AC flashover dynamic model suggestion and insulation level selection under fan-shaped pollution

Abstract

The geometry of fan-shaped pollution on the surface of an insulator accounts for two different values of Salt Deposit Density (SDD), conductivity, and resistance on the leeward and windward sides of the insulator. This paper proposes a novel dynamic theory model of AC flashover based on equivalent resistance in the presence of a fan-shaped pollution layer. The proposed model can calculate flashover parameters for different values of the fan-shaped pollution density degree (T) and extension degree (J) considering instantaneous variables in arc progression. In this model, the arc current is formulated using the arc equivalent circuit for a constant arc voltage in terms of arc length propagation. Also, the Form Factor (F) is defined as a function of the arc length by sampling from the desired insulator and curve fitting. To validate the analytical model, some experiments are performed on an insulator unit of suspension porcelain by applying artificial pollution at three levels: light, medium, and heavy. Test results show that the critical flashover voltage (CFO) is reduced by 19% by varying J from 1 (uniform pollution) to 1/15. Moreover, by varying T from 10% to 30%, the CFO decreases by 9%. As the non-uniformity degree increases, the correction factor varies in the range of 0.798 ~ 0.938. The proposed modeling of flashover provided by the paper could be used to perform a dimensioning method on insulators under fan-shaped pollution conditions. Also, the proposed model can be included in the EMTP-type platforms to determine the minimum insulator flashover characteristic that will provide an adequate flashover performance under pollution conditions.