7 / 2022-02-17 21:36:44

Weight measuring approaches for the chalking layer of composite insulators

composite insulator,outer insulation,chalking,aging

Silicone rubber based composite insulators have been widely used due to their excellent properties. And chalking is a typical feature of the aging of composite insulators, which could seriously damage the surface flashover strength. However, there still aren’t any standard evaluation approaches for the chalking layer. As a result, the investigation and understanding of chalking cannot be furthered. In this paper, two approaches to measuring the weight of chalking layer are proposed and the detailed procedures are introduced. The weight reduction approach is found to be more applicable for laboratory research while the weight gain approach suits the actual operation better. And the two approaches are validated to be equivalent. Besides, the results indicate that for most chalked insulators, the chalking layer weight of upper shed surface is greater compared to the lower shed surface. Moreover, it suggests that the influence of electric field strength on chalking can be neglected.