Experience at Venezuelan Utility with Ceramic and Non-Ceramic Insulators

INTRODUCTION C.V.G. ElectrificacindelCaron (EDELCA) is an electric power generation and transmission company created by the Venezuelan Government in 1963. Its transmission system comprises 2100 km of 765 kV lines, 2400 km of 400 kV lines and 500 km of 115 kV to 230 kV lines. This system is connected to the Guri Dam (10,000 MW) as well as to the Macagua Complex (2950 MW), which in 1998 together generated 56,190 GWh - equivalent to approximately 70% of the countrys total electricity consumption. 765 kV TRANSMISSION SYSTEM EDELCA first began construction of its 765 kV transmission system in the early 1980s and, by 1986, the first two lines began operating covering a length of 1250 km. During 1991, a third transmission line was completed adding 850 km to this system. Together, these 2100 km of 765 kV lines have now been in service for more than 10 years. The performance of In terms of insulators, almost 700,000 ceramic insulators affected by insulator units have been utilized on this system, of pollution is not only a which approximately 60 per cent are porcelain and result of creepage 40 per cent glass. These lines are 4-bundle ACAR distance but is also 1300 MCM per phase with two overhead ground related to the shape of the wires of alumoweld 7#8 AWG. The configuration of insulators. the insulator string is I V I (i.e. I string at both outside phases and V string in the center). The 765 kV lines from the hydro-electric stations in the southern Guayana Region to the urban centers of the northern and western parts of Venezuela, pass through a region known as Mesa de Guanipa which is noted for its high levels of agricultural pollution and adverse climatic conditions. Weather studies indicate that the dry season in this area lasts from 4 to 6 months beginning in November. This results in an accumulation of pollution and during the evenings the relative humidity levels approach 100%. These heavy contamination conditions have affected the design of the insulation level of the lines more than any considerations related to switching surges. At first, EDELCA analyzed the performance of two 400 kV lines as well as a 230 kV line located in this area and which had been in service since 1971 and 1968

respectively. During a period of eight years from 1971-1978 there were 17 faults on the 400 kV lines during the January-March period - all attributed to insulator contamination. Although there were no outages due to contamination on the 230 kV line, a high level of corrosion was observed on the pins of insulators.

Since 1978, five porcelain and glass test-insulator strings have been installed to monitor ESDD levels. Also, international consultants have been called in to conduct additional studies in this area. They came to the conclusion that the performance of insulators affected by pollution is not only a result of creepage distance but is also related to the shape of the insulators being used. This analysis was taken into account in defining the type of insulators to be specified by EDELCA for each pollution level, as follows: Low Contamination Areas (ESDD of 0.05 mg/cm2): Thirty-seven 160 kN and 210 kN insulators with a creepage distance of 370 mm for suspension strings and thirty-five 300 kN insulators with a creepage distance from 425 to 465 mm for tension strings. Both porcelain and glass insulators have been used. High Contamination Areas (ESDD of 0.24 mg/cm2): Thirty-seven 160 kN and 210 kN insulators with a creepage distance of 550 mm (anti-fog type) in suspension strings and forty-five 300 kN insulators with a creepage distance of 460 mm for tension strings. Only porcelain insulators have been used. On the other hand, a conservative attitude was adopted when considering insulator performance to be equivalent for both I-strings and V-strings. The increase of string length was estimated at 5 per cent to take into account the non-linearity effect of the discharge voltage. In summary, the first 765 kV lines have been operational for about 14 years now without presenting any major problems. During this time, only seven pollutionrelated failures have occurred of which five were within a high contamination zone. The continuous interruption of both 400 kV lines was due to an inadequate insulation level given the degree of pollution which unfortunately was unknown at the time the lines were designed. Another issue related to the insulators on these 765 kV lines has been the problem of vandalism and a record has been kept of the numbers of insulators broken due to this reason. From the time these lines became operational up until 1998, 890 broken insulators have been detected, representing close to 0.1 per cent of the total number of insulators on the lines. It is interesting to note that the majority of broken insulators were glass. This has resulted in

