An approach to the affect of rainfall on the pollution performance of insulators in island networks

In this paper, an investigation is presented, concerning the affect of rainfall on the pollution performance of the insulators of high voltage networks, under coastal pollution conditions on islands. Rainfall is assumed to affect the cleanliness of insulators subject to salt contamination and thus to influence their pollution performance. For the study of this phenomenon, a mathematical model is introduced, which is used to correlate the network faults due to insulator flashovers with the monthly values of rainfall. The model has been applied satisfactorily to four Greek islands of the Aegean Sea, using recorded data of insulator flashover faults and of rainfall values over 7 years. The methodology and model presented can be applied for predicting pollution performance of insulators on islands under similar conditions