Sudden flashover of nonceramic insulators in artificial contamination tests

This paper presents experimental and theoretical results to explain the phenomenon of sudden flashover on artificially contaminated nonceramic insulators. A sudden flashover in this paper is defined as a flashover occurring on a partially contaminated insulator, and which is preceded by little or no surface discharge activity. Sudden flashovers could occur in the field on those insulators where the wet surface resistance varies over a wide range along the insulator length. The mechanism of sudden flashover is significantly different from conventional contamination flashover that occurs in standard contamination tests. The insulators evaluated had weathersheds made from silicone and ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubbers. The impact of the present study from the point of view of weathershed material, insulator design, development of a comprehensive laboratory test and field monitoring for evaluating the performance of nonceramic insulators in service are discussed.