EDELCAs maintenance units adopting a policy of replacing glass insulators with porcelain in those areas where vandalism occurs. 400 kV TRANSMISSION SYSTEM EDELCAs 400 kV transmission system is approximately 2400 km long and consists of lines of two and four conductors per phase, mostly ACAR 1024.5 MCM, with two alumoweld overhead ground wires. The configuration of the strings is I II (i.e. three I strings). From the insulation point of view, the three most critical lines have been the Guri-El Tigre-San Gernimo lines in the sections crossing the Meseta de Guanipa, which is a region characterized by heavy agricultural activity. This has caused a high level of dust to accumulate on insulators. The first line was commissioned in 1970. At the time, it was not known that the region presented heavy levels of contamination and the original design of the suspension strings used 19 glass insulators of 280 mm x 146 mm type with a creepage distance of 370 mm and a mechanical load of 160 kN. The total creepage distance of each string was 7030 mm. The second line, Guri-El Tigre-San Gernimo-Sta. Teresa, entered service in 1975. Based on the limited experience gained regarding pollution-related failures on the first line, a more conservative insulation design was adopted here. This design used 160 kN porcelain insulators of 292 mm x 159 mm type with a creepage distance of 470 mm. Each strings total creepage distance was now 9400 mm, which represented an increase of 34 per cent compared to the first 400 kV line. Due to the fact that pollution-related outages continued, the contamination levels were measured on test strings installed on lines 1 and 2 for a period of two years starting in January 1978. These test insulators were then sent for chemical analyses to Japan and revealed an ESDD level of 0.2 mg/cm2. Given these results and the knowledge that dust accumulates here over a long dry period, EDELCA conservatively established a value of 0.24 mg/cm2 as the contamination level for the design of lines which pass through the Mesa de Guanipa.

"TABLE 1: Comparison of Design of Three 400 kV Transmission Lines Passing Through Heavy Contamination Areas" YEAR ORIGINAL DESIGN INSULATOR LINE "DESIGN (IN INSULATOR SIZE CREEPAGE CREEPAGE SERVICE) " AND NUMBER PATH LENGTH DISTANCE Guri-El Tigre- San 19 of 280 mm x 1969 (1970) 370 mm 7030 mm Gernimo N 1 146 mm Guri-El Tigre- San 20 of 292 mm x 1972 (1975) 470 mm 9400 mm Gernimo N 2 159 mm

Guri-El Tigre N 3 1986 (1989)

21 of 320 mm x 170 mm

550 mm

11,550 mm

Considering this value and taking into account the types of insulators installed, Line 1 would now need more than thirty normal-type 284 mm x 146 mm units while Line 2 would now need twenty-three anti-fog 292 mm x 159 mm insulators. This confirmed that the continuous interruption of both these lines was due to an inadequate insulation level for the degree of pollution which was unknown at the time the lines were designed. In order to reduce outages due to contamination, a permanent hot line wash for both lines was implemented in 1978. In addition, the results of studies on the performance of different types of insulators under different contamination levels revealed that the anti-fog 292 mm x 159 mm insulator and the conventional 280 mm x 146 mm insulator behave similarly, while the anti-fog 320 mm x 170 mm insulator has a far superior performance. Based on these findings, in 1986 EDELCA designed the Guri-El Tigre Line 3 using twentyone anti-fog 320 mm x 170 mm insulators, with a total string creepage distance of 11,550 mm, which is 64 per cent more than Line 1 and 23 per cent more than Line 2. Table 1 shows a comparison of the three projects indicating the type and quantity of insulators used and the total creepage distance for each string. The three transmission lines have parallel trajectories and the distance between them does not exceed 100 m making the comparison between their design and performance pertinent. As can be seen from Table 1, Lines 1 and 2 were designed with a creepage distance lower than the insulation requirements for the degree of pollution in the area. In 1988, after periodic washing of the strings and with a better awareness of the performance of the anti-fog 320 mm x 170 mm insulator, sixteen insulators of this type were installed on Line 1 and eighteen units on Line 2, in order to improve the insulation level of both. It was impossible to install twenty-one insulators as designed for Line 3, because of the conductor to tower clearance of the existing structures. The performance of these lines after these changes had been made was as follows:
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Although Line 1 has been hot line washed and the 19 conventional insulators replaced by 16 anti-fog insulators, this line had 25 outages due to pollution-related faults during the 1988-1998 period. Line 2 has towers with a longer conductor to tower clearance, permitting the installation of a string of 18 anti-fog units, and has had a better historical performance than Line 1 with 30 per cent fewer failures. Duringthe 1988-1998 period, 17 pollution-relatedfaultshaveoccurred.

Line 3 was designed using a contamination factor of 0.24 mg/cm2 and employing anti-fog insulators. It has had excellent performance since becoming operational in 1988 and has never failed due to insulator contamination. All lines are now given a two-cycle hot line wash twice a year - once at the end of February and once at the end of April. This dramatically reduces the levels of contaminating dust on insulators.

In addition, within the heavily-contaminated zone, insulator strings have been completely replaced after less than twenty years of service due to corrosion of their pins. Apparently, once the galvanizing of the pin is lost, corrosion destroys it in less than two years.

