc and flashover tests to examine their electrical and mechanical strength. It was noted that alumina addition (17 wt.%) for K-2001 was one of the major contributors to the enhancement of the performance of the porcelain insulators and to their ability to withstand very high current generation during the arc test. The porcelain insulators manufactured during 2001 also showed the highest relative density of 95.8% as compared to the other insulators manufactured in 1989 and 1995 respectively 94.2% and 91.5%. We also discuss reports of various failure modes of suspension-type porcelain insulators.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.24-28
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• 2018

Insulators used in overhead transmission lines are continuously exposed to a number of mechanical and electrical stresses owing to external environmental factors, resulting in corrosion, reduction in durability, and deterioration. Widely used porcelain insulators are fabricated with cement and porcelain and are especially common in Korea. Changes in the hardness and chemical reactivity of the cement increase the leakage and fault currents and increase the possibility of flashover due to insulation breakdown. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the durability and defects of porcelain insulators. Studies on the reliability of various evaluation methods are needed to prevent accidents by accurately determining the replacement timing and potential defects in porcelain insulators. In this study, the hardness of the cement part of the porcelain insulator was measured using the Vickers hardness test and its composition was analyzed by energy dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. The performance of the insulators was compared in two different regions with varying climatic conditions. This study presents an evaluation method of the defects in porcelain insulators by measuring humidity, which can also be used to assess the reliability of the insulators.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.30 no.9
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• pp.558-565
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• 2017

Hybrid insulators that have the advantages of both porcelain (high mechanical strength and chemical stability) as well as polymer (light weight and high resistance to pollution) insulators, can be used in place of individual porcelain and polymer insulators that are used for both mechanical support as well as electrical insulation of overhead power transmission lines. The most significant feature of hybrid insulators is the presence of porcelain/polymer interfaces where the porcelain and polymer are physically bonded. Individual porcelain and polymer insulators do not have such porcelain/polymer interfaces. Although the interface is expected to affect the mechanical/electrical properties of the hybrid insulator, systematic studies of the adhesion properties at the porcelain/polymer interface and the effect of the interface on the insulation characteristics and electric field distribution of the hybrid insulator have not been reported. In this study, we fabricated small hybrid insulator specimens with various types of interfaces and investigated the effect of the porcelain/polymer interface on the microstructure, insulating characteristics, and electric field distribution of the hybrid insulators. It was observed that the porcelain/polymer interface of the hybrid insulator does not have a significant effect on the insulating characteristics and electric field distribution, and the hybrid insulator can exhibit electrical insulating properties that are similar or superior to those of individual porcelain and polymer insulators.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.50-55
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• 2020

Porcelain insulators have been used for a long time in 154 kV power transmission lines. They are likely to be exposed to sudden failure because of product deterioration. This study was conducted to evaluate the quality of porcelain insulators. After stresses were applied, the damaged regions of aged insulators were investigated in terms of chemical composition, material structure, and other properties. For porcelain insulators that were in service for a long time, the mechanical failure load was 126 kN, whereas the average mechanical failure load was 167.3 kN for new products. It was also determined that corrosion occurred at the metal pin part due to the penetration of moisture into the gap between the pin and the ceramic. Statistical analyses of failure were performed to identify the portion of the insulators that were broken. Cristobalite porcelain insulators fabricated without alumina additives had a high failure rate of 54% for the porcelain component. In the case of the addition of Alumina (Al₂O₃) to the porcelain insulators to improve the strength of the ceramic component, a more frequent damage rate of the cap and pin of 73.3% and 27%, respectively, was observed. This study reports on the material component of SiO₂ and the percentage of alumina added, with respect to the mechanical properties of porcelain insulators.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.61 no.10
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• pp.1461-1470
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• 2012

