Effect of Pollution Performance on an 11kV Post-Type Insulator Considering the Simulation of Electric Potential and Field Distribution

Pollution mechanisms are one of the primary factors of insulator failure and outdoor insulators are particularly vulnerable to these challenges. It creates punctures and flashovers on the insulator and is more complex for power transmission. Several factors affect the field and voltage distribution of the insulator, such as improper design, creepage distance, and pollution. In high-voltage applications, post-type insulators play a significant role in providing support for substation equipment and overhead transmission lines. Insulators located in industrial, coastal, and agricultural regions experience significant degradation due to pollutants. In this research work, pollution performance was assessed by examining the electric field and potential distribution of post-type insulators by establishing a two-dimensional simulation model for an 11 kV post-type insulator. The analysis was conducted using the finite element method (FEM). This FEM model considers height (H), diameter (D), total leakage length (L), surface conductivity (σ), permittivity (ε), and the number of sheds (d) of an insulator. In this study, pollutants such as salt, urea, cement, and sugar were taken and investigated to determine the pollution performance of the post-type insulator. The data revealed that the insulator underwent a rise in the distribution of tangential electric field from 3.33% to 16.67% due to the presence of different pollutants.