Integrated Noncontact Diagnostics of the Operable Condition of High-Voltage Insulators

Abstract

We investigated the features of defects on the rod and the “rod–end-terminal” contact of polymer and porcelain insulators using the developed integrated method for noncontact remote diagnostics of the performance of high-voltage insulators, including the initial detection of local areas with elevated electric-field gradients and the measurement of the set of characteristics of partial discharges. The emission of extra-large partial discharges was discovered, and their features were studied. Based on the measurement results, a diagram was constructed for electrophysical processes accompanying the emission of extra-large partial discharges, and their causes were established.