Substation Designing – Station Post

Insulator Selection & Sizing -

Recommended Reading (IEC & ANSI
Standards) - Glossary of Terms
Published on 2018 M03 2

Sanjib Mishra, M.Tech., SMIEEEFollow

Principal Consultant | Jacobs | New Zealand
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This article provides a brief process for selection & sizing of station post insulators, review
of relevant IEC standards, and recapitulation of some important terms

Brief Process for Selection & Sizing of Station Post Insulators

1. Select type of insulator based on the following three criteria (i.e. Ceramic or glass or
polymeric or composite or hybrid)

- based on tender specification

- based on failure mode analysis (i.e. based upon historical data related to electrical,
mechanical and environmental service stresses)

- based on environmental conditions: the normal environmental conditions to which

insulators are submitted in service are defined in IEC 62271 but sizing and selection of
insulator based on polluted environmental conditions is mentioned in IEC 60815

2. Prepare the preliminary operational characteristics list (i.e. Dimensional, Electrical,

Mechanical) based on specification and contact the manufacturers for technical offer.
Following characteristics must be there.

- Specified Mechanical Load (SML)

- Routine Test Load (RTL)

- Failing Load

- Arcing distance

- Creepage distance

3. Conduct the required cantilever strength calculation based on the Over All General
(OGA) drawing & constructional data, provided by the insulator manufacturer (references:
IEC 60865, 60909, 60826)

4. As per cantilever strength requirement, finalize the insulator operational characteristics

5. Finalize the Test Methods & Acceptance Criteria as per specification and type of
insulator. Examples of some tests are as given below.

- radio interference tests (IEC 60437)

- artificial pollution tests (IEC 60507, 61245 (for dc))

- mechanical testing under bending loads (IEC 61952) (IEC 60865 provides the
guidance on the way impulse load or peak load (mechanical) may be evaluated)

- power arc test (It’s not a mandatory test but can be performed by agreement between
the user and the manufacturer as per IEC 61467)

- tracking & erosion resistance test (IEC 62217 for polymeric & composite insulators)

- design tests (IEC 62217 for polymeric and IEC 61462 for composite insulators)

- salt fog test for ageing (IEC 62217)

Before we start working on station post insulators, its mandatory to know about the
following terms & IEC standards....

Glossary of Terms
Ceramic & Glass Insulator: Insulator made of ceramic or glass.

Polymeric Insulator: Insulator whose insulating body consists of at least one organic based
material.

Composite Insulator: Insulator made of at least two insulating parts, namely a core and
housing equipped with metal fittings. Composite insulators can consist either of individual
sheds mounted on the core, with or without an intermediate sheath, or alternatively, of a
housing directly molded or cast in one or several pieces on to the core. The insulating core,
bearing the mechanical load is protected by the polymeric housing and the load is
transmitted to the core by end fittings. To be noted that Composite Insulators are not
designed for high torsion, compression or bending loads.

Hybrid insulator: Insulator which is a combination of ceramic and glass and polymeric
materials. These are increasingly being used for the purpose of achieving special properties
e.g. for improved pollution and mechanical performance.

Post Insulator: Insulator intended to give rigid support to a live part which is to be insulated
from earth or from another live part. A post insulator may be an assembly of a number of
post insulator units. Post insulators for substations are also known as station post insulators.

Pedestal Post Insulator: Post insulator having two metal parts, a cap partly embracing an
insulating component and a “pedestal” cemented into a recess in the insulating component;
the cap normally has tapped holes and the pedestal a flange with plain holes for attachment
by bolts or screws

Cylindrical Post Insulator: Post insulator of approximately cylindrical shape consisting of

one or more insulating components with a metal fitting attached to each end; the metal
fitting may consist of a cap, insert or flange with plain or tapped holes for attachment by
bolts or screws

Failure Modes: All three insulator technologies are now being applied on power systems.
Because line design does not typically change to reflect this and since all insulator
technologies share common IEC and ANSI standards, some users believe that ageing and
maintenance issues should also be the same. This, however, is not the case. Electrical,
mechanical and environmental service stresses will result in significant differences in types
and incidence of failures.

Design Tests: Some tests have been grouped together as "design tests" to be performed only
once for insulators of the same design. The design tests are performed in order to eliminate
insulator designs, materials and manufacturing technologies not suitable for high-voltage
applications. The influence of time on the electrical and mechanical properties of the
complete composite station post insulator and its components (core material, housing
material, interfaces, etc.) has been considered in specifying the design tests in order to
ensure a satisfactory lifetime under normal service conditions.

