Development of AC flashover voltage model for hydrophobic cycloaliphatic epoxy resin insulator

In this paper, a mathematical model describes the relationship between the flashover voltage (FOV) and Equivalent Salt Deposit Density (ESDD) of epoxy resin insulator under high voltage AC using Dimensional Analysis method is presented. The Dimensional Analysis method has been applied in many applications to study experimental data. In this paper, five salinity levels are introduced to the insulators. The insulators under test are housed in a fog chamber specifically designed in accordance to IEC507 standard. Critical flashover voltages were recorded at each salinity level. The experimental results are presented together with the mathematical model developed using Dimensional Analysis method. As the use of epoxy resin insulator is becoming wide spread in the power distribution networks around the world, the results presented in this paper will be important in gaining better understanding of the performance of epoxy resin insulators under various polluted conditions