Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on

Properties and Applications of Dielectric Materials

J une 1-5 2003 Nagoya
P4-34
Study of Pin-type Polymeric Electric Insulators: Manufacturing Process, Tomographic
Analyses, and Electrical and Mechanical Tests
C.R. Murakami" R.A.C. Altafim' A. Bonomo' P. 1. Cruvinel * G.O. Chierice3 J.A.M. Agnelli4
Slo Carlos School of Engineering, University of Slo Paulo, SP, Brazil
* Agricultural Instrumentation Company, Slo Carlos, SP, Brazil
Slo Carlos Institute of Chemistry, University of Slo Paulo, SP, Brazil
Department of Materials Engineering, Federal University of Slo Carlos, SP, Brazil
* cacilda@sel.eesc.sc.usp.br
Absttract: Unlike other countries, pin-type porcelain
insulators are still considered traditional in Brazil and
are applied on a large scale in electric power
distribution lines, in a predominantly aerial type
configuration. Despite their low and therefore
competitive cost, these insulators have undergone non-
programmed shutdowns caused by defects in the
dieleztric material. A description is given herein not
only of the manufacturing process of pin-type
polymeric insulators, but also of computerized
tomography-based analyses of these insulators to verify
the homogeneity of the dielectric material's
composition, as well as the results of alternating
e l d c current tests and mechanical flexure tests
before and after accelerated aging. This paper reports
on a preliminary study, presenting and discussing pin-
type polymeric insulators manufactured with castor oil-
based polyurethane resins and comparing them with
porcelain insulators. The results revealed that the aged
and nonaged electric insulators displayed the same
el edcal behavior under alternating electric current,
while the aged insulators showed greater mechanical
rigidity.
predominantly aerial type configuration. This has
resulted in a very significant proportion of failures of
this type of insulator [2]. Inspection records indicate
the occurrence of defects such as cracking, damaged
glass layers, and mechanical breakdown of the upper
portion of the insulators, caused by dilation strains in
the set (thread and pin), etc. These defects usually lead
to current leakage, transitory interruptions and
subsequently to permanent stoppages, often causing the
breakdown of conductors.
This paper presents a preliminary study of alternative
polymeric pin-type insulators and describes the
electrical and mechanical characteristics of the new
polymeric insulators manufactured with two kinds of
polyurethanetype insulating resins derived fkomcastor
oil (scientific name: Ricinus communis), whose
laboratory codes are RI 1 and RI 2.
The physicochemical characteristics of these resins are
described in [2]. The insulator samples were classified
i n each test according to the material used in their
fabrication, as: RI 1 and RI 2, the former made of pure
resins (without fillers) and the latter of porcelain.
]EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES
INTRODUCTION
Power supply companies face high transmission and
distribution line maintenance costs caused by faulty
electric insulators. Insulator performance-related
problems have therefore been the subject of several
technical bulletins, and their importance was the
motivating factor for the research reported on here.
Vandalism and atmospheric discharges have been
identified as the major causes of failure of glass and
porcelain insulators, although pollution and corrosion
have also been relevant causes of failure in several
coastal regions [l].
Vandalism has been combated through the systematic
use of polymeric insulators in the critical regions where
most insulator breakage has occurred [2]. This
measure, in addition to proving economically viable,
has also resulted in the increased quality of the service
provided by these companies.
Unlike other countries, pin-type porcelain insulators are
still considered traditional in Brazil and are applied on
a large scale in electric power distribution lines, in a
Preparation of the insulator specimens
ldanually molded, conventional Pin-type polymeric
insulators were used as test specimens. The
rnanufacturing process of these insulators was carried
out on a laboratory scale and began with the weighing
of the poly01 on a semi-analytic scale, to which the pre-
polymer was added in a mass proportion of 1 : 1, in the
case of resin RI 1, and of 1:1.75 in that of resin RI 2.
After these two components were mixed for about 2
min, the mixture was placed in a glass chamber and
subjected to a vacuum of 1.104 mbar for 3 min to
t:xtract air bubbles. The resin thus prepared was poured
into silicone molds and left there for about 6 hours,
after which the insulators were removed fkom the
molds.
]Electrical testing procedures
Ih order to determine the withstand voltage of the
polymeric insulators under service conditions, alternate
60 Hz sinusoidal voltages were applied. These voltages
- 824 --
were increased at a uniformrate of 500 V/s, fiom0
volts up to the breakdown of one of the insulators or
even of the air. During these tests, the temperature and
relative humidity were kept at 296 K (23 C) and 49%,
respectively.
It should be noted that all the electrical tests were
conducted on specimens in two conditions - nonaged
and aged - in a critical accelerated process of 5,000
hours, simulating approximately 3.5 years of natural
aging. The aging tests were carried out with an Atlas
Weather-Ometer fiom the Atlas Electric Devices
Company [2], with an acceleration factor equal to
approximately six.