ANSI Terminology (C29.9): Specified Cantilever Load (SCL) is breaking load guaranteed
by manufacturer and should be less than Cantilever Breaking Load (CBL), which is the
maximum load reached during a cantilever breaking test. Maximum Working Load (MWL)
is specified as 40% of the ANSI TR porcelain’s cantilever strength)

Some Useful Terms

Arcing distance, creepage distance, unified specific creepage distance, protected creepage
distance, mechanical failing load, deflection under bending load, solid-core insulator,
hollow insulator, multi-element insulator, antipollution-type insulator, insulator trunk, core
of an insulator, housing, shed (of an insulator), glaze, tensile strength, torsion strength,
compression strength

Recommended Reading - IEC Standards Common to all Types of

Insulators
IEC 62223:2009

 Insulators - Glossary of terms and definitions

IEC TR 62662:2010

 Guidance for production, testing and diagnostics of polymer

insulators with respect to brittle fracture of core materials
IEC TR 62730:2012

 HV polymeric insulators for indoor and outdoor use tracking and

erosion testing by wheel test and 5000h test
IEC TS 62896:2015

 Hybrid insulators for a.c. and d.c. for high-voltage applications -

Definitions, test methods and acceptance criteria
IEC TS 62073:2016

 Guidance on the measurement of hydrophobicity of insulator

surfaces
IEC TS 61245:2015

 Artificial pollution tests on high-voltage ceramic and glass

insulators to be used on d.c. systems
IEC TS 60815-1:2008

 Selection and dimensioning of high-voltage insulators intended for

use in polluted conditions - Part 1: Definitions, information and
general principles
IEC TS 60815-2:2008
  Selection and dimensioning of high-voltage insulators intended for
use in polluted conditions - Part 2: Ceramic and glass insulators for
a.c. systems
IEC TS 60815-3:2008

 Selection and dimensioning of high-voltage insulators intended for

use in polluted conditions - Part 3: Polymer insulators for a.c.
systems
IEC TS 60815-4:2016

 Selection and dimensioning of high-voltage insulators intended for

use in polluted conditions - Part 4: Insulators for d.c. systems
IEC 60507:2013

 Artificial pollution tests on high-voltage ceramic and glass

insulators to be used on a.c. systems
IEC 60437:1997

 Radio interference test on high-voltage insulators

IEC 61952

 Gives the approach for mechanical testing under bending loads

IEC 60587

 Test method for evaluating resistance to tracking and erosion of

electrical insulating materials used under severe ambient
conditions
IEC 60695-11-10:1999,

 Fire hazard testing – Part 11-10: Test flames – 50 W horizontal and

vertical flame test methods
IEC 60050(471):1984
  International Electrotechnical Vocabulary (IEV) – Chapter 471:
Insulators
IEC 60060-1

 High-voltage test techniques – Part 1: General definitions and test

requirements
IEC 60068-2-17

 Basic environmental testing procedures – Part 2: Tests – Test Q:

Sealing
IEC 60270

 Partial discharge measurements

Recommended Reading - IEC Standards for Ceramic & Glass Post

Insulators
IEC 60273:1990

 Characteristic of indoor and outdoor post insulators for systems

with nominal voltages greater than 1000 V
This standard applies to post insulators and post insulator units of ceramic material or glass
intended for indoor or outdoor service, and to post insulators of organic material intended
for indoor service in electrical installations or equipment operating on alternating current
systems with a nominal voltage greater than 1000 V and a frequency not greater than 100
Hz. The insulators covered by this standard are primarily intended for use in isolators
(disconnectors) or as bus-bar supports.

IEC 60168:1994+AMD1:1997+AMD2:2000 CSV

 Tests on indoor and outdoor post insulators of ceramic material or

glass for systems with nominal voltages greater than 1000 V
This standard applies to post insulators and post insulator units of ceramic material or glass,
for indoor and outdoor use in electrical installations or equipment, operating on alternating
current with a nominal voltage greater than 1000 V and a frequency not greater than 100
Hz. This standard does not apply to composite insulators, or to those indoor post insulators
in organic material which are covered by another IEC standard. The objective of this
standard is to provide definitions, dimensional-mechanical-electrical characteristics, test
methods, & acceptance criteria. Numerical values of characteristics of such post insulators
are specified in IEC 60273. This standard does not include radio interference tests or
artificial pollution tests. These subjects and relevant test methods are dealt with in other
IEC publications. When this standard is applied to hollow post insulators, other IEC
publications should also be taken into account.

