Insulating Material Development for the Design of Standoff Insulators Fed by Hybrid Voltage

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Materials Science

Background:

• Innovative electrical assets in transmission, distribution, and transportation demand advanced power electronics.
• These systems require electrical insulation systems capable of withstanding novel and elevated electrical stresses while maintaining long-term reliability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between insulating material properties and the surface electric field of standoff insulators.
• To provide guidance on tailoring material properties for robust, reliable, and optimized insulator designs under various electrical stresses.
• To address the challenge of designing insulation systems for hybrid assets operating under both AC and DC power supplies, including voltage transients.

Main Methods:

• Focus on AC and DC supply conditions, including voltage transients.
• Analysis of the interrelation between bulk and surface conductivity of insulating materials.
• Modeling of surface discharge inception.

Main Results:

• Engineering bulk and surface conductivity, potentially through nano-structuration, stabilizes the electric field profile regardless of waveform shape.
• This stabilization is crucial for achieving reliability targets, considering macroscopic phenomena and partial discharge risks.
• Optimized material properties and design parameters improve insulator life, reliability, and creepage/clearance characteristics.

Conclusions:

• Material property engineering, specifically bulk and surface conductivity, is key to robust insulator design for hybrid electrical assets.
• Modeling surface discharge inception aids in predicting and mitigating aging mechanisms.
• The findings enable optimized insulator design for enhanced life and reliability across diverse electrical stress conditions.