The electrical tests were carried out on polymeric Pin-
type insulator samples manufactured with resins RI 1
and RI 2, which were prepared by the above-described
molding process and by the resin pin machining
process, resulting in the insulator samples illustrated in
Fig. 1.
Figure 1: Insulators machined fiom RI 1 (right) and RI 2
(left) resin pins.
Although these insulators can be produced by the
machining process, this method was not used to prepare
the other insulators subjected to the remaining tests
discussed below.
[3]. In order to evaluate the methodology for polymer
insulator analysis by means of CT- 59.6 keV image
processing, insulator samples made with two pure
resins, RI 1 and RI 2, were prepared. Fig. 2 shows one
of the positions analyzed in the Pin-type insulators.
Figure 2: One of the sections of the Pin-type insulator
analyzed by computerized tomography.
RESULTS
Electrical tests
After aging, all the insulators were visually inspected to
check for alterations in color, internal andor external
cracks, microcracks and strains.
The insulators showed only, as in [2], color alterations
fiom light to dark yellow, with no visible type of strain
or cracking.
Considering the environmental conditions of the
electrical tests before and after aging, which were
performed on different days, and the fact that the
flashovers occurred in the air, the variations between
the results obtained lie within the measurement
tolerances, with RMS withstand and instantaneous
peak voltage values of around 60 kV and 80 kV,
respectively. The results of the electrical tests before
and after the accelerated aging test are shown in Fig. 3.
Mechanical testing procedures
An Instron Corporation, model 5500R, serial #7010,
universal mechanical testing machine with a 25 ton
capacity and a data acquisition systembased on Merlin
Version 4.0 software were used for the mechanical
flexural tests.
In order to reproduce the same service conditions as
those to which polymeric insulators are subjected, a
testing device was prepared for use in the flexural tests,
with a screw systembuilt to fix the insulators, ensuring
high resistance during testing.
The flexural test speed was set at 5mm/min for an
average testing time of 300 seconds.
Analysis of Polymeric Insulators using
Computerized y-Ray Tomography
Hardware and software employed for tomographic
measurements were organized by using a CT
miniscanner having the following characteristics: an
2 4 1 ~ gamma ray source with approximately 1.2~10
Bq, 300 mCi; spatial resolution of about 1 mm2; and
lead collimators for spatial resolution of about 2 mm2
s 9
Type of insulator
(b)
Figure 3: Electrical tests: (a) flashover; and (b) results of
insulators beforeand after accelerated aging.
- 825 -
The insulator pin itself, bare conducting wire and
eiectric field equalizing balls were used for the
electrical test on the Pm-type insulators, as illustrated
in Fig. 34a).
Behavior of the insulator under flexural loads
The rupture loads of the insulators fiibricated with pure
RI 1 resin could not bedetermined due to the material's
rigidity and the limitations of the testing machine,
whose maximum is 25 tons. However, the insulators
procluced with the RI 2 resin broke, displaying lower
flexural load strength than those prepared with the RI 1
resin and the porcelain insulator. Fig. 4 portrays the
behavior of these insulators.
(a) (b)
Figure 4 Mechanical flexural test on aged insulators
produced with (a) RI I resin, and (b) RI 2 resin.
The specific strain value of the insulator in the device
developed for this test ( SA) is given in mmand the
results of the test are shown in Table 1.
Ta
-
Typeof Maximum breakdown Duration S.d
insulator load oftest (mm)
CkM (SI
RI 1 >19.63 316.14 26.34
R[l-%ed >19.61 164.07 13.67
RI 2 4.46 448.00 37.33
RIZ-aged 7.08 504.00 42.00
F'orcelain 10.00 * -
Notc:: *According to the Brazilian ABNT standard NBR 71 10
_.
141.
The characteristic curves of the flexural test on the
insulators produced with the RI 1 and RI 2 resins are
given in figure 5-(a) and 5-(b>, respectively.
Because the insulators made of the RI I resin displayed
a highly rigid behavior, a flexural load of 15.0 kN was
applied five times, individually, on the aged RI 1 and
on the RI 1 nonaged insulators at 10 minute intervals
between applications. Fig. 5-(a) illustrates the results of
this test, showing that they did not break and that the
aged insulator possessed greater mechanicai rigidity for
the same specific strain of polymeric insulators in the
device developed for this test.
16a)(l, I
,12080
~,,,
f 8008
U
boat
Moo
0
0 2 4 6 8 I O 12
S.d. (mm)
(4
m
Figure 5: Flexural load vs. specific st f ai n of polymeric
insulators in the devicedeveloped for this test (S-d.) and
produced with (a) RI 1 resin; and (b) RI 2 resin.
