Effect of Contact Angle of Water Droplets on the Electric Field Distribution of Polymer Insulators

Abstract

High voltage polymer insulators have been extensively used in power networks in the past three decades owing to their high hydrophobic nature compared with the traditional porcelain and glass insulators. In this study, the variation of electric field distribution due to the contact angle of water droplets is studied using the Finite Element Method (FEM) based simulation approach. Simulations are carried out for three different scenarios where both clean and polluted insulator cases are considered, and results have been obtained accordingly. Based on the results it can be seen that the effect of the contact angle of water droplets on the e-field variation along a polluted insulator is higher than in a clean polymer insulator. The insulators subjected to coastal pollution conditions experience a high e-field intensification along the insulator when water droplets of higher contact angle are present on the insulator surface.