376 IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, Vol. 8, No. 1, January 1993.

HISTORY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY OF POLYMERIC INSULATORS

FOR OUTDOOR APPLICATIONS

James F. Hall
Electric Power Research Institute
3412 Hillview Avenue
Palo Alto, California 94303

A report of the IEEE Nonceramic History/Bibliography were the first polymers used for electrical insulation, and
Task Force*, of the Non-Ceramic Insulator Testing & are still used to make electrical insulators for indoor
Applications Working Group, of the Lightning & applications. Cycloaliphatic epoxys (CE) were introduced
Insulator Subcommittee, of the Transmission and in 1957 [5],and were introduced in England for outdoor
Distribution Committee. insulation in 1963 [6].They are superior to bisphenol
because of their greater resistance to carbon formation [7].
HISTORY However, the first commercial CE insulators in the U.S.
Introduction failed shortly after installation in outdoor environments.
Although polymeric insulators are a relatively new utility Since then, new CE formulations have resulted in
product, they have captured about 20% of the US improved electrical performance.
transmission line market 111, and their market share is
expected to increase. They represent the first major In the early 1960s, distribution class (CE) insulators were
change in insulator design and materials in many years, first sold commercially in the U. S. under the name
and their advantages over porcelain and glass insulators GEPOL [81. These units failed due to surface damage and
have made them attractive to utilities. Because polymer punctures [91. CE was used later in experimental 500-kV
insulators are a relatively new technology, their expected station breaker bushings [lo],and in 115kV bushings in
life is still unknown and is a subject of great interest to the 1970s, and for suspension insulators by Transmission
utilities. By contrast, porcelain and glass insulators have a Development Limited (TDL) of England. The TDL
track record and a long expected life. suspension insulators used slant sheds to provide natural
washing of contamination. From the mid1960s on, CE
The history of polymeric insulators began in the 1940s insulators were tested at up to 400kV service voltage as
when organic insulating materials were used to suspension/strain insulators and cross-arms in the United
manufacture high voltage indoor electrical insulators Kingdom [ill. For various reasons, including poor cold
from epoxy resins. These materials were lightweight, temperature performance and insufficient weight
impact resistant, and could be used to form large complex reduction, CE did not gain acceptance in the US for
parts [2].Polymeric insulators for outdoor use were made outdoor high voltage suspension insulators. But today,
feasible by the discovery in the 1950s that alumina CE is used in indoor and even semi-enclosed power
trihydrate filler increases the tracking and erosion systems.
resistance of the polymer material [3].However, polymeric
insulators for outdoor application on transmission lines In the 1960s an insulator having porcelain sheds
were not developed until the late 1960s and 1970s. supported by an epoxy resin fiberglass rod was developed.
Polymeric insulators finally came into general use on It was not widely used because of developments in lighter-
transmission lines in the 1980s. weight polymeric insulating materials.

* IEEE Non Ceramic History/Bibliography Polymeric outdoor insulators for transmission lines were
Task Force Members: J. F. Hall, principal author; developed as early as 1964 in Germany [12],and by other
Other Members: R. S. Gorur, S. Grzybowski, T. Orbeck. manufacturers in England, France, Italy, and the U.S. In
Germany, units for field testing were provided in [Link]
Today utilities are purchasing polymeric insulators for the late 1960s and early 1970s, manufacturers introduced
new line construction and for replacement insulation. the first generation of commercial polymeric transmission
Polymeric insulators make existing line upgrading and line insulators (see Table 1).
compaction possible in many cases and broaden the range
of line designs available to the design engineer. Table 1
First Generation Commercial Polymeric Transmission
Historical DeveloDment Line Insulators
The first polymers used for electrical insulation were Housing
bisphenol and cycloaliphatic epoxy resins. Introduced Companv Material Year Countrv
commercially in the mid 1940s [4],bisphenol epoxy resins
Ceraver EPR* 1975 (France)
Ohio Brass EPR 1976 (USA)
Rosenthal SIR** 1976 (Germany)
Sediver EPR 1977 (USA)
92 WM 265-9 PWRD A paper recommended and approved by TDL CE 1977 (England)
the IEEE Transmission and Distribution Committee of Lapp EPR 1980 (USA)
the IEEE Power Engineering Society for presentation Reliable SIR 1983 (USA)
at the IEEE/PES 1992 Winter Meeting, New York, New
York, January 26 -
30, 1992. Manuscript submitted * EPR Ethylene Propylene Rubber
September 3, 1991; made available for printing
January 9 , 1992. ** Silicone Rubber

