Polymeric Insulator Conditions Estimation by Using Leakage Current Characteristics Based on Simulation and Experimental Investigation

The current work contributes an estimate of the time-frequency characteristics of a leakage current in assessing the health condition of a polluted polymeric insulator. A 33 kV polymer insulator string was subjected to a series of laboratory tests under a range of environmental conditions, including pollution, wetting rate (WR), non-soluble deposit density (NSDD), and non-uniform distribution pollution (F(T/B)). The temporal and frequency features of the leakage current were then extracted and used as assessment indicators for insulator conditions based on laboratory test findings. Two indices were generated from the leakage current waveform in the time domain: the curve slope index (F(1)), which is determined by measuring the inclination of the curve between two successive time peaks of the leakage current, and the crest factor indicator (F(2)). The frequency domain of the leakage current signal was used to calculate the other two indices. These are the odd harmonic indicators derived from the odd frequency harmonics of the leakage current up to the 9th component (F(3)) and the 5th to 3rd harmonics ratio (F(4)). The findings showed that the suggested indicators were capable of evaluating insulator conditions. Finally, the confusion matrix for the experimental and prediction results obtained with the proposed indices was used to assess which indicator performed the best. Therefore, the analysis suggests an alternative and effective method for estimating the health condition of a polluted insulator through leakage current characteristics obtained in the time and frequency domains.