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Composite Insulation for Reliability Centered

Design of compact HVAC & HVDC
Dan Wikström* and Carl Öhlen**
STRI

Abstract-- Composite material (Polymer, Silicone) has been used for several years to replace porcelain as
insulation media. There are proven advantages such as lower weight, pollution resistant, weather and
explosion proof. An additional advantage is that composite insulation allows for more compact and reliable
design of lines and substations for higher ratings. Composite material does however exist with different
properties depending on mixture of substances, manufacturing process, surface and mechanical design etc.
There is therefore a need to verify the performance in a similar way as for porcelain. For this reason
composite insulators and apparatus are tested including dielectric and long term “field test”. Composite
insulation hydrophobicity significantly improves the pollution behaviour compared to porcelain but this
issue should still be considered. Requirement for pollution and multiple stress tests (accelerated ageing test)
for composite insulation is discussed in comparison with porcelain. Reliability Centered Design (RCD) means
to improve reliability by replacing critical components (e.g. porcelain and disconnectors). “Small is
beautiful” and more reliable with polymer. Three examples of new applications with composite insulation
material is described; compact 400 & 130 kV substations, a compact 400 kV transmission line and a 800 kV
HVDC application.

I. INTRODUCTION
At present line composite insulators are widely accepted for use on AC overhead lines. Silicone rubber
composite insulators have also become more frequently used for HV equipment like surge arresters,
bushings and breakers. Composite apparatus insulators provide advantages not obtained with conventional
porcelain insulators. Examples are: lower weight, higher personal safety in the event of failure, better
seismic performance, better pollution performance, opportunities to integrate new technologies (i.e. optical
fibres). Improved thermal characteristics as well as new application fields such as transmission line
protection have also been acknowledged for surge arresters. Still, sufficient information is not yet available
regarding the optimal dimensioning of insulators for the different environments. The often discussed
possibility of using shorter creepage distances than for porcelain insulation has, in most cases, not been
realised in spite of encouraging results. This is maybe due to some conservatism in the market but also due
to the lack of long-term field test results. The cost and time involved in field testing of HV apparatus often
result in that only a “standard” creepage distance is verified and then in general a creepage distance
selected on the safe side. However, in [1] field test results are reported on apparatus, which have different
creepage distance ranging from the standard, i.e. what is selected for porcelain insulators at the site
considered, to extremely short i.e. at least two pollution levels below. To gain information of optimal
creepage distance of HV apparatus in different environments, a number of surge arresters, bushings and
breakers with composite insulators comprising silicone rubber as external insulation have been installed at
three test sites subjected to heavy or very heavy pollution levels.

* dan.wikstrom@stri.se
** carl.ohlen@stri.se
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II. TESTING AND OPERATING EXPERIENCE OF POLYMER INSULATORS

A. Performance of polymer
It is important to distinguish between pollution performance (i.e. risk for flashover) and ageing of
composite insulators. Detailed inspections of the tested apparatus as well as a sophisticated data acquisition
system at three of the stations have made it possible to cover both these aspects. Where possible the ageing
performance of apparatus insulation is compared with the ageing performance of line insulators tested at
the same site. A third parameter related to the effect of pollution environment and important for surge
arresters is a possible thermal stress. In the IEC 60099-4 standard for porcelain housed arresters, the charge
of external current at a particular site has been used as a measure of site severity. The charge of external
surface currents on arresters from the different tests stations, therefore, has been determined and the result
is compared with data for porcelain.

Fig. 1. Site experience in South Africa: Correlation between the average number of peak currents over 30 mA during
2002-2003 and specific creepage distance for silicone rubber and porcelain apparatus insulators [1]
.

Based on the experience from the long-term testing of the apparatus silicone rubber insulators [1] the
following conclusions can be drawn regarding ageing characteristics and pollution performance. With
regard to ageing characteristics, the results of 2-7 years of field testing show that there is only slight
deterioration for the apparatus insulators even with rather short creepage distance and in severe coastal
environment. This is an even better performance than that of silicone rubber line insulators tested at the
same site. The most important explanation of less ageing is a lower and differently located maximum E-
field in the vicinity of HV flanges and lower current density due to a large diameter in comparison with
line insulators. With regard to pollution performance, the short-term and long-term hydrophobicity
characteristics of silicone rubber apparatus insulators are better than of the porcelain insulators at the same
site. The number of the high pulses of the leakage current provoking a flashover is much lower for silicone
rubber apparatus insulators than for the porcelain insulators. (Figure 1) Considering both ageing as well as
pollution performance, it is possible to reduce creepage distance in coastal areas with, as a minimum, one
pollution level according to IEC 60815.
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B. Laboratory testing of Composite Insulation

