Investigation of FRP Hot Stick Performance for 500 kVdc Applications Under Conditions of Pollution or Non-uniform Wetting

Previous pollution and non-uniform wetting tests for 550 kVac applications have established the improvement in withstand under 60 Hz voltage that can be obtained in the performance of 3.0 m long 32 mm diameter FRP hot sticks when 15 heat-shrunk polymeric sheds are installed. Each shed has an overhang of 30 mm and they are spaced by 100 mm. The subject of this paper is more recent work for 500 kVdc applications which has determined the improved withstand of the same sticks under direct voltage. Other FRP devices were also evaluated.