Review of Features of Fog Chamber at The Ohio State University

for Polymer Insulator Evaluation

Stephen A. Sebo, Edgar P. Casale, JosC R. Cedefio, Wibawa Tjokrodiponto and Sheikh A. Akbar
The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210-1272, U.S.A.
and
J ohn Sakich and Tiebin Zhao
The Ohio Brass Company, Wadsworth, Ohio 44281-0901, U.S.A.
Abstract
Non-ceramic (composite) insulators consist of
a fiberglass core rod surrounded by a polymer weather-
shed housing. The housing is generally nianufacturcd
from an elastomer material. Weathershed materials
may besubject to degradation and aging in service due
to harsh environmental conditions. Performance
evaluation of polymer weathersheds can employ fog
chambers. Design and operational features of a new fog
chamber are reviewed in this paper. Specific charactcr-
istics reviewed are: size and main layout of the cham-
ber, insulator arrangement, high voltage source; pro-
tection, water circulation and data acquisition systcms.
Test cycles and techniques are also discussed briefly.
Introduction
A non-ceramic (composite) insulator has a
high-strength core surroundcd by a polymer weathcr-
shed housing. Both ends have metal end fittings.
Non-ceramic materials as high voltage insula-
tors were introduced about 30 years ago. These com-
posite insulators have two components. One is a resin-
bonded fiberglass core rod of high tensile strength. The
other is the housing, generally manufactured from an
elastomer material, such as etliylcne propylcne rubber
(EPR), which includes ethylene propylcne monomer
(EPM) and ethylene propylcne diene nionomcr
(EPDM), silicone rubber, and alloys of EPDWsilicone.
Various other polymers, teflon and cycloaliphatic ep-
oxy resins can also be used as housing matcrials. Fillcr
materials, e.g., alumina trihydrate, are also addcd.
Advantages of non-ceramic insulators over
porcelain or glass insulators are well-documcntcd [ 11-
[SI. The advantages are lighter weight, greater vandal-
ism (i.e., impact) resistance, highcr strength-to-weight
ratio, better contamination performance (they nccd lcss
cleaning under pollutcd conditions), and improvcd
transmission line aesthetics. There are manufacturing
advantages as well, since they are not fragile and are
easier to handle.
There have been a variety of problems to be
solved, though. Housing material tracking and erosion,
surface changes, water absorption, reduction of con-
tamination flashover strength, bonding failures along
the rod-shed interface were reported [7], leading to
changes in materials and manufacturing processes.
At the same time, the range of tests of non-
ceramic insulators has become broader and more so-
phisticated. The objectives of these tests are to examine
the pcrformance of non-ceramic materials and insula-
tor designs, and to obtain information on the expected
lcngth of service life of a specific non-ceramic insula-
tor.
One of the types of preferred tests is the appli-
cation of fog chambers together with various matcrial
diagnostic techniques. The purpose of this paper is to
review a ncw fog chamber dcsign and utilization proj-
ect prcscntly under way in the High Voltage Labora-
tory at The Ohio State University (OSU).
Sections of this paper review the size and
main layout of the fog chamber, insulator arrangement,
high voltage source and protection system, watcr circu-
lation and fog generation system, data acquisition sys-
tcm, and test cycle and procedure considerations.
Re\.icw of Literature
Scveral publications describe the dcsign of fog
chambcrs, selcction of test conditions, instrunmitation
and data acquisition, test proccdurcs and tcst rcsults.
A 1.52111 x 1.521~1 x 1.37ni high chambcr with
a pyramidal roof dcvclopcd at the Massacliusctts Insti-
tute of Technology is discusscd i n [ l].
The first salt-fog chambcr of Dow Corning
Corp. is dcscribcd in dctail i n [2]; similar but more
advanced chanibcrs havc bcen dcvelopcd lntcr by Don
(0-7083-3580-5) 1996 IEEE Annual Report - Conference on Electrical Insulation and Dielectric Phenomena, San Francisco, October 20-23, 1996
Corning researchers. Their salt-fog chambers are cu-
bicles with 1.52ni sides and a pyramidal roof.