Computerized y-Ray Tomography
Several tomographic images wsre obtained for each
insulator tested. These images are composed of dots on
si gray scale, indicating the material's density. Mer
camputer processing, the mean linear and mass
attenuation coefficients (p and k, respectively) were
tletermined, showing a standard deviation of 0.001 to
0.003. These values were obtained point by point in the
image and some of themare indicated in Fig. 6 and in
Fig.7.
0.071 em-'
=0.383 em
+p =0.607 em-'
+ p =0 . ~ 6 1 em"
% =0394 em-'
+p =0.635 em-'
17igure 6: Identification of the values of the coefficients of
linear attenuation of the pin-type insulators produced with
porcelain.
- 826 --
p =0.252 em-'
p =0.1~0 em-'
p =0347 em
p =0.165
em-'
Figare 7: Identification of the values of the coefficients of
linear attenuation of the pin-typeinsulators produced with RI
1 resin
Table 1 lists the properties of the insulators analyzed by
computerized tomography.
FromTable 1, it can be seen that the new polymeric
Pin-type insulators have less than one half of the mass
of the porcelain insulator, which represents an
advantage of this newly developed insulator [ 5] fiom
the standpoint of installation and transportation.
Computerized y-Ray Tomography methodology is
shown to be a powerful tool for analyzing polymer
insulators. Thus, based on the results obtained with this
technique and through a simple visual inspection, it can
be seen that the polymeric insulators and the porcelain
insulator under study presented neither defects nor
voids and that the dielectric material of their internal
parts is homogeneous.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Table 1: Properties of the analyzed insulators.
Insalator Mass Volume Experimental pm
on test (g) (cm3 Density (cm2/g)
FU 1 547.8 496.0 1.104 0.182
(g/cm
RI2 537.5 494.0 1.088 0.183
Porcelain 1,257.2 527.0 2.386 0.214
CONCLUSIONS
The accelerated aging test caused only color alterations
in the insulators, owing to the fact that the double
bonds [2] in the chemical composition of the resins
employed underwent an oxidation process when
subjected to high temperatures.
The results of the electrical tests revealed no change in
the performance of the insulators subjected to
accelerated aging, demonstrating RMS withstand
voltages of around 60 kV and instantaneous peak
voltages above 80 kV, at the industrial frequency of 60
Hz.
However, since all the insulators passed the artificial
aging and electrical tests, the results of the mechanical
tests were the differentiating factor in the final and
conclusive analysis of the insulators developed in this
study. Hence, it was concluded that:
- The insulators produced with RI 2 resin broke during
the flexural test, displaying lower flexural strength
than the porcelain insulator.
- The insulators made of pure RI 1 resin did not break
during the flexural test, displaying higher flexural
strength than the porcelain insulators. Therefore, the
application of the RI 1 resin-based polymeric
insulator was approved in this preliminary study,
fiom the standpoint of its electrical and mechanical
characteristics determined so far. However, further
testing in future studies should focus on the thermal
resistance of these insulators under service
conditions.
This work was accomplished with the joint collaboration of
the Laboratory of Tribology and Composites, Department of
Mechanical Engineering, Sb Carlos School of Engineering
(EESC), University of Sb Paul0 (USP), the Laboratory of
Analytical Chemistry, Sb Carlos Institute of Chemistry
(IQSC), USP, and the financial support of the research
foundations FAPESP and CNPq (Brazil).
REFERENCES
Furtado, T.A.; Ferreira, S. and Filho, N.S.,
"Transmission LineInsulator Performance- A Brazilian
Scenario", International Workshop onTransmission Line
Insulators, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, pp. 34-37, May 1998.
Murakami, C. R, "Applications of Castor Oil-based
PolyurethaneResins as Electrical Insulation Material",
Doctoral thesis - Department of Electrical Engineering,
Sb Carlos School of Engineering, University of Sb
Paulo, Sb Carlos, Brazil, August 2002.
Altafim, RAC.; Murakami, CA; Henmann Jr., P.S.P.;
Naime, J.M.; Cruvinel, P.E. and Cardoso, L.P., " A New
Methodology for the Analysis of Dielectric Materials
Used in Polymeric Insulafors", 9th Regional Latin
American Meeting of CIGRE (ERLAC), Foz de Iguap,
Brazil, Study CommitteeNo. 15, May 2001.
Brazilian Association of Technical Standards (ABNT),
"NBR 7110: Porcelain or Glass Pin-TypeInsulators -
Standardization of dimensions and characteristics", Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil, 1998.
R. Hackam, "Outdoor HV Composite Polymeric
Insulators -Review", IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics
and Electrical Insulation, vol. 6, no. 5, pp. 557-585,
October 1999.
Author's address: Cacilda Ribeiro Murakami,
Researcher, Department of Electrical Engineering, Szio
Carlos School of Engineering, University of Szio Paulo,
C.Postal359 - CEP 13566-590 - Silo Carlos, SP, Brazil
E-mail: cacilda@sel.eesc.sc.usp.br.
- 827 -