The DC inclined-plane tracking and erosion test and the role of inorganic fillers in silicone rubber for DC insulation

Author

Ghunem, R. ; Jayaram, S. ; Cherney, E.

Author_Institution

Electr. & Comput. Eng. Dept., Univ. of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada

Volume

31

Issue

1

fYear

2015

fDate

January-February 2015

Firstpage

12

Lastpage

21

Abstract

The first polymer insulator for AC transmission lines was developed in the late 1950s. This insulator consisted of a flexibilized epoxy resin weathershed cast onto a fiberglass rod, and field trials on a 138-kV line took place in 1959. Insulators failed almost immediately on energization due to severe tracking and erosion of the bisphenol-A epoxy material, which was later, through inclined-plane tests, shown to be inherently unsuitable for use in outdoor insulation [1]. This article describes a study of the DC dry-band arcing mechanism as a foundation for the development of a standard DC inclined-plane test and its employment in the evaluation of silicone-rubber housing composites for outdoor DC insulation.

Keywords

insulator testing; polymer insulators; silicone rubber insulators; wear testing; DC dry-band arcing mechanism; DC inclined-plane test; DC inclined-plane tracking; erosion test; inorganic fillers; outdoor DC insulation; silicone-rubber housing composites; Degradation; Erosion; Insulation life; Polymers; Silicone rubber; dry-band arcing; erosion; inclined-plane test; inorganic filler; polymer insulator; silicone rubber; tracking;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Electrical Insulation Magazine, IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0883-7554

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/MEI.2015.6996674

Filename

6996674