IEC 62155:2003

 Hollow pressurized and unpressurized ceramic and glass insulators

for use in electrical equipment with rated voltages greater than
1000 V
This standard cancels and replaces the second edition of IEC 60233, published in 1974, and
the second edition of IEC 61264, published in 1998. This standard is applicable to ceramic
and glass hollow insulators intended for general use in electrical equipment, ceramic
hollow insulators intended for use with a permanent gas pressure in switchgear and
controlgear. These insulators are intended for indoor and outdoor use in electrical
equipment, operating on alternating current with a rated voltage greater than 1000 V and a
frequency not greater than 100 Hz. The hollow insulators are intended for use in electrical
equipment like circuit-breakers, switch-disconnectors, disconnectors, earthing switches,
instrument transformers, surge arresters, bushings, cable sealing ends, capacitors. The
objective of this standard is to provide definitions, dimensional-mechanical-electrical
characteristics, test methods, & acceptance criteria.

IEC TS 62371:2008

 Characteristics of hollow pressurized and unpressurised ceramic

and glass insulators for use in electrical equipment with rated
voltages greater than 1000 V
This standard applies to ceramic and glass hollow insulators intended for general use in
electrical equipment and ceramic hollow insulators intended for use with a permanent gas
pressure in switchgear and controlgear. They are intended for indoor and outdoor use in
electrical equipment, operating on alternating current with a rated voltage greater than 1000
V and a frequency not greater than 100 Hz or for use in direct current equipment with a
rated voltage greater than 1500 V. This specification specifies the dimensional and
mechanical characteristics of the hollow insulator, which are essential for
interchangeability of the hollow insulator of the same type. It is not the object of this
specification to prescribe electrical characteristics because they are dependent on the
apparatus of which the hollow insulator ultimately forms a part. However, standard
lightning impulse withstand voltage which is provided in IEC 60071-1 is described only for
reference for classification purpose. This specification applies to hollow insulators for use
in electrical equipment in clean areas or lightly polluted areas, where seismic qualification
is not required. For use in areas characterized by heavy pollution levels and for other
particular or extreme environmental conditions such as seismic force, it may be necessary
for certain dimensions to be changed. The hollow insulators covered by this specification
are: a) straight type hollow insulators with metal fittings on both ends; b) taper type hollow
insulators with metal fittings on both ends; c) straight type hollow insulators without metal
fittings; d) taper type hollow insulators without metal fittings. These hollow insulators are
intended for use in electrical equipment, like circuit-breakers, instrument transformers,
surge arresters, bushings, cable sealing ends, switch-disconnectors, disconnectors, earthing
switches, capacitors. For general recommendations for design and tests of the hollow
insulators one should refer IEC 62155. For characteristics of hollow insulators for use in
polluted areas, reference should be made to IEC 60815- 1and IEC 60815-2.

Recommended Reading - IEC Standards for Polymeric Post

Insulators
IEC 60660:1999

 Insulators - Tests on indoor post insulators of organic material for

systems with nominal voltages greater than 1000 V up to but not
including 300 kV
This standard applies to post insulators of organic material for indoor service in electrical
installations or equipment operating in air at atmospheric pressure on alternating current
with a nominal voltage greater than 1000 V up to, but not including, 300 kV, as defined by
range I of IEC 60071-1, and a frequency not greater than 100 Hz. The objective of this
standard is to provide definitions, dimensional-mechanical-electrical characteristics, test
methods, & acceptance criteria. This standard does not give numerical values for insulator
characteristics; nor does it deal with a choice of insulators for specific operating conditions.
IEC 60273 specifies numerical values for electrical and mechanical characteristics and
gives the dimensions necessary for interchangeability of post insulators.

IEC 62217:2012

 Polymeric HV insulators for indoor and outdoor use - General

definitions, test methods and acceptance criteria

Recommended Reading - IEC Standards for Composite Post

Insulators
IEC 62231:2006

 Composite station post insulators for substations with a.c. voltages

greater than 1000 V up to 245 kV - Definitions, test methods and
acceptance criteria
This standard applies to composite station post insulators consisting of a load bearing
cylindrical insulating solid core made of resin impregnated fibers, a housing (outside the
insulating solid core) made of elastomer material (e.g. silicone or ethylene-propylene) and
end fittings attached to the insulating core. Composite station post insulators covered by
this standard are subjected to cantilever, torsion, tension and compression loads. They are
intended for substations with a.c. voltages greater than 1000 V up to 245 kV. The objective
of this standard is to provide definitions, test methods, & acceptance criteria. The
composite station post insulators covered by this standard are primarily intended for
outdoor service, but can also be used indoor.

