Comparative Study on Contamination Accumulation Characteristics of Composite Insulators With Different Shed Configurations

Composite insulators are extensively employed in transmission lines. Investigating the impact of shed configuration on the contamination properties of insulators can offer scientific theoretical guidance for the selection of composite insulators. This article integrates a semi-empirical mathematical expression, derived from experiments, describing the collision rebound movement between micrometer-sized particles and electrical silicone rubber with flow field simulation. A contamination deposition model for composite insulators is thus established, allowing for the extraction of comprehensive contamination information. Simultaneously, the accuracy of the model is verified by the wind tunnel comparative contamination tests, wherein the difference between the ratio of nonsoluble deposit density (NSDD) for different umbrella composite insulators obtained from experimentation and simulation calculations is less than 23%, and the influence of shed configuration on the contamination properties of composite insulators is explored. The results indicate that there is local particle retention zone on the surface of composite insulators. Under the condition of consistent umbrella parameters, composite insulators with one large, one small, one medium, and one small shed shape exhibit the best anti-pollution performance, and the greater the wind speed, the more obvious the influence of shed configuration. The research results of this article have reference value for the selection of composite insulators for transmission lines.