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Practical Maintenance for Operating Insulators

Dates & Locations

Overview

Engineers and technologists need to know how to choose the right solution for badly performing insulators in high voltage stations and lines. When the right actions and procedures are selected using a full understanding of the background data, targeted maintenance can improve the performance of insulators and bushings with pollution and wetting problems.

Download Course Outline

Course Outline

Maintenance Problems

  • Arcing and flashover damage
  • Chips, cracks, glaze worms
  • Thermal shock problems
  • Pin, flange corrosion
  • Repair versus replacement
  • Surface repairs – adhesion tests
  • Aging of cement, ceramic, polymer and metal components of insulators and charpy hardware
  • End-of-life criteria for insulators

Insulator Pollution and Wetting Flashovers

  • Background pollution – ocean and industrial
  • Local sources – road salt, industrial, farm
  • How insulator pollution is measured
  • IEC 60815 / 2008
  • When, where to monitor
  • How insulator surfaces affect accumulation
  • Insulator designs and profiles
  • Newly glazed versus aged
  • Porcelain versus polymer
  • Natural precipitation, summer and winter
  • Artificial wetting sources, including:
  • Dam overspray
  • Cooling ponds and towers
  • Flashover test methods and results
  • Room temperature clean, salt fog
  • Freezing temperature – IEEE 1783

Maintenance Solutions

  • Monitoring pollution build-up
  • On-demand washing using live line procedures
  • Coating ceramic, polymer with RTV Silicone
  • Accessories (booster sheds, guano guards)
  • Adding more insulators
  • Substituting insulators
  • Matching relevant electrical and mechanical characteristics
  • Using semiconductive glaze
  • Alternating profiles
  • Polymer materials
  • Coronoa Testing
  • Special issues with rotating switch insulators

Case Studies and Hands On

  • Experience with Smart Washing and Steam Cleaning
  • Cantilever tests, polymer and porcelain posts
  • Bushing versus insulator performance
  • Transmission line and station case studies
  • Review of IEEE Insulator Cleaning guide and Live Line work with non-ceramic insulators

Tours and Labs

  • Tour of the Kinectrics High Voltage and High Current Labs
  • Optional Tour of K-Line manufacturing facility​

Who Should Attend

​This course is specifically designed for:

  • Line and Station Engineers responsible for specifying new or upgraded insulators
  • Senior Maintenance Technicians responsible for organizing insulator maintenance
  • Reliability Specialists dealing with adverse weather effects on power systems

Key Benefits

​Upon completion of this course, attendees are able to:

  • Describe the sources of insulator damage and pollution
  • Identify the need for insulator cleaning and safety requirements
  • Select the appropriate mitigation method 
  • Learn from real world examples and case studies
  • Practical solutions based on field examples

Instructors

  • John Kuffel Ph.D


    John is Chief Engineer, Transmission and Distribution at Kinectrics. In addition to his work at Kinectrics in the High Voltage Lab, he was formerly Head of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the University of Manitoba.

    John Kuffel is a co-author of
    High Voltage Engineering Fundamentals, E. Kuffel, W.S. Zaengl, J. Kuffel, 2nd edition, Newnes, 2000.

Contact Training


Training Locations

  • Toronto

    800 Kipling Ave., Unit 2
    Toronto, Ontario, M8Z 5G5

    Map


    416-207-6000

    416-207-6532



 

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