PROJECT TITLE :

Evaluation of the aging process of composite insulator based on surface charaterisation techniques and electrical method

ABSTRACT:

Long run reliability is one in every of the foremost necessary performance measures for prime voltage insulators in the facility transmission and distribution networks. To evaluate the long-term performance of insulators, properties like hydrophobicity, surface roughness, pictures from Scanning Electron Microscopy and dielectric breakdown measurements are often studied. During this paper, a replacement evaluation method based on the oscillating period of water droplet, particularly Oscillating Water Droplet (OWD) methodology is proposed. Employing a high-speed camera, the total sequence of the water droplet creating contact with the composite surface was recorded and analyzed. The OWD was performed on specimens of various ageing levels. Any investigation on hydrophobicity using the optical contact angle device is performed to review the link between the oscillating water droplet over the surface and also the contact angle. To study the loss of hydrophobicity, surface roughness tests were conducted using BRUKER ContourGT Optical Profiler with eight different roughness spots per specimen. Our results show that additional time is required for the water droplet to settle over the surface when the hydrophobicity is decreased due to aging. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images showing the amount of degradation on the surface of the specimens are included. The results obtained are closely correlated to the decrease in dielectric breakdown voltage over the insulator surface as the amount of aging cycle increases. This work also indicates that the OWD technique can be applied as a new method for evaluating the hydrophobicity of polymeric insulators.