Dielectric tests of polymer insulation do not in principle differ from ceramic or glass. Still IEC 60383
specifies the tests for ceramic and glass while IEC 61109 specifies the test for composite insulators. The
main difference is the pollution and ageing performance. IEC 60507 specifies artificial pollution test on
high-voltage insulators to be used on a.c. systems while IEC 61245 specifies artificial pollution tests on
high-voltage insulation to be used on d.c. systems. These tests are however not originally intended for
polymer. The reason is the superior performance of polymer against pollution. In order to test polymer
according to above methods it is therefore necessary to first temporary remove the hydrophobicity. The
actual test result on the now completely hydrophilic insulator will consequently be very conservative, if not
the polluted insulator is allowed to recover its hydrophobicity before the test. Still polymer shows equal or
better pollution performance compared to porcelain. This is especially the case for line insulators since the
diameter for polymer is smaller than for porcelain.

A special test programme has been performed to verify the polymer performance for insulation of circuit
breaker for the Nordic climate with snow and ice. [3] The Nordic transmission utilities Statnett and
Svenska Kraftnät have several hundred circuit breakers in their networks. On the 400 kV level, the
majority of these breakers are of the T-shaped type equipped with two horizontal breaking chambers. The
longitudinal external insulation of the breakers is of special interest due to their horizontal orientation and
large diameter in combination with the typical Nordic climate, which includes conditions of pollution, ice
and snow. For future investments, Statnett and Svenska Kraftnät want to specify the requirements on the
external insulation of the 400 kV circuit breakers, considering both the climatic conditions and the typical
service conditions for the longitudinal insulation in terms of voltage stress and time under voltage.

This is especially of interest with the introduction of the 400 kV Disconnecting Breaker, which replaces
both breakers and disconnectors. This design is now defined by IEC [4] and in paragraph 5.102 the
requirement for the isolating distance is specified. “When necessary, satisfactory performance under
polluted conditions should be verified.” Operation statistics for 400 kV circuit breakers and a number of
full-scale tests of three different types of 400 kV breakers under conditions of pollution and ice provided
input data for statistical dimensioning of the breaker insulators. The statistical dimensioning method, using
typical parameters for the acceptable risk of flashover and typical parameters for the Nordic environment,
resulted in requirements on the insulation lengths for three circuit breaker types in different network
applications. The following main conclusions was drawn from the investigation in polluted conditions:
- The pollution performance, rather than the ice or snow performance, is decisive for the longitudinal
insulation of circuit breakers in the considered applications.
- For the conventional circuit breaker equipped with grading capacitors, as well as for the disconnecting
circuit breaker, the longitudinal insulation needs to be longer than the phase-to ground insulation.
- In polluted conditions, the disconnecting circuit breaker requires considerably less insulator lengths
compared with conventional breakers, due to superior insulating properties of polymer insulators.

C. UHVDC testing

Due to the un linear physics of voltage breakdown of the air and materials a simple extrapolation of the
standard test voltage levels used at lower system voltages to higher system voltages will become less
relevant and create unnecessary design and test problems, with corresponding costs increase, as higher the
system voltage. For DC it is most probably more relevant to verify different equipment designs by using
longer test time instead, e.g. increase the one hour test at 1,5 Uo to a time which allow the E-field to come
closer to a steady state (at a test voltage which may is lower than 1,5 Uo). This steady state time is also
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different for different type of equipment due to the time constants for space charges to accumulate
on surfaces, interfaces and the bulk of different materials. There is still a lot to study within this field to
gain information for future test standard development and improvement.

STRI has the capability to perform pollution test for both DC and AC up and above 800 kV.By modifying
the standard IEC solid layer pollution method, a highly reproducible pollution test can be performed on
composite insulators. STRI has also developed test methods for snow and ice, which also are applicable for
polymer. One pollution test performed for a Chinese client was for 800 kV DC insulators. The test was
based on IEC 61245 adopted for polymer with Chinese kaolin as pretreatment to remove hydrophobicity.
The test included two SDD/NSDD levels, check of linearity and comparison I-string/V-string

Fig. 2. Pollution test of 800 kV HVDC insulators

III. APPLICATION OF POLYMER INSULATORS

A. Insulator Selection Tool (IST)

IST is a specially designed program for insulation selection with respect to pollution conditions, where the
main parameters are considered as statistical variables, defined by average values and dispersions. [5]

