The purpose of arcing horns (essentially a rod-rod air gap) is to divert the power arc away from the surface of the dielectric material of an insulator. In many countries within Europe as well as elsewhere in the world, the use of arcing horns for ceramic insulators is actually standard practice. By contrast, in much of North America, they are seldom employed in applications involving ceramic insulators. This same philosophy has also applied to composite insulators, although there are utilities in the United States which have been considering equipping such insulators with arcing horns.
So far, it has been difficult to broadly assess the benefits of using arcing horns. The rationale, it seems, for not specifying them in North America is that most power systems here utilize faster circuit breakers (typically 3-5 cycles) than used in Europe, thereby ensuring that any fault is cleared very quickly. Although a power arc can cause shattering of ceramic material, the non-brittle polymeric housing of a composite insulator is able to withstand the mechanical shock generated by the fault current. Moreover, any damage resulting from thermal forces is relatively minor, assuming the fault is cleared quickly.
The main concern, therefore, in regard to composite insulators is not so much with possible thermal damage to the housing as it is with the effect of heat on the hardware which can melt at some points and give rise to sharp protuberances. These can then serve as sources of corona. If the sharp points happen to be close to the housing (or worse near the hardware-housing interface), corona damage becomes a distinct possibility with the potential for moisture ingress into the fiberglass core.
It should be noted that use of arcing horns will reduce dry arc distance and hence insulator performance under surge conditions. For new installations, this is not a serious problem as the insulator can be suitably dimensioned to reflect this. In this respect, it probably makes a lot more sense to include arcing horns in the original specifications when purchasing insulators rather than adding them as a retrofit.
Corona rings are almost always specified for composite insulators operating at system voltages of 230 kV and above. However, they are not used on ceramic insulators, even at voltages exceeding 500 kV (grading rings are used in certain locations but, strictly speaking, these are not corona rings).
One utility has described a ‘donut type’ failure of several porcelain bells (having more than 20 years of service) closest to the energized 765 kV line, where corona from the edge of the cap has caused the dielectric to separate from it thereby creating a hole in the center. Similarly, several utilities have reported problems with porcelain insulators after 30 years’ service on 500 kV lines, including puncture of the bells closest to the line end and corrosion due to corona from the cap. The puncture of these porcelain bells appears to have been due to the very high electric fields experienced at such voltages by the bottom units in a long string – exactly what would normally be graded by the use of a corona ring.
All this begs the questions: If utilities indeed expect ceramic insulators to last for well over 30 years (which seems to be the industry trend), a: will there be more bells that fail over time? b: should utilities not consider a testing program to evaluate their porcelain insulators since such defects will not be visible? and c: would it not be prudent in the future to install corona rings on ceramic insulators during construction, particularly since retrofitting an existing line will be more expensive if done under energized conditions and result in service interruptions if done under de-energized conditions.
With these additional pieces of hardware now taken into consideration, perhaps a revised cost/benefit analysis of composite vs. ceramic insulators will change some widespread beliefs.
The purpose of arcing horns (essentially a rod-rod air gap) is to divert the power arc away from the surface of the dielectric material of an insulator. In many countries within Europe as well as elsewhere in the world, the use of arcing horns for ceramic insulators is actually standard practice. By contrast, in much of North America, they are seldom employed in applications involving ceramic insulators. This same philosophy has also applied to composite insulators, although there are utilities in the United States which have been considering equipping such insulators with arcing horns.So far, it has been difficult to broadly assess the benefits of using arcing horns. The rationale, it seems, for not specifying them in North America is that most power systems here utilize faster circuit breakers (typically 3-5 cycles) than used in Europe, thereby ensuring that any fault is cleared very quickly. Although a power arc can cause shattering of ceramic material, the non-brittle polymeric housing of a composite insulator is able to withstand the mechanical shock generated by the fault current. Moreover, any damage resulting from thermal forces is relatively minor, assuming the fault is cleared quickly.The main concern, therefore, in regard to composite insulators is not so much with possible thermal damage to the housing as it is with the effect of heat on the hardware which can melt at some points and give rise to sharp protuberances. These can then serve as sources of corona. If the sharp points happen to be close to the housing (or worse near the hardware-housing interface), corona damage becomes a distinct possibility with the potential for moisture ingress into the fiberglass core.It should be noted that use of arcing horns will reduce dry arc distance and hence insulator performance under surge conditions. For new installations, this is not a serious problem as the insulator can be suitably dimensioned to reflect this. In this respect, it probably makes a lot more sense to include arcing horns in the original specifications when purchasing insulators rather than adding them as a retrofit.Corona rings are almost always specified for composite insulators operating at system voltages of 230 kV and above. However, they are not used on ceramic insulators, even at voltages exceeding 500 kV (grading rings are used in certain locations but, strictly speaking, these are not corona rings).One utility has described a ‘donut type’ failure of several porcelain bells (having more than 20 years of service) closest to the energized 765 kV line, where corona from the edge of the cap has caused the dielectric to separate from it thereby creating a hole in the center. Similarly, several utilities have reported problems with porcelain insulators after 30 years’ service on 500 kV lines, including puncture of the bells closest to the line end and corrosion due to corona from the cap. The puncture of these porcelain bells appears to have been due to the very high electric fields experienced at such voltages by the bottom units in a long string – exactly what would normally be graded by the use of a corona ring.
All this begs the questions: If utilities indeed expect ceramic insulators to last for well over 30 years (which seems to be the industry trend), a: will there be more bells that fail over time? b: should utilities not consider a testing program to evaluate their porcelain insulators since such defects will not be visible? and c: would it not be prudent in the future to install corona rings on ceramic insulators during construction, particularly since retrofitting an existing line will be more expensive if done under energized conditions and result in service interruptions if done under de-energized conditions.
With these additional pieces of hardware now taken into consideration, perhaps a revised cost/benefit analysis of composite vs. ceramic insulators will change some widespread beliefs.
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