Conference on ‘Modern Technology Trends in Power Transformers including OLTC, Bushings

etc. 27-28 February 2019 at CBIP, New Delhi.

Guidelines for Altitude Correction for Pollution Performance of Electrical

Equipment External Ceramic and Polymer Insulation
By
M.L.Sachdeva N.S.Sodha
Former Chief Engineer, Former Executive Director,

Central Electricity Authority. Power Grid Corp. of India.

Synopsis
Altitude Correction Factor for external insulation in most of the National and International
Standards are available upto 2000m and no correction factor is applied for altitude 1000m
above msl. As the new projects are being executed at higher altitude 6000m or even more as
also under polluted conditions, the altitude correction factor are required to be applied on
external insulation.
The altitude correction factor and external insulation configuration (profile & dimensions)
available in the existing national and international standard have been brought out in this
documents and necessary altitude correction factor for higher altitude about 5000m including
effect of insulator profile / dimensions & different Pollution level considering recommendations
made by CIGRE WG D1.14 Tutorial on 28th Aug 2018 during Paris CIGRE Session 2018 have been
brought out.
The Altitude Correction factor considering altitude H or (H-1000) m above mean sea level is left
open by CIGRE and to be decided by respective IECs. Indian National bodies & manufacturers,
based on the past experience, shall make their proposal as also amend the Publications/
Manuals
1. Introduction
All the HV and above electrical equipment is provided with External solid( ceramic or
composite)/ internal ((hollow/ gas filled , Porcelain/ Condenser bushing) insulation to
insulate the electrical equipment from ground in the form equipment housing sealed
properly to protect against ingress of moisture and both internally and externally protected
against internal and external dielectric stresses by providing proper solid / combination of
solid & liquid insulation and by providing restorable insulation (air gap) in coordination with
the dielectric insulation ( BIL, SIL, Power Frequency voltage, dynamic over voltages, etc.).
The external insulation is affected by altitude, temperature, humidity, pollution, etc. and
the same is to be compensated suitably. In addition to equipment housing and rigid bus bar
 support insulation, the other insulation in the insulator string meant for the strain buses in
Substations
The creepage requirement is determined as per type of voltage (AC & DC), degree of
pollution (light, Medium, Heavy and Very Heavy) and type of insulation material (ceramic
and polymer). The universal practice for making correction due to variation in altitude has
been ‘nil’ for altitude upto and including 1000m and for altitude more than 1000m, various
national and international standards lay down different correction factors.
2. Review of Altitude Correction Factor
As approachable sources of generation, transformation which mostly are within altitude of
1000m above mean sea level (msl) have been exploited and new Generation resources and
Transmission systems are located / traversing thru higher altitude/ mountainous regions
and far off from Load centres. The existing national & international standards generally lay
down linear correction factor per 100m of altitude upto 2000m above mean sea level. The
provisions made for altitude correction / atmospheric pressure in various standards
(National and International) are summarized as under:
i) CBIP Publication 299: Manual on S/S Layout (Ref 1)
Manual stipulates a correction factor of 1.25% per 100m increase in elevation from
1000m to 3000m above msl on Electrical air clearance ( See Table 5.1: Recommended
Clearance)
ii) IEEE 32 (Ref 2) gives the following Table on Altitude Correction factor upto
4500m
Altitude Correction Factor (IEEE 32)
Altitude 1000 1200 1500 1800 2100 2400 2700 3000 3600 4200 4500
(m)
Altitude 3300 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000 12000 14000 15000
(ft)
Correction 1.0 0.98 0.95 0.92 0.89 0.86 0.83 0.80 0.75 0,70 0.67
factor

iii) IEC 60071-Part 1 & 2 (Ref 3): Insulation Coordination for AC system
Part 1 stipulates standard reference atmospheric conditions as temp 20°C, pressure
110.3kPa (1013 m bar) and absolute humidity 11g/m3.
The atmospheric correction factor (ka) for External Insulation is applied to the
coordination withstand voltage (kc x representative over voltage) to account for
difference between average atmospheric conditions in service and standard reference
condition.
IEC 60060-1 stipulates air density (altitude correction factor) applicable for test voltage but
altitude correction factor for polluted insulator is still under investigation under CIGRE SC D.1
 Ref 12 (TB 705) recommends provisionally m =0.5 (AC) and 0.35(DC) as it depends on
various factors such as severity of pollution and insulator characteristics. Provisionally m
=0.5 (AC) and 0.35(DC) in formula