Experience of March 31, 1998 In May 1997 the weather phenomenon known as El Nio arrived in Venezuela, bringing with it the most severe weather in 50 years of record-keeping and with ocean temperatures rising 5 C above their average. This generated significant changes in precipitation patterns: the dry season became warmer and drier; any scattered shower activity decreased; and the onset of the rainy season was delayed. As a result of this, the dry season in the Mesa de Guanipa began in August 1997. After eight months of intense drought, light rain fell in the NorthCentral and Eastern parts of the country during the night of March 30. From 00:48 to 06:37 in the early morning of March 31, EDELCAs transmission system suffered 20 faults on its 400 kV lines, 2 faults on the 765 kV lines and 4 faults on the 115 kV lines. There were also faults on 400 kV and 230 kV power lines belonging to another company in the Eastern part of the country and whose transmission system is inter-connected with EDELCAs. Of this total of 26 faults, 21 were due to insulator contamination, 1 was due to a broken insulator and the remaining 4 occurred for unknown reasons. On the same day, at 18:24, scattered showers occurred which produced 3 more faults on the 400 kV lines and 7 more faults on the 115 kV lines, all due to insulator contamination. Overall, in less than 24 hours 36 service interruptions occurred. Of these 36 faults, 31 were due to contamination accumulated on the insulators during the dry season. All of the 24 faults at 400 kV occurred on Lines 1 and 2 of the Guri-El Tigre-San Gernimo-Santa Teresa system and within the Mesa de Guanipa area. Information on the time of each failure and the specific towers affected was obtained from fault location programs and oscilloscopes installed within the respective terminal substations.
Fig 1: Routes of EDELCAs 400 kV & 800 kV Lines Through the Zone of High Agricultural Contamination (Mesa de Guanipa)

Figure 1 shows the trajectory of the three Guri-El Tigre-San Gernimo-Santa Teresa lines. Most of the pollution-related failures occurred close to the El Tigre substation which is close to the center of the zone with high agricultural contamination. The number of interruptions was quite unexpected, since historical statistics of 400 kV pollution-related faults have shown a maximum of nine faults in any one year. In fact, from 1995 until March 31,1998, no interruptions due to contamination had occurred on any of the three 400 kV transmission lines (Guri-El Tigre-San Gernimo). As such, a total of 24 interruptions on these lines and a total of 32 faults in just one day was especially alarming. Given these circumstances, EDELCA decided to carry out a field study on a 10 km section of each line in the El Tigre-San Gernimo system. The principal goal was to minimize or resolve the problem of inadequate insulation levels on Lines 1 and 2. This was to be accomplished by experimenting with the different insulator technologies available on the market.

This field study involved the following:

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On Line 1, which has design restrictions on the conductor to tower distance, the porcelain anti-fog insulators are replaced with silicone rubber insulators. This is the line with the most pollution-related faults.

y y

On Line 2, designed in 1972, 10 km of porcelain anti-fog insulators are replaced by semi-conducting glazed porcelain insulators. On Line 3, the original porcelain anti-fog insulators installed in 1988 remain in service. This line has not failed due to contaminated insulators since being commissioned.

Figure 2 summarizes these technical aspects. The results of these decisions are expected around the middle of this year.
Fig 2

POLYMERIC INSULATORS EDELCAs experience with polymeric (EPDM) insulators began in 1982. In that year, two manufacturers supplied insulators, on an experimental basis, for a tower on the 400 kV El Tigre-San Gernimo Line located within the high contamination area. One manufacturers insulators were removed ten years later with no major deterioration found. The other manufacturers insulators still remain in service. As of 1996, EDELCAs specifications for lines up to 400 kV established that bidders for transmission line contracts could offer silicone rubber polymeric insulators as an alternative. In that same year, an 80 km double-circuit 400 kV line was constructed using silicone insulators. A circa 30 km section of this line runs

parallel to and within one kilometer of the seacoast and, at the same time, lies less than one kilometer from the northern boundary of Lake Maracaibo - a zone with a high saline concentration. This line is also exposed to winds which can reach speeds of 120 km/h and which often carry abrasive sandy material to the point that contamination levels in the area have been registered at 0.24 mg/cm2 during a 6month period. This line has now been in service without failures for two years and also without any of the insulators needing to be washed.