This paper reports the contamination performance of transmission line porcelain insulators tested under five different contaminant conditions - clean and ESDD (equivalent salt deposit density) level (A, B, C, and D) through measurement of their leakage current under drop of potential method. To estimate the contamination for transmission line porcelain insulators, leakage current waveform and its maximum value were measured under step-up power test. In the clean insulators test, % distortion factors decreased with increasing step-up power, and as the ESDD level increased, some characteristics such as frequency analysis, harmonics and % distortion facotor could be used for contamination diagnosis of the transmission line porcelain insulators.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers P
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• v.66 no.2
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• pp.94-97
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• 2017

A method of improving the anti-fouling characteristics of porcelain insulators was proposed in this study. Functional coating was performed as a method of reducing the surface contamination of the porcelain insulators. The functional coating was applied on a ceramic substrate, which has the same material as the porcelain insulators. After coating the ceramic substrate 2, 3, 4, and 5 times alternately in the horizontal and vertical directions, the surface characteristics according to the thickness of the coating film were analyzed. The optimal process was selected to coat the surfaces of the post insulators and long rod insulators, which are the representative porcelain insulators. After coating, heat treatment was performed for 1 hour at $200^{\circ}C$ in a furnace to secure the durability of the coating film. Compared to the uncoated insulators, the insulators with the functional coating showed significantly improved anti-fouling characteristics as well as excellent adhesion to the coated insulator surface.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.122-128
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• 2019

Porcelain insulators have been used mainly for power line fixing and electrical insulation in transmission towers. Porcelain insulators have generally a 30 years desired life, but over 50% exceed their life expectancy. Since the damage to porcelain insulators is usually accompanied by enormous loss of human resource material, their efficient maintenance has emerged as an important issue. In this regard, this study applied a frequency response function (FRF) for integrity assessment of the insulator. The characteristics of the FRF according to damage types were identified and analyzed by the change in natural frequencies, curve shape, attenuation, and Nyquist diagram stability. The results showed significant differences in the FRF according to damage types, which can be used as basic data for the effective integrity assessment of porcelain insulators.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.317-318
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• 2005

This paper presents the analysis on the properties of porcelain insulators with the manufactured year. The domestic porcelain insulators manufactured in 1995, 1997, and 2002 and the imported one are prepared. The content of alumina was increased with the manufactured year, and the hardness of ceramic parts showed the same trend. Moreover, the distribution and the size of pore were more decreased and reduced on the junction parts between the glaze and the ceramic. Therefore, we concluded that the domestic porcelain insulators have been improved with the lapse of time.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.161-164
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• 2009

Forest fire simulation tests were performed with polymer and porcelain insulators at GOCHANG Power Testing Center. These tests consisted of open flames causing a temperature rise of up to $600{\sim}800^{\circ}C$ measured at the insulator surfaces. Mechanical and electrical characteristics such as the specific mechanical load, the low frequency dry flashover voltage and the impulse flashover voltage were analyzed for the polymer insulators before, during and after the simulation tests and then compared to the porcelain insulators. At the end of the fire simulation tests, there was no detrimental deterioration of any of the insulators. All the insulators passed the KEPCO specification criteria. This study showed that the forest fire simulation had no impact on the polymer insulators.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers P
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• v.60 no.4
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• pp.267-271
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• 2011

The insulating characteristics and temperature rise behaviors of porcelain suspension insulators were investigated. The testing insulators had used in the distribution systems normally and were sampled. Firstly, leakage current was measured and its impedance was calculated. The leakage current of good insulators is 0.2 mA and its impedance is 66 $M{\Omega}$. The worse insulators have lower impedance and the insulators having below 15 $M{\Omega}$ take place flashover at the high frequency voltage flashover test. Secondly, the temperature rise characteristics were analyzed depending on leakage current and its impedance. Surface temperature of insulators was measured for 30 minutes and until its saturation after voltage was applied. The temperature rise of insulators having 15 $M{\Omega}$ is about $14.5^{\circ}C$ above the ambient temperature. Lastly, the heating behaviors of 3 insulators in a string was analyzed. Any insulator in the string does not generate heat so far as it has at least one sound insulator. On the other hand, all the insulators in the string are bad if the string have any heating insulator.