Simulation analysis of the effect of booster sheds on post insulators under icing conditions

The main objective of this paper is the numerical simulation of the potential distribution along ice-covered EHV post station insulators equipped with booster sheds during a melting period. Numerical simulations were carried out using the finite element method (FEM), implemented by the commercial software Comsol Multiphysics™ to calculate the voltage drop distribution along different air gap configurations. In particular, it was shown that following the addition of 4, 5 or 6 booster sheds, more that 50% of the applied voltage was dropped along the closest air gap to the HV electrode, which was also the longest one. Finally, based on previous experiments carried out at CIGELE, numerical simulations and empirical equations, the effect of booster sheds for improving the electrical performance of EHV post insulators under sever icing conditions, was analyzed.