Information on a larger cube-shaped chamber
at the University of Windsor with 2.53111 sides is avail-
able in [3] and [SI.
A clean-fog chamber, 2n1 x 2111x 3111high, set
up at The University of Tokushima, is discussed in [4].
The fog chamber at Arizona State University,
3.6Sm x 3.65m x 2.44m high, is described in [SI.
Several test procedures of accelerated aging
and flashover tests on non-ceramic insulating materials
are discussed and analyzed in [SI and [6].
Comprehensive bibliographies related to non-
ceramic insulators and their test methods and proce-
dures are available in [7] and [SI. There are two IEC
standards pertinent to this subject; they are [9] and
[lo]. IEC 1109 specifies the maximum chaniber vol-
ume used for salt-fog tests; it is 10m3 [lo].
Size and Main Layout of the Fog Chamber
Tlie polymer insulators are tested in a fog
chamber made of transparent plastic material. Polycar-
bonate (or Lexan) sheets were selected for the sides and
roof of the chamber due to their impact strength, tem-
perature resistance, design flexibility and chemical
inertness. The aging characteristics of polycarbonate
sheets are superior to those of acrylic. A practical ad-
vantage is that acrylic tcnds to become brittle with age,
polycarbonate does not.
The chamber size selected is 1.72111 (5.65ft) x
2.44111(Sft) x 1.83111(Gft) high, with a gable roof. Top-
side angle of the roof is 90 degrees. The volume of the
chanibcr is 9.5ni3 (33Sft3), satisfying [lo].
Tlie chamber is on a steel base frame. All
componcnts are angle elements for their mechanical
strength. Tlie base has O.66111high, individually braced
legs with casters. Two lcveling legs are also employed
in order to prevent rolling of the chamber once it has
been positioned. The center of the base is 0.05m lowcr
than the side elcnicnts of the base frame. There is a
0.0Sni drain hole at the lowest point of the base.
There are eight steel braces between the sides
of the base frame and the center drainage point. Eight
plywood segments are supported by these braces. These
segments have been treated with liquid water repellent.
The boltom of the chamber is covered with an indus-
trial strength rubber membrane glued to the plywood
segments. The walls of the chamber rest on the rubber
membrane. The menibrane is folded up the walls
making the chamber leak-proof
The polycarbonate walls and roof elements of
the chaniber are joined by fiberglass (Glastic) angles,
room temperature vulcanizing (RTV) silicone sealant,
and nylon screws.
One of the short or end walls of the
chamber supports the high voltage bushing. The op-
posite side is the location of the access door. The four
fog nozzles are mounted along the two long or side
walls of the chamber.
Figure 1 is the view of the fog chamber at The
Ohio State University.
Figure 1. View of the fog chamber at OSU.
Insulator Arrangement in the Chamber
The insulators under test are suspended verti-
cally, with their grounded ends upwards, from the roof
of the fog chamber. Horizontal suspension is possible,
too. A spoke-type system is also available for the posi-
tioning of small insulators or sample pieces of insula-
tion. (The spoke-type system has been selected over a
disc-type system in order to reduce the dripping of
condensed water during the tests.) A pedestal can be
used for the mounting of longer or larger insulators
during tests.
High Voltage Source
Due to the specific test requirements, the high
voltage source selected is a 240V I 69000V, SOkVA,
60Hz single phase transformer. The voltage regulator
is a bank of six variable voltage transformers con-
nected in parallel with a total capacity of 42kVA. The
six units are on a common sh,aft with motor operated
voltage control. Uniform current distribution among
the six units is ensured by six paralleling transformers.
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The output voltage of the transformer is con-
nected to the high voltage bushing of the fog chanibcr.
The bushing is lightweight, custom-made, utilizing a
section of a high voltage cable, cable terminators, and
polymer weathershed housings.
There is a circuit breaker (that trips at 200A)
in the 240V connection of the high voltage source.
There are 250mA low voltage fuses in the ground con-
nection of each insulator.
