INSULATORS

INTRODUCTION PROPERTIES OF INSULATOR INSULATING MATERIALS TYPES OF INSULATORS FAILURE OF INSULATOR

INTRODUCTION
Insulator are material that resist flow of electricity, so electricity does not easily pass through. Examples: wood, rubber, cloth, air, glass and plastic. There are five types of insulators. Different kinds of insulating materials are used.

PROPERTIES OF INSULATOR
High mechanical strength. High dielectric strength. High insulation resistance. High ratio of rupture strength to flash over voltage. Ability to withstand large temperature variations.

WHAT IS INSULATING MATERIAL?

Insulating material are whose internal electric charges do not flow freely, and which therefore does not conduct an electric current, under the influence of an electric field. A perfect insulator does not exist. But materials such as glass, paper and Teflon, which have high resistivity, are very good electrical insulators.

 A much larger class of materials, even though they may have lower bulk resistivity, are still good enough to insulate electrical wiring and cables. Examples include rubber-like polymers and most plastics. Such materials can serve as practical and safe insulators for low to moderate voltages (hundreds, or even thousands, of volts).

Properties of Insulating material

The materials generally used for insulating purpose is called insulating material. It must be mechanically strong enough to carry tension and weight of conductors. It must have very high dielectric strength to withstand the voltage stresses in High Voltage system. It must possesses high Insulation Resistance to prevent leakage current to the earth. The insulating material must be free from unwanted impurities and porosity. There physical as well as electrical properties must be less effected by changing temperature.

USES:
Used in electrical equipment to support and separate electrical conductors without allowing current through themselves. An insulating material used in bulk to wrap electrical cables or other equipment is called insulation. The term insulator is also used more specifically to refer to insulating supports used to attach electric power distribution or transmission lines to utility poles and transmission towers.

Porcelain
Porcelain in most commonly used material for over head insulator in present days. The porcelain is aluminium silicate. The aluminium silicate is mixed with plastic kaolin, feldspar and quartz to obtain final hard and glazed porcelain insulator material. Its surface is glazed enough so that water should not be traced on it. Porcelain also should be free from porosity,impurity and air bubbles which may affect the insulator properties.

PORCELAIN INSULATOR

Properties of Porcelain Insulator

Property

Value(Approximate)

Dielectric Strength Compressive Strength Tensile Strength

60 KV / cm 70,000 Kg / cm2 500 Kg / cm2

Glass Insulator
Now a days glass insulator has become popular in transmission and distribution system. Annealed tough glass is used for insulating purpose. Glass insulator has numbers of advantages over conventional porcelain insulator

Advantages

It has very high dielectric strength compared to porcelain. Its resistivity is also very high. It has low coefficient of thermal expansion. It has higher tensile strength compared to porcelain insulator. As it is transparent in nature the is not heated up in sunlight as porcelain. The impurities and air bubble can be easily detected inside the glass insulator body because of its transparency. Glass has very long service life as because mechanical and electrical properties of glass do not be affected by ageing. After all,glass is cheaper than porcelain.

Properties of Glass Insulator

Property Dielectric Strength Compressive Strength Value(Approximate) 140 KV / cm 10,000 Kg / cm2

Tensile Strength

35,000 Kg / cm2

Polymer Insulator
In a polymer insulator has two parts, one is glass fiber reinforced epoxy resin rod shaped core and other is silicone rubber or EPDM (Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer) made weather sheds. Rod shaped core is covered by weather sheds. Weather sheds protect the insulator core from outside environment. As it is made of two parts, core and weather sheds, polymer insulator is also called composite insulator. The rod shaped core is fixed with Hop dip galvanized cast steel made end fittings in both sides.

Advantages
1. It is very light weight compared to porcelain and glass insulator. 2. As the composite insulator is flexible the chance of breakage becomes minimum. 3. Lower installation cost. 4. It has higher tensile strength compared to porcelain insulator. 5. Its performance is better particularly in polluted areas. 6. Due to lighter weight polymer insulator imposes less load to the supporting structure. 7. Less cleaning is required due to hydrophobic nature of the insulator.

