Practical PC-DA system for measurements of leakage current pulses on polymer insulators under wet contaminated conditions

A practical data acquisition system using standard personal computer equipment of reasonable cost has been designed and evaluated for leakage current measurement on insulators subjected to outdoor pollution or indoor contamination tests. This system makes it possible to measure and record leakage currents and discharge pulses automatically over long periods. A standard PC with a standard analog-to-digital converter plug-in board is used in the system. The software is designed to sample eight channels (insulators) of up to 1000 Hz each. Test results from studies of insulators in a fog-chamber environment and in outdoor polluted conditions are reported. It is concluded that the use of this measuring technique permits a better understanding of insulator design and materials under service conditions in polluted areas and will allow correlation between field experience and laboratory tests to be established