Application of new pollution test method for composite insulators to provide basic data of flashover performance for insulation cross-arms

The use of insulated cross-arms have increased over the years, particularly when it comes to refurbishment and upgrading of high voltage overhead lines. These cross-arms are built by a complicated combination of composite insulators which generally are tested individually. To improve the knowledge on flashover performance of complex structures made of composite insulators, a number of typical set-ups were investigated both in different operating conditions and different hydrophobicity conditions. The different set-ups included: horizontal, 45 degree inclination and vertical positioning, both single and double parallel set-ups and finally a triangular non-pivoting cross-arm configuration. For these pollution tests the innovative yet non-standardized Rapid Flashover Clean Fog Test Method…