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In-Lab Evaluation of Composite Insulators following their Withdrawal from the Network

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Silicone Composite Insulators

Part of the book series: Power Systems ((POWSYS))

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Abstract

This chapter is dedicated to the in-lab evaluation of aged, “old” or failed line composite insulators. The term in-lab evaluation is used, because the state of the insulators or the insulator strings/sets is evaluated as off-line diagnosis, which is different to the inspection method of an on-line diagnosis. It describes various methods, philosophies and resources that make it possible to evaluate their technical state and thus estimate the remaining time of use of composite insulators that are the same type as those being tested. The composite insulators to be evaluated are specifically withdrawn from the line in order to obtain representative results for this generation of insulators. Frequently, analyses are also conducted if old composite insulators are available as part of scheduled replacement schemes. If a certain behaviour has already been identified as being critical to operations, it is recommended to evaluate at least ten insulators. If the line route includes various pollution zones or loads that are otherwise different, a sufficient number of each insulator must be inspected representative for the corresponding in situ conditions. When withdrawing insulators from the network, it is important to ensure that the installation conditions are adequately documented and can be clearly assigned. In many cases, the manufacturer of the composite insulators can provide additional data to identify the product (technical state of a particular generation of insulators, production date, material batches, etc.). In critical cases, it is recommended to perform the evaluation in conjunction with the manufacturer and a specialist independent laboratory. The identification of intensive ageing phenomena that effectively signify the end of service life for an insulator can prompt the withdrawal of other insulators of the same type/generation.

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Abbreviations

ANSI:

American National Standards Institute

ASDD:

Apparent salt deposit density

CEPS:

Czech power utility

CIGRE:

Conseil International Des Grands Reseaux Electriques (International Council For Large Electric Systems)

DC:

Direct current

DSC:

Differential scanning calorimetry

E-CR or ECR-Fibres:

Corrosion-resistant glass fibre for electrotechnical applications

EDS:

Every day stress

E-Glass:

Glass fibre for electrotechnical applications

ELECTRA:

Professional journal of CIGRE

EPDM:

Ethylene propylene diene monomer (insulant)

EPRI:

Electric Power Research Institute

ESDD:

Equivalent salt deposit density

ESKOM:

South African power utility

EVA:

Ethylene vinyl acetate

EVU:

Power utility

FMEA:

Failure mode and effects analysis

FTIR:

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

GFK:

Glass-fibre reinforced plastic

HT:

Hydrophobicity transfer

HTM:

Hydrophobicity transfer mechanism (transfer procedure)

HTV:

High temperature vulcanising

IEC:

International Electrotechnical Commission

IR:

Infrared

k:

Index of service experience

MTBF:

Mean time between failure

MTTR:

Mean time to repair

NSDD:

Non-soluble deposit density

SEM:

Scanning electron microscope

RTE:

French power utility

RTV:

Room temperature vulcanising

SML:

Specified mechanical load (nominal force of insulator)

SR:

Silicone rubber

T:

Time of use

TE:

Partial discharge

TGA:

Thermo-gravimetric analysis

Triton-X:

Wetting agent

UV:

Ultra-violet

WC 1..7:

Wettability class

XRF:

X-ray fluorescence

XRD:

X-ray diffraction

na:

Number of failures

nb:

Total number of insulators in service

nE:

Number of insulators still in service

λ:

Failure rate

\( \hat{\lambda } \) :

Empirical failure rate

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pfisterer Holding AG, Hellbühlstraße 37, Malters, 6102, Switzerland

    Konstantin Papailiou

  2. Rüchligrain 5, Eschenbach, 6274, Switzerland

    Frank Schmuck

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  1. Konstantin Papailiou
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  2. Frank Schmuck
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Correspondence to Konstantin Papailiou .

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Papailiou, K., Schmuck, F. (2013). In-Lab Evaluation of Composite Insulators following their Withdrawal from the Network. In: Silicone Composite Insulators. Power Systems. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-15320-4_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-15320-4_10

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-15319-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-15320-4

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