Search Results (2)

Windage yaw flashovers under strong wind and rain conditions leave a negative impact on the safe operation of transmission lines. However, the mechanism behind this is not well known yet. Therefore, this paper proposes a systematic method, including three basic parts described as simulation of wind and rain loads, calculation of windage yaw, and flashover analysis, to analyze windage yaw flashovers of transmission lines. The YanMeng-particle swarm optimization (YanMeng-PSO) algorithm is proposed to enhance the simulation accuracy. Unlike the conventional approach, the windage yaw status of conductors and insulator strings is dynamically described with key nodes and the breakdown voltage of their clearances rather than windage yaw angle. Furthermore, in the second part, a new method named key-node method (KNM) is proposed to calculate the conductors’ windage yaw. Moreover, the rain effect is also considered in this paper. This paper then presents a case study on a 110 kV double-circuit transmission line section that suffered severe collapse when the typhoon Rammasun landed in Hainan island. Particular focus was placed on the windage yaw flashover before the structural failure of the transmission line. The results validated the significant rain effect and found that conductors/ground suffer more severe windage yaw flashover than insulator strings. Finally, constructive solutions such as interphase spacers, reasonable conductor arrangement in the design phase, and regular measurements and adjustments of conductor sag in the maintenance phase are proposed to improve the design of transmission lines to enhance their capacity against windage yaw flashovers. Full article

The flashover performance of insulators is the foundation of the calculation of precise lightning protection. The material and structure of an insulator affect its flashover performance but the research on the differences in the flashover performance of different insulators and the analysis of the reason for these differences have not been clear. In this paper, lightning impulse flashover tests of two types of insulators (composite and glass insulators) were carried out in the National Engineering Laboratory (Kunming) for Ultrahigh-voltage Engineering Technology. In these tests, the insulators were hung in a 110 kV double-circuit transmission tower and a standard lightning impulse (1.2/50 μs) was applied to the insulators. The discharge path and the 50% impulse flashover voltage of the insulators were recorded. At the same time, the electric fields in the vicinity of different insulators were calculated using the finite element method with COMSOL Multiphysics. The electric field distribution and the uneven coefficient were analyzed. Combined with the flashover test data and the electric field simulation, the relationship between the flashover performance (discharge path and 50% impulse flashover voltage) and the electric field (electric field distribution and uneven coefficient) is found. The simulation results are in accordance with the test data and the conclusions can provide useful references for the external insulation design of transmission lines and the optimization of insulators. Full article