Overhead Line Insulators

Introduction

The overhead line conductors are open and do not have any insulated coating
over them.

Those conductors should be supported on the poles or towers in such a way

that current from conductors do not flow to earth through supports, that is,
line conductors must be properly insulated.

This is accomplished by connecting line conductors to a support with the help

of insulators.

The insulator provides necessary insulation between line conductors and

supports and thus prevents any leakage current from conductors to ground.

Insulators also provide support to the conductor.

In general, the insulator should have the following desirable properties:

•High mechanical strength in order to withstand conductor load, wind load, etc.

•High electrical resistance of insulator material in order to avoid leakage

current to earth.

•High relative permittivity of insulator material in order that dielectric strength

is high.

•The insulator material should be nonporous (gözeneksiz), free from impurities

(kirlilik), otherwise permittivity will be lowered.

•High ratio of puncture strength (delinme dayanımı) to flashover (şimşek, ark).

Insulator Materials

The following three materials are widely used in the manufacture of insulator units:

Porcelain
Glass
Synthetic resin

The most commonly used materials for overhead line is porcelain. Porcelain is a
ceramic material. It is mechanically stronger than glass, gives less trouble from
leakage, and is less affected by temperature change.

Dielectric strength: 60-70 kV/cm

Glass is also used as an insulator material instead of porcelain. However, glass
insulators are mainly used for EHV AC and DC systems.

Major drawback : moisture condensation is more likely on the insulator surface

causing higher leakage of current.

Dielectric strength: 140 kV/cm

Synthetic insulators are mostly used in various indoor applications.
They contain compounds of silicon, rubber, resin, etc.
 Insulator Comparison

Properties Porcelain Glass Epoxy resin Silicon

Material Porcelain Glass Resin Silicon

Dielectric 60-70 kv/cm 140 kV/cm high 150 kV/cm

Strength low high hight
Mechanical High Medium High High
Strength
Cost Cheap Cheap Expensive Expensive

Weight High Low Low Low

Show Dirt Low High Low Low

Thermal High Low Low Low

Exposure
Usage High High Rare Low
Types of Insulators

Pin-Type Insulators

There is a groove on the upper end of the insulator for housing the conductor.

Used for transmission and distribution of electric power at voltages up to 33

kV. Beyond operating voltage of 33 kV, pin-type insulators become too bulky
and hence uneconomical.
Causes of Insulator Failure

Insulators are required to withstand both mechanical and electrical stresses.

The latter type is primarily due to line voltage and may cause breakdown of
the insulator.

The electrical breakdown (delinme) of the insulator can occur due to

flashover (şimşek) or puncture (delinme - patlama).

In flashover, an arc occurs between the line conductor and the insulator pin
(i.e., earth) and the discharge jumps across the air gaps, following shortest
distance. In this case, the insulator will continue to act in its proper capacity,
unless extreme heat produced by the arc destroys the insulator.

the arcing distance for the insulator

a+b+c
In case of puncture (delinme), the discharge occurs from conductor to pin
through the body of the insulator and the insulator is permanently
destroyed due to excessive heat. To avoid the puncture, sufficient thickness
of porcelain is provided in the insulator.

The ratio of puncture strength to flashover voltage is known as safety

factor, that is,

Safety factor of the insulator= Puncture strength / Flashover voltage

For pin insulators, the value of safety factor is about 10.

Suspension Type Insulators (Askı İzolatörü veya Zincir İzolatörü)

Pin type of insulator is not economical beyond 33 kV. For high voltages (>33 kV), it is a
usual practice to use suspension type insulators.

They consist of a number of porcelain disks connected in series by metal links in the
form of a string. The conductor is suspended at the bottom end of this string, while the
other end of the string is secured to the crossarm of the tower. Each unit or disk is
designed for low voltage (say 11 kV). The number of disk would obviously depend upon
the working voltage. For instance, if the working voltage in 66 kV, then six disks in series
will be provided on the string.
Advantages

• Cheaper than insulators for voltages beyond 33 kV.

• Each unit or disk is designed for low voltage (say 11 kV). The number of disk
would obviously depend upon the working voltage.
• If any disk is damaged, the whole string does not become useless because the
damaged disk can be replaced by the sound one.
• The arrangement provides greater flexibility to the line. The connection at the
crossarm is such that insulator is free to swing in any direction and can take up
the position, where the mechanical stresses are minimum.
• The suspension type insulators are generally used with steel towers. As the
conductors run below the earthed crossarm of the tower, therefore, this
arrangement provides partial protection from lightning.
• In case of increased demand on the transmission line, it is found more
satisfactory to supply greater demand by raising the line voltage, than to provide
another set of conductor. The additional insulation required for the raised
voltage can be easily obtained in the suspension arrangement by adding the
desired number of disks.
Types of Suspension Insulators

The types of suspension insulators in use are

1.Cap-and-pin type (zincir ve pin tipi)

2.Hewlett or interlink type

Strain Insulators (Gergi İzolatör)

When there is a dead end of the line or there is corner or sharp curve, the
line is subjected to greater tension. In order to relieve the line of excessive
tension, strain insulators are used.