Water Circulation and Fog Generation System
Four air atomizing spray nozzles are em-
ployed, two on each long wall of the fog chamber. It
is a pressurized set-up: the water and air supplied to
each nozzle are under pressure. Flow rates of the water
and air of each nozzle can be adjustcd to change tlie
water particle size. Each nozzle fits into an adapter
that is a part of a flange mount, holding the nozzle
securely in place in the polycarbonate wall of the
chamber. Various spray hcads can be employed; the
heads initially selected produce a dcflccted flat spray
pattern. The fog created by this pattern is very uniform;
it fills the chamber gradually, from the base upwards.
Each nozzle has a clean-out needle assembly. The
nozzles are made of stainless steel.
The water flow rate supplicd by each of the
four nozzles can be varied bctwcen 0.1 and 0.47
dm3/min (1.5 to 7.4 gal/hr). The air flow rate at each
nozzle can be varied bctween 45 and 266 dm3/min (1.6
to 9.4 standard ft3/min), the absolute air pressure range
at the nozzles is 140-500kPa (20 to 70psi). The watcr
and air flow rates are monitored at each nozzle by ap-
propriate flow meters. Each flow metcr is equippcd
with a valve to control the water and air flows, rcspcc-
tively.
Eithcr clean fog or salt fog can be applied in
the fog chaiiibcr. In the case of salt fog, a saline solu-
tion is obtaincd by mixing sodium-chloride with
dcionizcd watcr in a 75 litcr plastic tub until the dc-
sired conductivity, e.g., 250 or 2500 pS/cm, is rcachcd.
(A mixed-bed deionizer system is uscd. The dcionizcd
water produced by the unit has a conductivity about 3-5
pS/cni.) The plastic tub is under the ccntcr drainage
point of tlie fog chamber; it is on castcrs for easy
handling. A portable nicter is employcd to nicasurc the
conductivity and the tempcrature. The mctcr is
equipped with automatic temperature compensation i n
the 0-50 degree C range.
The air is supplied by a comprcssor. The wa-
ter is circulated by a corrosion-resistant pump. The
saline solution is filtered constantly and changcd daily.
Steam fog generation is available for some
flashover tests. It is produced by boiling water in a gal-
vanized steel tub with immersion heaters. It is easy to
adjust the steam production rate (grams/hour/m3) as
desired. A different high voltage transformer is uscd
for these experiments by moving the fog chamber, that
has casters, to another location.
Data Acquisition System
The data acquisition system nionitors the
Icakage current of each insulator or specimen under
test, via the voltage drop across a series resistor outside
the fog chamber. The leakage currents flowing through
the contaminatcd surface of the insulators under test
are sensed, conditioned, digitized, processed, dis-
played, and finally stored for further analysis.
The A/D converter employed by the data ac-
quisition system has 12-bit resolution, 16 single-ended
(or 8 diffcrential) input channels, niaximuni acquisi-
tion rate of 100 ksampledsec, and niax. +5 V bipolar
input voltage range if the gain is 1. The gain is switch-
selectable (1, 2, 4 or 8).
Virtual instrumentation software, DASYLab,
was detcrmined to be the most suitable option for this
application. An icon-based program has bccn devel-
oped to classify the leakage currcnt pulse counts using
bins, and to compute cumulative charge, and niaxi-
niuni and minimum current pulse values [ 1 11.
A signal conditioning system protects the in-
put terminals of the data acquisition system against
overvoltages in the case of insulator flashover.
The dcsktop computer used is a 16MByte
RAM, 586 / 133MHz type PC. A power line condi-
tioner is uscd to protect the computer from problems
causcd by transicnts and to ensure line-to-load isola-
tion. An unintcrruptible power supply is eniploycd.
Test Cycles and Procedures
The initial step i n tcsting polymer insulators
is the cliaractcrization of the wcathcrshcd material
using various diagnostic tcchniqucs, such as Electron
Spcctroscopy for Chemical Analysis (ESCA) and
Fourier Transformed Infrarcd Spectroscopy (FTIR).