This 400 kV line crosses Lake Maracaibo with two circuits (separated by 100 m and each consisting of seven 150-meter high towers with spans of 1400 meters over water) using porcelain insulators. Although this crossing has not had any faults, it has had to be periodically cleaned in accordance with the maintenance standards of power companies in the area which generally wash insulators every two months during the dry season. In addition, a fixed pipe system has been installed on the towers to enable distilled water to be pumped for hot line washing of insulators. Although two years is not enough time to fully evaluate the performance of insulators on a transmission line, the high costs of leasing marine equipment (boats, barges, water tanks, etc.) for the maintenance of the porcelain insulator strings has led to EDELCA considering the possibility of replacing them with silicone rubber insulators, thus enabling maintenance costs to be reduced. Aside from this experience with polymeric insulators, a new 170 km-long 400 kV line was constructed and put into service early in 1999. By March 2000, a 300 km 400 kV and a 220 km 230 kV line, both using silicone insulators will have been completed. In summary, as of March of this year EDELCA has a total of 550 km of 400 kV lines and 220 km of 230 kV line in operation utilizing silicone insulators. All lines have been constructed during the past four years and together they contain about 5500 polymeric insulators. It is also projected that by June, a 15 km-long compact, double-circuit 115 kV line using braced line posts will be constructed. Table 2 shows the main characteristics of the silicone insulators installed on EDELCAs transmission lines. " Table 2: Characteristics of Silicone Rubber Insulators Transmission Lines 400 kV" DISTANCE Shed Distance Total Dry Creepage Number SML Diameter between Length Arcing Path of (kN) large/small sheds (mm) (mm) (mm) sheds (mm) (mm) 160 3792 3374 11147 127 105 & 90 55 210 3400 3090 11160 45 178 66

210 300 300 210 300 160

3740 4875 3315 4040 5270 2785

3420 4550 2995 3580 4700 2322

8260 11550 7830 13603 13440 8920

27 39 27 122 96 80

178 191 191 188 & 138 142 140 & 110

122 114 107 30 50 30

SML (kN) 160 120

Total Length (mm) 2642 1321

Transmission Lines 230 kV and 115 kV DISTANCE Dry Creepage Number Shed Arcing Path of Diameter (mm) (mm) sheds large/small (mm) 2295 6731 45 129 1090 2717 17 129

Distance between sheds (mm) 50 61

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS Based on a thorough review of international literature and also on the experience not only of EDELCA but also of other power utilities with whom there has been an exchange of information, it has been possible to prepare technical specifications for silicone rubber insulators whose main points are as follows: Manufacturing Process Considering the shed manufacturing technologies reported in the literature, the recommendations on the state-of-the-art of composite insulators, manufacturer research and the experience/opinions of power companies, EDELCA requires the following for the qualification of suppliers and the technical assessment of insulators: 1. The manufacturing of polymeric insulators shall be by injection moulding of the cores coating and sheds, at high-pressure and high-temperature. 2. A process of uniform compression shall used for sealing the end-fittings. The metallic parts shall be made of forged steel. The sealing must be humidity-proof. 3. The coating of the silicone rubber around the core shall have a minimum thickness of 3 mm. Creepage Distance Requirements While it is recognized that, under contamination conditions, the performance of polymeric insulators is better than that of strings with conventional insulators having the same creepage distance, EDELCA has decided (in accordance with the ANSI/IEE Std. 987) that any string of polymeric insulators must comply with the requirements specified for conventional insulators in regard to minimum

creepagedistance. This is due to the fact that the hydrophobicity characteristic of silicone rubber may disappear in cases in which contamination is very heavy or in the presence of high levels of night-time humidity. Many of EDELCAs lines are subject to both of these conditions. Use of Corona Rings EDELCA has performed approximately 20 tests on insulator chains in international laboratories throughout the world. The experience and results obtained, especially from RIV, corona and power arc tests, have shown the importance of corona rings for regulating the arc and avoiding its contact with the end fittings of the polymeric insulator. This is why EDELCA requires the testing of the string complete with its fittings and arcing rings. For short circuit tests on silicone rubber insulators, two test cycles are used. The first insulator is subjected to 3 shots of 32 kA each during 0.08 seconds and one shot of 32 kA during 0.33 seconds; the second insulator is subjected to 3 shots of 6 kA for 1.0 seconds and one shot of 32 kA for 0.33 seconds. Other Considerations In the presence of a lack of suitable standards, both good design and adequate quality control of raw materials is essential in the manufacturing of polymeric insulators. Since the use of composite insulators by power companies is increasing, international Working Groups have carried out significant research and field tests for evaluating the performance of these insulators, such that test procedures are in a state of constant evolution. While the main objective 20 years ago was the mechanical performance along the core of the insulator, the present focus seems to be related to design factors and to the raw materials used in the manufacturing of these insulators. It should also be noted that manufacturers of ceramic insulators guarantee their products for more than 30 years. EDELCA places a high value on international standards such as ANSI, IEC, IEEE and ASTM to which manufacturers prototypes have already been or will be subjected, as well as to the equipment and quality control systems which manufacturers apply to the supply of raw materials and during their production processes. Finally, the routine implementation of hot line washing of polymeric insulators in coastal areas is foreseen, subject to analysis of the accumulation of contaminating material.