Modelling of chaotic surface tracking on the polymeric insulators with Hidden Markov Models

In this study, chaotic surface tracking patterns observed on polymeric high voltage (HV) outdoor insulation materials were investigated and simulated. The polymeric samples are tested according to the IEC 587 Inclined Plane Tracking Test Standard. Since the chaotic surface tracking patterns manifests smutty and disordered images, they are preprocessed and purified by image processing tools. Internal and external effects may severely decrease insulation performance. In order to examine external effects, samples are subjected to moisture and vibration effect. Polymer samples are investigated by their fractal dimension which is a prominent tool for analyzing chaotic images. To simulate these chaotic surface tracking patterns Hidden Markov Models (HMM) are used.