Disadvantages
1. Moisture may enter in the core if there is any unwanted gap between core and weather sheds. This may cause electrical failure of the insulator. 2. Over crimping in end fittings may result to cracks in the core which leads to mechanical failure of polymer insulator.

Types of insulators
PIN INSULATOR SUSPENTION INSULATOR SHACKLE INSULATOR STRAIN INSULATOR STRAY INSULATOR

PIN INSULATOR
INTRODUCTION:
Pin insulator consist of non-conducting material such as porcelain, glass, plastic, polymer or wood. Pin insulator consist of a single or a multiple shells, mounted on a spindle to be fixed to the cross arm of the supporting structures.

 Morden

pin type insulators are very

reliable .
The life of modern porcelain insulators is

relatively very long(50 years).

It provide the most economic, simple and

efficient method of conductor for voltages up-to 33 KV.

PIN TYPE INSULATOR

How Pin Type Insulator Are Designed..?

The pin insulator is designed to secure the conductor to itself. The design of the shells is such that when uppermost shell is wet due to rain the lower shells are dry and provide sufficient leakage resistance.

To avoid a direct contact between the porcelain and the metal pin, a soft metal (usually lead) thimble is used. The insulator and its pin should be sufficiently mechanically stronger to withstand the resultant force.

Pin insulator

Types of pin insulator

There are two types of pin insulator. High-voltage type pin-insulator: they consist
of two or three pieces of porcelain cemented together. This pieces are called petti-coats or rain sheds. Low-voltage type pin-insulator: Single piece type pin insulator are used for lower voltages. Petti-coats are provided to obtain sufficient length of leakage path so that the flash over voltage between the power conductor and the pin of the insulator is decreased.

Why pin insulator is not used above 33 KV line?

They are uneconomical beyond 33kV operating voltage. Replacement of these insulators is expensive. They become very bulky and cumbersome when designed for higher voltages. So the increased size, weight and cost of pin type insulator put a limit to its use upto 33kV and therefore suspension insulators are used for high voltage work.

Advantages

It is cheaper. It can do the work of two suspension insulators in many cases. It requires a shorter pole to give the same conductor clearance above the ground.

Limitation

This insulators are used up-to 33kV only. Additional disc can not be added to string for higher voltage demand. It is less flexible. It become very heavy when designed for higher voltages.

It has higher cost for voltages beyond 33kV. The entire insulator has to be replaced under these conditions: If any fault occurs. Failure of even single disc.

APPLICATION

Used in intermediate poles on long run.

SUSPENSION INSULATORS

INTRODUCTION

A suspension insulator consists of a number of separate insulators unit connected with each other by metal links to form a flexible chain or a string. The insulators string is suspended from the cross arm of the support. The conductor is attached to the lowest unit. Each unit or disc is designed for a low voltage of about 11kV. The number of insulators in a string depends upon the working voltage, the weather conditions, the size of insulator used and lightening withstand requirement.

Suspension Type Insulator

NEED OF SUSPENSION INSULATORS .??

In higher voltage, beyond 33KV, it becomes uneconomical to use pin insulator because size, weight of the insulator become more. Handling and replacing bigger size single unit insulator are quite difficult task. The pin which must hold it would have to be long and large. For overcoming these difficulties, suspension insulator was developed.

CONSTRUCTION
1.CONNECTIONS 2. COTTER KEYS 3. CAPS & PINS 4. PORCELAIN SHELLS 5. ASSEMBLY & TEST 6. MARKING & COLOR

TYPES OF SUSPENSION INSULATOR

(A) Hewlett or Interlinking type. (B) Cemented cap type. (C) Core and link type. HEWLETT TYPE: It is the earliest type of suspension insulator. It employs porcelain having two curve channels. U-shaped level covered steel links pass through these channels and serve to connect the unit.