Other tcchniqucs, for example XPS (X-ray Photocmis-
sion Spcctroscopy) and EDS (Energy Dispersive Spcc-
troscopy) are also available.
The sccond stcp of the polymcr insulator
evaluation is a scrics of ac flashovcr tests on thc insula-
tors, at diffcrcnt slurry lcvcls (characterized by thc
equivalcnt salt dcposit density [ESDD] figures), at
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steam fog conditions. This flashover voltage is one of
the reference points used in evaluating the insulator.
The next step is to expose the energized insu-
lators cyclically to salt fog for an extended period of
time (e.g., 500 hrs). Then a new series of ac flashover
tests in steam fog is performed on the insulators.
Material characterization tests are conducted
again on the aged polymer insulator component sam-
ples. Also, aged insulator samples are exposed to ul-
traviolet (UV) rays for several months before another
series of material characterization tests is performed.
Analysis of Tests
Degradation of the polymer insulators can be
evaluated by their electrical, mechanical, chemical and
physical characteristics. The analysis of tests considers
several features, such as time to failure, flashover volt-
age, leakage current (waveshape, peak magnitudes,
pulse count, change vs. time), cumulative charge,
tracking resistance, surlace condition, surface conduc-
tance, etc.
Summary
The widespread use of non-ceramic insulators
has made the evaluation of their long-term perform-
ance essential. Preferred test methods can supply
quantitative information on the aging characteristics of
polymer housing materials of non-ceramic insulators
and on the length of their expected outdoor service life.
Application of a fog chamber is one of the preferred
test methods.
Testing non-ceramic insulators in a new fog
chamber, a joint project of The Ohio State University
and The Ohio Brass Company, has bcen discussed in
this paper. Various design and operational features,
test cycles and test procedures have also been reviewed.
Acknowlcdgcnicnts
Discussions and visit with Messrs. E. A. Rey-
nnert and G.A. Toskey of Dow-Corning Corp. bcfore
the construction of the fog chamber were valuable. The
fog chamber was constructed by Messrs. Carl A. Rus-
sell and William C. Thalgott.
References
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Resistance of Polymers to Surface Discharges, IEEE Trans.
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Polymer Systems for Outdoor HV Insulator Application by
Salt Fog Chamber Testing, Proc. of the 1982 IEEE ZntI
Synip. on Electrical Insulation, pp. 242-247.
[3] R.S. Gorur, E.A. Cherney, R. Hackam, A Comparative
Study of Polymer Insulating Materials Under Salt Fog Con-
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1986, pp. 175-182.
[4] K. Isaka, Y. Yokoi, K. Naito et al., Development of
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1990, pp. 1153-1160.
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on Non-Ceramic Insulating Materials and a Comparison with
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1994, pp. 2000-2008.
[6] H.M. Scl~eider, W.W. Guidi, J.T. Bunlham, R.S. Gorur,
J.F. Hall, Accelerated Aging and Flashover Tests on 138 kV
Nonceramic Line Post Insulators, IEEE Trans. on Power
Delivery, Vol. 8, January 1993, pp.325-336.
[7] J.F. Hall, History and Bibliography of Polymeric Insu-
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[8] S.H. Kim, R. Hackam, Effects of Saline-Water Flow
Rate and Air Speed on Leakage Current in RTV Coatings,
IEEE Trans. on Power Delivery, Paper No. 95 WM 248-5
PWRD.
[9] Artificial Pollution Tests on High Voltage Insulators to
beUsed on AC Systems, Inteniational Standard, lEC 507,
Second Edition, 199 1.
[lo] Composite Insulators for AC Overhead Lines witha
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[ 1 11 E.P. Casale, S.A. Sebo, Polymer Insulator Fog Cham-
ber Project: Data Acquisition SystemDevelopment, Proc. of
the 1996 CEIDP (companion paper).
Corresponding author:
Prof. Stephen A. Sebo
Department of Electrical Engineering
The Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio 43210-1272, U.S.A.
Phone: 1-6 14-292-74 10
E-mail: sebo@ee.eng.ohio-state.edu
FAX: 1-614-292-7596
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