Fig. 3. Insulator Selector Tool

The selection is performed by evaluating the risk for flashover of potential insulation options and selecting
those yielding an acceptable availability. The required general input data includes: site severity (pollution),
insulator type, number of insulators, voltage level and required MTBF. A customized pollution
performance database may be designed for a specific customer based on laboratory pollution, service or
field flashover performance of the insulators. The output data is either the insulator length and creepage
distance as a function of MTBF, the maximum number of parallel insulators on the line or the maximum
allowed pollution level for the candidate insulator. With IST it is possible to implement Reliability
Centered Design for a transmission line by optimizing failure rate and cost.
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B. Compact Transmission Line with polymer

STRI and ABB have together with Nordic TSOs in Sweden, Finland and Norway developed a compact
transmission line for 400 kV. All insulation is polymer and the shield wires can be replaced by polymer
surge arresters. The compact line is less than 50% of the height and width of a conventional line as well as
less than 50% EMF radiation. In addition the reliability is increased. It is also possible to design composite
cable transitions and combine the compact line with an even more compact cable for shorter distances.

Fig. 5. Compact 400 kV transmission line compared with conventional

C. Compact HVAC substations with polymer

Gas Insulated Switchgear (GIS) and Air Insulated Switchgear (AIS) has for many years been the two
alternatives for the design of substations. The main advantage for GIS has been smaller footprint and no
exposed contacts. With the polymer technology it is now possible to design hybrid substations with similar
advantages. The Disconnecting Circuit Breaker (DCB) described above is a key component. [4]

Fig. 6. Compact 130 kV and 400 kV substation with DCB in Norway and Sweden

Since the DCB includes both the breaking and disconnecting function a large number of disconnectors with
exposed contacts can be eliminated. In adition other components such as instrument transformers and surge
arresters are also designed in polymer and can be mounted closer together. This result in a more compact
and more reliable substation. This technology has been implemented in Scandinavia for both 400 kV and
130 kV stations in double breaker scheme. [6] One example is for a 130 kV substation for a large
aluminium plant located by the Atlantic Ocean with the difficult combination of salt, smoke, snow and ice.
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C. 800 kV HVDC application with polymer

STRI has now tested all major components for 800 kV HVDC made by polymer including wall bushing,
transformer bushing, transformer model, circuit breaker, disconnector, surge arrester, line insulators,
voltage divider, DOCT and opto link. In addition STRI is right now performing a long time test of an
outdoor test station for ABB with above equipment energized at 850 kV.

Fig. 7 shows 800 kV HVDC installation energized at 850 kV.

IV. REFERENCES

[1] I Gutman, L Stenstrom, D Gustavsson, D Windmar, W.L. Vosloo: “Optimized use of HV composite
apparatus insulators: field experience from coastal and inland test stations. CIGRÉ 2004 A3-104
[2] J. Maxwell; I. Gutman; C.S. Engelbrecht; S.M. Berlijn; R. Hartings; W.L. Vosloo; D. Loudon; R. Lilja;
A. Eriksson: “Selection of composite insulators for AC overhead lines: implications from in-service
experience and test-station results”, CIGRE Session 2002, August 26-30, 2002, 33-402
[3] Requirements on the Insulation for Different Applications of 400 kV Circuit Breakers in Pollution, Ice
and Snow Environments. I Gutman, J Lundquist, T Ohnstad, D Hübinette, CIGRÉ 2006 A3-305
[4] IEC 62271-108 High-voltage alternating current disconnecting circuit-breakers
[5] C.S. Engelbrecht, R. Hartings, J. Lundquist: “Statistical dimensioning of insulators with respect to
polluted conditions”, IEE Proceedings - Generation, Transmission and Distribution, Volume 151, Issue
03, May 2004, p.321-326
[6] P-O. Andersson, H-E. Olovsson, B. Franzén, U. Lager, J. Lundquist: “Applications of disconnecting
circuit-breakers, ” CIGRÉ Session 2004, No. A3-201.

V. BIOGRAPHIES

Dan Wikström was born in Horken, Sweden on February 17, 1955. He graduated as BSc in Chemistry
at Uppsala University and has worked within the power industry for more than 20 years. Since 2001 he is
the president of STRI, an independent technology consulting company and accredited high voltage
laboratory, located in Ludvika, Sweden.

Carl Öhlen was born in Sundsvall, Sweden on July 4, 1949. He graduated as MSc in Electric Power
Engineering at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and he has worked with power
engineering for more than 30 years located in Brazil, Switzerland, Sweden and USA including design of
compact substations. He is at present employed by STRI, located in Ludvika, Sweden.