0885-8977/92/$3.0001993IEEE
 377

Advantages Improvements in materials and construction methods are

Polymeric transmission line insulators offer significant generally resulting in good performance in most utility
advantages over porcelain and glass insulators, especially environments. A survey sponsored by the Southeast
for ultra-high voltage (UHV) transmission lines. Their Electrical Exchange and EPRI [19], indicates that per-
light weight allows tower designs and compacting that formance is degraded in severe environments. Therefore,
porcelain and glass insulators do not. They can be used as further improvements are recommended for severe
phase spacers on compact lines to control galloping and to contamination environments. Good inservice performance
limit conductor motion due to through-faults [131. They is dependent upon quality and process control during the
have generated considerable interest among utilities, manufacturing process. Hence, manufacturers are
including quality control and testing requirements 1141. addressing these areas in order to provide the component
Early evaluations indicated that their withstand reliability that utilities need, and to ensure system reliability
performance was "---equal to or better than that of a that the customer expects and that current industrial
comparable length of porcelain insulator chain---" [15]. processes and high technology systems require. Recent
More recent tests have generally verified these utility reports indicate that some degradation and
evaluations. Lack of intermediate electrodes, and small mechanical failures (attributed to materials, contruction,
diameter [16],contribute to this improved performance. and the manufacturing process) are still occuring.
The specific advantages, compared with ceramic Therefore further improvements are still needed.
insulators [17], are:
Polvmer Insulator Construction
* Light weight - lower construction and transportation costs. Polymer insulators have a core composed of a fiberglass
* Vandalism resistance - less gunshot damage. rod covered by polymer weather sheds. Manufacturers
* High strength to weight ratio - longer spans/new tower use various shed materials, designs, and construction
designs. methods, (see Figure 1). Basic polymer shed materials
* Better contamination performance. used are silicone rubber, EPM, EPDM, CE and poly-
* Improved transmission line aesthetics. tetrafluroethylene (PTFE or Teflon). To obtain desired
electrical and mechanical properties these basic materials
Earlv ExDeriences are combined with various fillers, including alumina
Early utility experimentation with the first generation of trihydrate.
polymeric insulators led to mixed results. One insulator
that featured a silicone rubber housing, and construction
that avoided joints in the housing, performed well
electrically. However, because of low tear resistance of
the sheds the room temperature vulcanized silicone
rubber was replaced with high temperature vulcanized
silicone rubber. Ethylene propylene diene monomer
(EPDM) rubber shed sections used in another insulator
type provided good housing material performance. Shed
bonds degraded in these early insulators when exposed to
a coastal environment. The manufacturer has since
developed a single vulcanized housing to avoid multiple
interfaces. Another manufacturer first used ethylene
propylene copolymer (EPM) for its shed sections, and has
since developed an alloy consisting of EPDM rubber with
silicone fluid to provide surface hydrophobicity (water
repellency). Silicone compound is used to seal the
interface between the sheds and fiberglass rod.

As utilities gained experience with these insulators

through laboratory tests and trial installations a variety of
design and construction problems were encountered [18],
including the following:

Shed material tracking and erosion

Shed punctures
Insulator surface chalking and crazing
Reduction of contamination flashover strength
Mechanical strength deterioration
End fittings loosening
Bonding failures and breakdowns along the rod-shed
interface.
x
Water penetration followed by electrical failure,
including brittle fracture.
* Line post insulator rod cracking.

Figure 1. Examples of Early Polymer Insulator Designs

378

The EP rubbers rely largely on the alumina trihydrate to Future Directions

avoid carbonaceous degradation. As the EP rubber surface Users typically asked the following two questions about
is exposed to ultraviolet light and possible electrical composite insulators: 1) what is the best shed material or
arcing, the alumina trihydrate is gradually reduced to a formulation, and 2) what is the expected life of composite
white alumina powder on the housing surface. The insulators? The answers to these questions depend on the
alumina may affect the wet flashover level of the total material formulation (26), and the environment to
insulator. Although the silicone rubbers contain alumina which they are exposed. Developing laboratory test
trihydrate, they rely on hydrophobicity to prevent leakage methods to determine the best material or formulation
currents and associated arcing to avoid degradation and to has been limited by understanding of polymeric material
achieve good electrical performance. performance in the electric system and on a molecular
level.
PTFE was first used in Italy for low voltage traction lines.
It provided the manufacturer with several technical and Because research are developing better understanding of
economic challenges during the development for higher polymeric materials, tests that more accurately reflect their
voltages. These challenges were not sufficiently over- performance in the utility environment are being
come, so PTFE insulators are now only used for low developed. An accelerated aging test method is needed to
voltage lines . characterize degradation modes and predict expected life,
based on site specific environmental conditions. One test
Most manufacturers used individual sheds that were method is the salt fog chamber with environmental cycling
slipped over the fiberglass rod. While the CE material was that can be tailored to a specific utility environment (27).
cast as a single housing on the rod, the manufacturer of
the silicone rubber insulator used a continuous molding Since polymeric materials are dynamic and interact with
process to form one continuous housing on the fiberglass their environment they are also affected during
rod. Another manufacturer formed a sheath on the rod, contamination testing. Because the contamination process
slipped the sheds onto the sheath, and then vulcanized and flashovers during testing affect the surface, test
them into place. repeatability is not achieved. A flashover or withstand test
method is needed that will not impact test repeatability.
The metal end fittings are attached to the rod using
various technologies, which include compression of the Other areas needing research include insulator standards
metal end fitting onto the rod (the most widely used and the manufacturing process. Additional routine tests
method today), insertion of wedges into the fiberglass rod, are needed in the standards to ensure product quality.
cutting the rod end into a cone, or gluing the end fitting to Manufacturing quality and process controls are also
the rod. needed to enhance product quality and projected life.

Testing ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Until 1980, all polymer material testing was based on arc
resistance. Evaluation of housing materials were This history and bibliography of nonceramic insulators
evaluated using established test methods, such as the was developed at the direction of Dr. G. Karady, Chairman
inclined plane, ASTM 2303 and IEC tracking test, etc. [20]. of the Non Ceramic Insulator Testing & Applications
These tests evaluate catastrophic failure modes such as Working Group 5.01.04. Hoechst Ceramtec and the Ohio
channeled erosion and tracking. As researchers gained a Brass Company contributed historical material to this
better understanding of how these materials perform they paper.
realized that better test methods are needed.
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