ADVANTAGES
Simple in design. High mechanical strength. No risk of interruption to the service in case the porcelain between the links gets accidentally broken. It suffers from the disadvantage that the porcelain between the links is highly stressed electrically and therefore its puncture strength is lesser as compared to others.

CEMENTED CAP:
It is the most commonly used. Consist of single disc shaped porcelain. Grooved on the undersurface. The cap is recessed at the top. Cap & Pin are secure to the insulator by cement.

DRAWBACKS : Coefficient of expansion of porcelain, cement & steel are different. Sudden temperature changes occurring in the service can crack the porcelain, leading to electrical failure. Cement, which is subjected to volumetric changes depending on its moisture content leads to failure of insulators.

CORE AND LINK TYPE:

This type of insulator combines the advantages of both of the above two types of insulators and overcome their disadvantages. In such a construction, each insulator disc is symmetrically placed and it conforms to the electrostatic lines of force, thus avoiding placing materials of different permittivity in series. Steel & porcelain have same coefficient of cubical expansion. High mechanical stresses on the porcelain, whether due to sudden temperature variations or to the employment of cement are completely eliminated. Such an insulator has a high puncture strength.

SPECIFICATIONS

Diameter - 25 cm (9.8 inches). Length 15 cm (6 inches). Load support 80-120 kN. Dry flash over voltage-about 72 kV Rated operating voltage-10-12 kV

ADVANTAGES

Cheaper than pin type insulators for voltages beyond 33 kV. Each unit is designed for low voltage, usually 11 kV. Depending upon the working voltage, the desired number of discs can be connected in series If any one disc is damaged, the whole string does not become useless. Provides greater flexibility to the line. The connection at the cross arm is such that insulator string is free to swing in any direction and can take up the position where mechanical stresses are minimum. Maintain their mechanical strength over long periods of time without deterioration.

ADVANTAGES

Cheaper than pin type insulators for voltages beyond 33 kV. Each unit is designed for low voltage, usually 11 kV. Depending upon the working voltage, the desired number of discs can be connected in series If any one disc is damaged, the whole string does not become useless. Provides greater flexibility to the line. The connection at the cross arm is such that insulator string is free to swing in any direction and can take up the position where mechanical stresses are minimum. Maintain their mechanical strength over long periods of time without deterioration.

DISADVANTAGES
Suspension insulator string is costlier than pin and post type insulator. Suspension string requires more height of supporting structure than that for pin or post insulator to maintain same ground clearance of current conductor. The amplitude of free swing of conductors is larger in suspension insulator system, hence, more spacing between conductors should be provided.

APPLICATIONS

Used on overhead lines operating at or below 69 kV. Used to support line conductors in suspension or deadend modes such as line terminations, angles and tangents. These can be used with bared or covered conductors.

POTENTIAL DISTRIBUTION OVER SUSPENSION INSULATOR STRING

String of insulators: number of discs connected in series through metallic links

Line conductor is secured to the bottom disc of the string and the top disc is connected to cross arm of the disc. No. of discs connected depends upon : line operating voltage. Higher the line operating voltage larger the no. of discs required. Ideally each disc bears a voltage of 11 kV.

Consider an arrangement of insulator string:

As the current relation between discs is:

Following points may be noted: Voltage impressed on a string of suspension insulators does not distribute itself uniformly across the individual discs. The disc nearer to the conductor has maximum voltage across it. As we move towards the cross arm , the voltage across each disc goes on decreasing.

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

Each string insulator unit behaves like a capacitor having a dielectric medium between the two metallic parts (viz. pin and cap). The capacitance formed due to two metal fittings on either side of an insulator is known as MUTUAL CAPACITANCE.

The capacitance formed between the metal fittings of each unit and the earthed pole or tower is known as SHUNT CAPACITANCE.

STRING EFFICIENCY:

As stated above the voltage applied across the string of suspension insulators is not uniformly distributed across various units. The disc nearest to the conductor has much higher potential then the other discs. This unequal potential distribution is undesirable and is usually expressed in terms of string efficiency.