IEC 62231-1:2015

 Composite station post insulators for substations with AC voltages

greater than 1000 V up to 245 kV - Part 1: Dimensional,
mechanical and electrical characteristics
This standard applies to composite station post insulators for substations with a.c. voltages
greater than 1000 V up to 245 kV. It also applies to composite station post insulators of
similar design used in power stations of railway systems. This standard specifies main
dimensions and values for mechanical and electrical characteristics of composite station
post insulators. The composite station post insulators covered by this standard are primarily
intended for outdoor service, but can also be used indoor.

IEC 61462:2007

 Composite hollow insulators - Pressurized and unpressurized

insulators for use in electrical equipment with rated voltage greater
than 1000 V - Definitions, test methods, acceptance criteria and
design recommendations
This standard applies to composite hollow insulators consisting of a load-bearing insulating
tube made of resin impregnated fibers, a housing (outside the insulating tube) made of
elastomeric material (for example silicone or ethylene-propylene) and metal fixing devices
at the ends of the insulating tube. Composite hollow insulators as defined in this standard
are intended for general use (unpressurized) or for use with a permanent gas pressure
(pressurized). They are intended for use in both outdoor and indoor electrical equipment
operating on alternating current with a rated voltage greater than 1000 V and a frequency
not greater than 100 Hz. This standard does not prescribe impulse voltage or power
frequency voltage type tests, nor does it prescribe pollution tests because the withstand
voltages are not characteristics of the hollow insulator itself, but of the apparatus of which
it ultimately forms a part. The objective of this standard is to provide definitions, test
methods, & acceptance criteria. These hollow insulators are intended for use in electrical
equipment, like circuit-breakers, instrument transformers, surge arresters, bushings, cable
sealing ends, switch-disconnectors, disconnectors, earthing switches, capacitors. The
relevant design tests defined in IEC 62217 are applied for composite hollow insulators;
additional specific mechanical tests are given in this standard. The 1000 hour a.c. tracking
and erosion test of IEC 62217 is used to establish a minimum requirement for the tracking
resistance of the housing material. Pollution tests according to IEC 60507 are not included
in this standard as they are generally not applicable. Such pollution tests performed on
insulators made of non-ceramic materials do not correlate with experience obtained from
service. The mechanical characteristics of composite hollow insulators are quite different
compared to those of hollow insulators made of ceramics. In order to determine the onset of
mechanical deterioration of composite hollow insulators under the influence of mechanical
stress, strain gauge measurements are used. This standard refers to different characteristic
pressures which are used for design and testing of composite hollow insulators. The term
"maximum service pressure" (MSP) is equivalent to the term "design pressure" which is
used in other standards for ceramic hollow insulators; however, this latter term is not used
in this standard in order to avoid confusion with "design" as used in "design tests".

IEC 62772:2016

 Composite hollow core station post insulators for substations with

a.c. voltage greater than 1000 V and d.c. voltage greater than 1500
V - Definitions, test methods and acceptance criteria
This standard applies to composite hollow core station post insulators consisting of a load-
bearing insulating tube (core) made of resin impregnated fibers an insulating filler material
(e.g. solid, liquid, foam, gaseous – pressurized or unpressurized), a housing (outside the
insulating tube) made of polymeric material (for example silicone or ethylene-propylene)
and metal fixing devices at the ends of the insulating tube. Composite hollow core station
post insulators as defined in this standard are intended for general use in substations in
both, outdoor and indoor environments, operating with a rated AC voltage greater than 1
000 V and a frequency not greater than 100 Hz. The objective of this standard is to provide
definitions, test methods, & acceptance criteria. The use of polymeric housing materials
that show hydrophobicity and hydrophobicity transfer mechanism (HTM) is preferred for
composite hollow core station post insulators. This is due to the fact that the influence of
diameter can be significant for hydrophilic surfaces (refer IEC 60815-3). For instance
silicone rubber is recognized as successful countermeasure against severe polluted service
conditions. The ageing performance of the polymeric housing can be evaluated by the salt
fog test standardized in IEC 62217. For the time being, no test is defined to quantify the
HTM, but CIGRE SC D.1 deals with this subject intensively and Technical Brochure No.
442 is available for the evaluation of the retention of the hydrophobicity. These insulators
are typically applied as post insulators in substations. In order to perform the design tests,
IEC 62217 is to be applied for materials and interfaces of the insulator. This standard
relates to IEC 61462, as well as IEC 62231. Tests and requirements described in IEC 62231
can be used although this standard has no voltage limit.

Recommended Reading - ANSI / IEEE Standards for Post Insulators

 IEEE Std 1898-2016 - IEEE Standard for High-Voltage Direct-
Current (HVDC) Composite Post Insulators
 ANSI/NEMA C29.9-1983 (R2002, R2012) - Wet Process
Porcelain Insulators— Apparatus, Post Type