Analysis of the Electrical Field and Potential Distribution along a Distribution Line of Composite Insulator Using Finite Element Method

Jean Ndoumbe, Emeric Tchamdjio Nkouetcha, Agnes Enangue

Abstract: The insulating components of distribution line may have their characteristics compromised by several reasons such as contamination and/or moisture. Excessive electric stress combined with contaminations and moisture can be responsible for the surface arcing, which may result in insulator flashover. This paper investigates the electric field and potential distributions along surface of composite insulator under clean and metallic contamination conditions. Hematite (Fe2O3) contaminant has been used to analyse the impact of contamination on potential and electric field distributions along the insulator surface. In this study, a 15kV composite insulator is used and the Finite Element Method (FEM) using COMSOL MULTIPHYSICS is adopted. The simulation results allow identifying critical high field regions on composite surfaces and showing that contaminations effect on potential distribution is very weak along the insulator surface while electric field distributions are obviously depending on contamination conditions.

Keywords: composite insulator, finite element method, electric field distribution, potential distribution, metallic contamination