The ratio of voltage across the whole string and the product of the number of units and voltage across the unit nearest to the line conductor is known as the string efficiency i.e. METHODS OF IMPROVING STRING EFFICIENCY:
Increasing the length of cross arms. Grading of the discs.

Guard or Grading ring method.

1.INCREASING THE LENGTH OF CROSS ARM K= shunt capacitance/ mutual capacitance Lesser the value of K : Greater is the string efficiency. More uniform voltage distribution K can be decreased by reducing shunt capacitance Done by using longer cross arms Limitations: cost and mechanical strength K=0.1 is the limit achieved by this method

2.GRADING OF THE DISC:

Non uniform distribution of voltage across an insulator is due to leakage current from insulating pin to supporting structure, this cannot be eliminated bt can be reduced.
Disc of different capacitors are chosen such that: Product of current flow and their respective capacitance across each unit is same i.e. equal voltage drop.

3.GUARD OR GRADING RING METHOD: Idea of this method: to compensate the loss of current at every pin junction. The equal and opposite currents are injected through guard ring to neglect the effect of shunt capacitance currents.

Also known as SPOOL insulators

Similar to strain insulators Difference: Strain insulators : Transmission system Shackle insulator : Distribution system

They support low voltage lines. Have neat efficient and economical arrangement. Are coated with extremely hard, glazed porcelain. Wet flash over voltage: 10 kV

Dry flash over voltage: 25 kV

Punture voltage
Operating voltage Weight

: 35 kV
: 1kV : 0.5 kg

Transverse mechanical load: 1150 kg

Tapered hole : distributes load more evenly and reduces the possibility of breakage when heavily loaded.

Are mounted horizontally or vertically.

Conductors are fixed in the grooves by means of soft copper or aluminium binding wire.

Fitting is of 2 types:
a) Fitted directly on the pole. b) Fitted on the cross arm of the pole. Are used at all positions: intermediate, terminal or angle.

Applications : road crossing, railway crossing, dead ends, T junctions etc

STRAIN INSULATOR
INTRODUCTION
When suspension string is used to sustain extraordinary tensile load of conductor it is referred as strain insulator.

For high voltage transmission line strain insulator consisting of an assembly of suspension type insulator. The discs of strain insulators employed in hortizontal plane. are

STRAIN INSULATOR

USES AND PROPERTIES USES

Dead end of the transmission line. Corner or a sharp curve of the transmission line. The transmission line which crosses the river.

PROPERTIES

Considerable strength. Necessary dielectric property.

COMPARISON
Rated System Voltage
33KV
Number of disc insulator used in strain type tension insulator string Number of disc insulator used in suspension insulator string

66KV
132KV 220KV

5
9 15

4
8 14

FAILURE OF INSULATOR
Cracking of insulator. Flash over. Short circuit. Mechanical stresses. Defective insulating material. Porosity of material. Deposition of dust.

CRACKING

Most common in pin and suspension type insulator. Due to changing climatic condition. Unequal expansion. Results cracking. Avoided by using elastic cushions.

FLASH OVER

Main cause of failure. If flash over occurs, the insulator may be over heated. Ultimately results into shuttering of it. SAFETY FACTOR= PUNCTURE STRENGTH/ FLASH OVER So it should be decreased.

SHORT CIRCUIT

Birdage in pin insulator is common. Birdage usually means short-circuiting , between earth and conductor. Avoided by using bird guards.

MECHANICAL STRESSES

If an insulator has any weak portion due to manufacturing defect. Failure is very rare.

DEFECTIVE INSULATING MATERIAL

If the insulation material used for insulator is defective anywhere. The insulator may have a high chance of being puncher from that place.

DEPOSITION OF DUST

If surface of insulator is not properly glazed, moisture can stick over it. Avoided by cleaning the insulator.

POROSITY OF MATERIAL
If Insulator manufactured at low temperatures. Become porous and absorb moisture from air thus its insulation will decrease. Leakage current will start to flow through the insulator, lead to insulator failure.