Analysis of Leakage Current Wave Forms for Field-aged and New Composite Insulators

M.A.R.M. Fernando S.M. Gubanski Chalmers University of Technology Department of Electric Power Engineering Division of High Voltage Technology 412 96 Goteborg, Sweden

Abstract
Results of measurements and analyses of leakage current (LC) patterns on field-aged and non-aged insulators are presented. The field-aged insulators were exposed to marine and industrial pollutions as well as to tropical weather conditions for one year. The LC measurements were performed on them under natural and artificial contaminated conditions. The non-aged insulators were previously used for pollution testing. In most cases, the LC patterns on the field-aged insulators were sinusoidal in shape whereas they were highly deformed on the nonaged insulators. These different LC patterns were quantitatively analysed by means of a circuit model representing a polluted and wet insulator surface. A modification of the previously developed neural network for evaluation of the third and fifth harmonic contents of the LC patterns is also presented.

In this study, three different field sites located in tropical environment were selected. The insulators were in service for about one year in those places and they were respectively exposed to industrial (cement dust), marine as well as clean environments. The LC measurements on field-aged insulators were performed and compared with artificially contaminated ones. In addition the non-linear behaviour in LC wave forms was also analysed. The previously developed neural network [3] was modified to evaluate the harmonic contents.

Experimental Procedure
Six 33 kV insulators, i.e., four composite insulators (three silicone rubber (SR), and one EPDM), one RTV coated, and one porcelain, were selected for the testing. Parameters of the insulators are given in Table 1. Table 1. Insulator parameters.

Introduction
The good pollution performance of composite insulators is mainly provided by the water repellency of their surfaces. Most of the insulators, however, show changes of the surface properties under difficult field and laboratory conditions. They are no longer static but dynamic objects indicating different flashover voltages when tested in the laboratory conditions [ 1, 21. Out of many parameters describing the state of a contaminated insulator, a surface leakage current (LC) provides much useful information. However, the LC wave forms can significantly vary not only at different stages of the flashover development but also depending on the surface hydrophobicity. Our previous report [3] pointed out that the low level LC wave forms on artificially polluted insulators are non-linear and contain harmonic components.
A comparison of LCs between artificially contaminated non-aged and field-aged insulators may provide useful information for a predication of insulator performance.

The insulators were installed at three places in Sri Lanka. The description of the test sites is provided in Table 2. In the first two sites insulators were installed in the existing 33 kV distribution system whereas at the third site, they were hanged in an open area without being energized.

(0-7803.3851 -0) 1997 IEEE Annual Report - Conference on Electrical Insulation and Dielectric Phenomena, Minneapolis, October 19-22, 1997

Table 2. Details of the test sites Site I

I1

Contaminant mainly cement dust, sometimes salt mainly salt no pollution, only changing weather (high rainfall and solar radiation)

Average weather annual rainfall (-1300 temperature -28 "C humidity -81 % annual rainfall (-1755 mm) temperamre -27 "C humidity -80 %
0 .

2 ......_........... ~ -..~ .............

1~.
13
19

0.05

___ ....,
V [ W

I11

Fig 1, The non-linear resistor representing wet areas. The LC measurements were performed by means of a special system which can register time variations of a voltage drop across a shunt resistor in laboratory conditions. The LCs were first recorded in a digital oscilloscope and then were stored and analyses in a personal computer. A special circuit protected both instruments against over-voltages and over-currents. The LCs were measured on field-aged insulators in the high voltage laboratory inside a fog chamber (fog intensity of -50 g/m3/hour). The testing lasted for about ten minutes and the LC wave forms at 0, 5 and 10 minutes after applying the voltage were recorded. The supplied voltage was set for 19 kV. Afterwards the insulators were cleaned and the measurements were repeated. Then the insulators were artificially polluted in a slurry containing 10 g/1 salt and 40 gA kaolin. The resulting SDD level for this slurry was similar as those observed in the field. In parallel, a set of non-aged reference insulators was contaminated in the same slurry. The insulators were previously exposed to many contaminating procedures and their surface properties might have changed. They remained in rest for seven months before the latest measurements. The time lapse between the artificial contamination and measurements was one hour.
Insulator .---_ _ _ ___ ._ _ . __ ..E . _ . ....___
1
I

:
I I

Fig 2. Circuit model of the insulator surface

Neural Network Analysis

A neural network (NN), being a modification of a previously developed NN [3], was trained to evaluate contents of third and fifth harmonics in the LC patterns with reference to the fundamental frequency (50 Hz). Two NNs containing 2-25-4 neurons were used for each of the harmonics. The LC wave forms were first normalised. Then the two inputs were obtained from average values of two positive quarter cycles of LC wave form (starting from LC=O and proceeding to the next 0 value in the positive half cycle). The harmonic contents were also obtained from the fast fourier transform (FFT) analysis and these were used as the outputs to train the network. The assumed relationship between the output of the NN and the harmonic contents is shown in Table 3. The levels of the output classes were arbitrarily selected. Table 3. Relationship between output values of NN and third
and fifth harmonic contents

Leakage Current Analyses

An attempt was made to analyse the non-linear behaviour of the LCs. To represent it a circuit model was selected. It seems that the non-linear currents might be caused by a formation of wetted areas separated from each other by unwetted regions. Properties of the wet areas are represented by a voltage controlled non-linear resistance, as shown in Fig. 1. The dry areas between the neighbouring wet areas are characterised by a parallel capacitance-resistance coupling. In addition another capacitance-resistance combination is used to represent the rest of the insulator surface (hydrophobic or hydrophilic). The resultant circuit diagram is shown in Fig. 2.
351

