Research on the Enhancement of Reliability for Fiber Optic Insulators

Fiber optic insulators, as a typical product of the application of optical fiber sensing and communication technologies in power systems, find extensive use in electronic current transformers within ultra/high-voltage converter stations and have limited applications in the online monitoring of composite insulators. Faults in fiber-optic insulators may lead to the disengagement of relevant protection mechanisms, significantly impacting the safe operation of the system. The need to implant optical fibers into the interior of composite insulators introduces a greater variety of materials and interfaces, and the complex production processes often result in insulation defects. Both material interfaces and insulation defects can cause local electric field distortions and initiate local discharges, thereby reducing the reliability of fiber-optic insulators. To establish a highly reliable internal insulation system for fiber-optic insulators, it is essential to ensure the resistivity matching of the filling medium, optical fibers, epoxy core rod, and umbrella skirt. It is crucial to avoid situations where the resistivity of adjacent materials differs by several orders of magnitude. Additionally, control measures must be implemented during the insulator production process to address insulation defects such as bubbles in the filling medium, material moisture absorption, and core rod cracks.