Stay insulator or guy insulator

Direk halatı
Guy cable
Shackle (Kelepçe) Insulators

In early days, the shackle insulators were used as strain insulators. But
nowadays, they are frequently used for low-voltage distribution lines (<11 kV).
Such insulators can be used either in horizontal position or in vertical position.
Stay Insulators (Mesnet İzolatörü)

These kind of insulators are of egg shape, also called strain or guy
insulators, and are used in guy cables, where it is very important to
insulate the lower portion of the guy cable from the pole for the safety of
human beings and animals on the ground.
Potential Distribution Over Suspension Insulator String

Figure shows three disks string of suspension insulators. The porcelain portion of each
disk is in between two metal links. Therefore, each disk forms a capacitor C. If there
were this capacitance alone, then charging current would have been the same through
all the disks and voltage across each unit would have been same, that is, V/3.

In practice, a shunt capacitance C1 also exists between metal fitting of each disk and
tower or earth. As a result, charging current is not same through all the discs of the
string and, voltage across each disk will be different. The disk nearest to the line
conductor will have the maximum voltage. So, V3 will be much more than V1 or V2.
The following points may be noted regarding the potential distribution over
a string of suspension insulators:

1.The voltage impressed on a string of suspension insulators does not

distribute itself uniformly across the individual disks due to the presence of
shunt capacitance.

2.The disk nearest to the conductor has maximum voltage across it. As we
move toward the crossarm, the voltage across each disk goes on decreasing.

3.The unit nearest to the conductor is under maximum electric stress and is
likely to be punctured.

4.If the voltage impressed across the string were DC, then voltage across
each unit would be the same. It is because insulator capacitances are
ineffective for DC.
String Efficiency

The unequal potential distribution is undesirable and usually expressed in terms

of string efficiency.

The ratio of voltage across the whole string to the product of the number of disks
and the voltage across the disk nearest to the conductor is known as string
efficiency.

Voltage across the string

String efficiency
n× Voltage across the disk nearest to the conductor

where n is the number of disks in the string.

String efficiency is an important consideration since it decides the potential

distribution along the string. Greater the string efficiency, the more uniform is
the voltage distribution.
Assume that shunt capacitance C1 is some fraction K of self-capacitance, that
is, C1 = KC. Starting from the crossarm or tower, the voltage across each unit is
V1, V2, and V3 as shown.

Equivalent circuit for a three-disk string.

By combining the equations, we get:
The following points may be noted from the above mathematical analysis:

• Disk nearest to the conductor has maximum voltage across it. The voltage across
other disk decreasing progressively as the crossarm is approached.

• The greater value of K (=C1/C), the more non-uniform is the potential across the
disks and lesser is the string efficiency.

• The inequality in voltage distribution increases with the increase of number of

disks in the string. Therefore, shorter string has more efficiency than the larger
one.
 Methods of Improving String Efficiency

1. Use of a Longer Crossarm

The value of string efficiency depends upon the value of K. The leaser the value of
K, the greater is the string efficiency and more uniform is the voltage distribution.

The value of K can be decreased by reducing the shunt capacitance. In order to

reduce shunt capacitance, the distance of conductor from tower must be
increased, that is, a longer crossarm should be used.

However, limitation of cost and strength of tower do not allow the use of very long
crossarms. In practice, K = 0.1 is the limit that can be achieved by this method.
2. Use of Guard Ring

The potential across each unit in a string can be equalized by using a guard ring, which is a
metal ring electrically connected to the conductor and surrounding the bottom insulator as
shown in Figure.

The guard ring introduces capacitance between the metal fittings and the line conductor.

It is connected in such a way that shunt

capacitance current i1, i2, etc., are equal to
metal fitting line capacitance current i′1 , i′2 ,
etc., resulting in the flow of same charging
current I through each unit of string.
Consequently, there will be uniform potential
distribution across the units.
Effects of Rain on String efficiency

In the rainy season, insulators are naturally wet. Due to this, capacitive
reactance decreases and mutual capacitance value increases. Thus, the ratio of
shunt to mutual capacitance, that is, K decreases. This results in uniform voltage
distribution. Hence, in rainy season, string efficiency is higher.
Example 6.1

The three bus-bar conductors in an outdoor substation are supported by units of

post-type insulators. Each unit consists of a stack of three pin-type insulators
fixed one on the top of the other. The voltage across the lowest insulator is 11.3
kV and that across the next unit is 10.2 kV. Find the bus-bar voltage of the station.
 Source of Presentation

Sadhu, Pradip K. Elements of Power Systems. CRC Press, 20160212. VitalBook file.

V.K. Mehta, Rohit Mehta. Principles of Power Systems.