Analysis of in-service composite insulators used in overhead railway traction

Subba Reddy, B and Ramamurthy, PC (2020) Analysis of in-service composite insulators used in overhead railway traction. In: Engineering Failure Analysis, 108 .

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Abstract

Polymeric based Composite insulators are extensively used for overhead rail electric traction system; these insulators play an important role in the traction electrification which supply power to the locomotives of train. Traction insulators are subjected to a variety of stresses, like mechanical, electrical, environmental, etc., these stresses act in unison, degradation and subsequent failure of traction insulator influences the safety of traction power supply system. To understand the phenomena of degradation and in-service aging, experimental investigations are conducted on in service traction insulators to identify and analyze the structural changes occurred in the field for a specified time, the insulators are of composite silicone polymeric materials rated for 25 kV. The electrical performance on the insulator samples is investigated using leakage current analysis and surface resistance measurements under normal and fog/moisture conditions using a specifically designed fog test chamber. The structural changes are studied by using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-Ray (EDAX), Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) and wettability measurements. The study highlights the in-depth analysis conducted on the performance of service insulators compares with the fresh, also suggests mitigation methods to overcome the probable failures in the field. Some interesting results obtained from the study are analyzed and presented. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Engineering Failure Analysis
Publisher:	Elsevier Ltd
Additional Information:	The copyright for this article belongs to Elsevier Ltd.
Keywords:	Electric power systems; Engines; Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy; Insulating materials; Insulator contamination; Scanning electron microscopy; Silicones; Stresses, Electric traction system; Energy dispersive x-ray; Experimental investigations; Fourier transform infra reds; Leakage current analysis; Surface resistance measurements; Traction power supply system; Wettability measurements, Electric traction
Department/Centre:	Division of Interdisciplinary Sciences > Centre for Nano Science and Engineering
Date Deposited:	08 Feb 2023 08:58
Last Modified:	08 Feb 2023 08:58
URI:	https://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/80070

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