Harmonic Analysis of Leakage Current in Polymeric Insulators Using Rotating Wheel Dip Test

Outdoor polymeric insulators are an important part of power system. They are used in transmission lines to mechanically support and electrically isolate overhead line conductors. Polymeric insulators being organic in nature, their continuous exposure to electrical and environmental stress results in degradation of insulator’s surface, enhanced surface discharges and eventually resulting in failure of the insulator. In the present work, an indigenous developed Rotating Wheel Test Setup has been used to evaluate the performance of polymeric Insulators. Leakage current on the surface of the insulators have been continuously recorded and deployed onto the cloud platform. The harmonic spectrum of the leakage current have been determined using Fast Fourier Transform method. From the results, it can be concluded that there is a correlation between magnitude of the leakage current, dominant harmonics and degradation of the insulator, which eventually may lead to failure of the insulator.