Effect of accumulated surface charges on DC flashover of SiR insulators under pollution and aging conditions

In this paper, the measurements and modeling of the DC flashover behaviors of silicone rubber (SiR) insulators under pollution and aging conditions in the presence of surface charges have been presented. For this purpose, four different types of standard HTV-SiR insulators were selected, and then, DC flashover performance was carried out on the studied insulators in the three states including non-aged, aged, and contaminated conditions in the presence surface charges. The surfaces of the insulators were charged by an external corona source in the experimental tests, and then, the surface electric charges were measured. The experimental results of DC flashover voltage showed that the positive and negative surface charges affected flashover performance in all the states. Based on obtained empirical models of the DC flashover performance, it can be concluded that the increased aging time, positive electric charges, pollution, and average diameter reduced DC flashover performance, while the ratio of shed spacing to shed depth and negative charges enhanced the flashover voltage level.