Influence of Voltage Type and Polarity on Electric Field Distribution Along a Polymeric Insulator

Arshad [1], Dr. A. Nekahi [1], S. McMeekin [1], M. Farzaneh [2]
[1] School of Engineering and Built Environment, Glasgow Caledonian University, United Kingdom
[2] Canada Research Chair on Atmospheric Icing Engineering of Power Networks (INGIVRE), Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, QC, Canada
Published in 2015

Electric field distribution along an insulator surface is of prime importance for the long term performance of insulators. In this paper electric field and potential distribution along a standard 33 kV polymeric insulator were investigated under different pollution conditions. Effect of voltage type and polarity on the electric field and potential distribution under contaminated conditions were discussed. Pollution was modeled as a 2-mm conductive water layer and the conductivity of layer was set to 500 uS/m. Numerical simulations were carried out in COMSOL Multiphysics software to study the effect of AC, DC+ and DC- applied voltage on the electric field and potential distribution.