Output value

0100
0010

Third harmonic content < 3.7 % 3.7 - 18 %

18-24%

Fifth harmonic content 2-6%

6 - 10%

> 24 %

> 10%

Results and Discussion

LC Measurements
Table 4 shows the LC wave forms for naturally and artificially polluted field-aged insulators from site 11. The observed wave forms were similar to those measured on the insulators from site I. Table 5. LC wave forms for naturally and artificially contaminatedfield aged insulators from site II.

tent was about 10 %. The measured LC shapes were similar for both the naturally and artificially contaminated field aged insulators. The LC wave forms for insulators from site I11 were all sinusoidal and the current levels were low. Site I11 had no pollution, and the insulators remained clean one year after the installation. This possibly may explain the low level of the currents. Table 5 shows the LC levels and third harmonic contents for the field-aged and non-aged insulators. When comparison was made between the behaviour of the fieldaged insulators in the naturally and artificially contaminated states, similar LC patterns in terms of the LC level and the harmonic content were found.
Table 5. LC levels and harmonic contents on field aged and non-aged insulators [L-LC level (d), H-harmonic con-

tent(%)]

Filed aged Insulator Naturally con-

Nonaged

Artificially

The illustrated wave forms were recorded 5 minutes after applying the voltage. During the testing, no surface discharges were observed. The LC levels on naturally contaminated SIR composite and RTV coated insulators were low and their patterns were sinusoidal. On the other hand, the LC levels for insulator #4 and #S were comparatively higher. The latter LCs were also deformed. Their third harmonic con-

The artificially contaminated non-aged insulators had higher LC levels and harmonic contents. The LCs on these insulators were non-linear, probably because of formation of isolated wet areas which appeared as a result of modification of surface properties caused by previous contaminations. Such changes probably did not take place on the field-aged insulators, where relatively high hydrophobicity in the naturally contaminated state was still maintained for the SIR and RTV coated insulators.

LC Analyses
In the model circuit (Fig. 2), arbitrary values for R, RI, R2, C1 and C2 were selected. R2 and C2 values were varied in order to model different LC wave forms. The se-

3 52

lected RI and C1 values were respectively 50 M R and 1000 pF. the variation of R' is shown in Fig. 1. Table 6 shows the modelled LCs for different R2 and C2 values. Similar experimentally measured LC wave forms are also included for comparison. Table 6. Theoretically modelled and experimentally observed
LC patterns

came completely wet. In that case (lower Rz), the wave forms were sinusoidal. However, when the surface became more hydrophobic (higher R2), non-liner currents appeared due to the influence of R', R I , and C,. During the non-linear process, the change in Cz also influenced LC shape. At the present stage it is rather difficult to assign a physical meaning to the circuit parameters. Additional model studies are necessary.

Theoretical

~~

~~~

Exnerimental

NN Analysis
The modified NNs worked successfully with all the measured LC patterns. Table 7 shows some of the results of the NN analysis on the third and fifth harmonic contents of thi. mi.:isured LC wave forms. The results from FET n i l y s i s ;ire ~ilsa included for comparison.

C 2 = 100 pF, R2 = 5 MR
I

110-

Conclusions

. . . I

n IS-,
00

C 2=

IO pF, R2 = 200 MR

Table 7. Third andfifth harmonic contents evaluated from the NN and FFT
~~

Thc iiisul.itors aged under marine and industrial pollution i n tropical clinintc show similar leakage current patterns indcpcndently it' they are naturally or artificially cor1tamin~itc.d. The LCs on the polluted RTV coated and SIR insulators are low in magnitude and sinusoidal in shape. The EPDM and porcelain insulators have higher LC lewls. On the other hand, the LC wave forms on non-aged polymeric insulators, which were earlier multiple contaminated, are highly deformed from sinusoidal shape. The deformation is probably caused by existing wet areas on the surfaces of the insulators. The effect can be represented by a non-linear resistance in a model equivalent circuit. The deformed patterns contains high amounts of third and fifth harmonics. The developed and trained neural network can be used to evaluate this content.

Wave form

Harmonic content NN FFr 3rd 1 5 t h 3rd 1 5 t h

References

[I]. M.A. Mbwana, M.A.R.M. Fernando, S.M. Gubanski, "Variation of Surface Properties on ArtiJicially Polluted Composite Insulators", Proc. Nordic Insulation Symp. (NORD-IS), Bergen, Norway, 1996, pp. 107-114.
[2]. R. Matsuoka, H. Shinokubo, K. Kondo, T. Fujimura, "Assessment o f Basic Contamination Withstand Voltage Characteristics of Polymer Insulators", IEEE Trans. on PD, Vol. 1, No. 4, October 1996, pp. 1985-1900.
om-,
PO

It was assumed that R2 varied from 200 M R - 5 MQ and C2 changed from 10 pF - 100 pF when the surface be-

[3]. M.A.R:M. Fernando, S.M. Gubanski, "Leakage Current Patterns on Artificially Polluted Composite Insulators", Annual Report o n IEEE CEIDP, San Francisco, USA, 1996, vol. 1 , pp. 394-397.

353