On the issue of modeling a high-voltage insulator in the COMSOL Multiphysics 5.6 soft package

The article discusses the main aspects of modeling suspended polymer high-voltage insulation of overhead power lines (PTL) in the COMSOL Multiphysics 5.6 software package. Analytical expressions of the mathematical model of the electromagnetic field around the insulator are given, on the basis of which a numerical solution is formed within the software package that allows you to build a model of the electric field in two-dimensional and three-dimensional space. There are three main stages of working with the program interface. At the first stage, the task of the geometric dimensions of the model and the surrounding area is considered, attention is paid to the formation of the design features of polymer insulators. In the second stage, the physical properties of the structural materials of the insulator, as well as the surrounding space, are described. The third stage is reduced to the determination of boundary conditions for solving the Poisson differential equation. Recommendations for finite element mesh density are given. A gradient picture of the distribution of the electric potential near the surface of the insulator is presented. The graphs of the distribution of the normal component of the electric field strength along the surface of the insulator are also plotted. On the basis of the obtained results, the influence of external factors on the properties of the polymer insulator is studied. A possible variant of modeling influencing factors, such as pollution and moisture, by making changes in the description of the physical properties of the insulator surface, namely by including a uniform and continuous layer with a given conductivity, is described. The distribution of the normal component of the electric field strength along the surface of the insulator with contamination is obtained. The results of modeling the electric field distribution with the presence of contamination on the surface of the insulator and its absence are summarized in the table where the electric field strength is indicated depending on the distance to the traverse. Based on the analysis of the results obtained, an assumption is made about the overestimated level of the maximum electric field on the insulators recommended by the manufacturers. The convergence of the considered models with the experimental data obtained in the course of long-term observation of the dynamics of the degradation and aging processes of the surface of polymer suspended insulators of overhead transmission lines is discussed.