Ka =

Part 2 stipulates Ka applicable for altitude upto 2000m considering the following:
a) For air clearance and clean insulators, the correction shall be carried out for
coordination switching and lightning impulse withstand voltages. For insulators
requiring pollution test, a correction of the long duration power frequency withstand
voltage is also necessary
b) For determination of applicable Ka, it is assumed that the effects of ambient
temperature and humidity tend to cancel each other and as such for insulation
coordination the air pressure corresponding to the altitude of the location need to be
taken into account both for dry and wet insulation with the exception that this
assumption is true for shape of insulators for which rain does not reduce withstand
voltage to a high degree. For insulators with small sheds distance for which rain
causes shed bridging, the assumption is not completely true.
The Correction Factor Ka is given as
Ka =
Where
H is altitude in metres above sea level and value of ‘m’ is as follows:
m=1.0 for coordination lightning impulse withstand voltages
m=1.0 for short duration pf withstand voltage of air clearance and clean insulators
m is ascertained from Fig 1 (Ref 3) for Coordination Switching withstand voltage

For polluted insulators, the exponent ‘m’ is tentative. For the purposes of long
duration test and, if required, short duration power frequency withstand voltage of
polluted insulators, m may be as low 0.5 for normal insulators and as high as 0.8 for
anti-fog insulators.

For voltages consisting of two components, the voltage value is the sum of the
components. For more details Ref may be made to IEC 60071- Part 2
iv) IEC 60071- Part 5: Insulation Co-ordination for DC System (2002-06) (Ref 4)
IEC Part -5 refers to Fig 1 of IEC 0071- Part 1 for obtaining required withstand voltage as
per insulation coordination procedure which consist in applying to the coordination
withstand voltage the atmospheric correction factor Ka for external insulation and a
safety factor Ks. Table 9 of Part -5 lays down Indicative values of ratios of required
Impulse withstand voltage to impulse protective level for HVDC Converter Stns
equipment directly protected by LAs. (Part 5 may be referred for more details)
Creepage Distance and Clearance in Air
v) IS 731 (Ref 6) stipulates Reference Atmospheric Conditions ambient
temp.=20°C, Barometric pressure =1013 millibar (pressure of 760mmmof mercury at 0
C) and absolute humidity= 11g of water per cubic metre corresponding to 63%relative
humidity at 20°C.
The barometric pressure in millibar relating to height h in mm of mercury and temp of t°
C Is given by
p= 1013h/ 760 {1—1.80x 10^(-4) t} millibar
Correction for test voltages at prevalent atmospheric conditions are given in Appendix A
of IS: 731
vi) IEC 383 Part 1 & Part 2 (Ref 7) stipulate atmospheric / altitude correction
factor as stipulated in IEC 60-1 to be applied to Test Voltages required for disc
insulators
Part 1 For polluted Insulators, correction factor for creepage distance corresponds to
pollution categorization. The required creepage distance for various levels of pollution
is modified by factor kD which is function of average dia of insulator (Dm in mm) and
Creepage Factor (CF) & Profile Factor (PF) as per Appendix. D(Ref7)
Part 2 for insulator strings stipulates atmospheric correction factors as per IEC 60-1. If
the atmospheric conditions at the time of test differ from standard reference condition,
the correction factor for air density (k1) and humidity (k2) to be calculated and product
K= k1 x k2 to be determined. The test voltages are corrected for impulse and power
frequency withstand voltages by multiplying specified withstand voltage by factor K and
corresponding Recorded flash over voltages by dividing Measured Flash Over Voltage by
K factor.
For wet tests correction for humidity is not applied and considered k2=1 and K= k1 and
characteristics of artificial rain shall be in accordance with IEC 60-1
vii) IEC 611099: Composite Insulators (Ref 8) for Altitude Correction Factor refer to
IEC 61-1 and IEC 383 which recommends correction factors as discussed in these
document
viii) IEC 61211 (Ref 9) stipulates application of test voltage corrected by
Atmospheric altitude Correction Factor as per IEC 60061-Part 1: General & Test
Requirement for performing puncture test
ix) IEC 60694 (Ref 10) Para 4.2 ‘Rated Insulation Levels’ refer these values
corresponding to reference atmospheric conditions (Temp., pressure & humidity) as per
IEC 60071-1
 IEC (Ref 10) Para 5.14 explicitly deals with creepage distance and define minimum
creepage distance of an external insulator as
It= a x If x Ur x Kd
Where
‘It’ is minimum creepage distance (mm), ‘a’ application factor selected on type of
insulation according Table 7 of Ref 10, ‘If’ minimum nominal specific creepage according
to Table II of IEC 60815(mm/kV phase to phase voltage), ‘Ur’ rated Voltage of Switch
gear and control gear and ‘Kd’ is correction factor due to dia (See 5.3 of IEC 815)
IEC (Ref 10) Para 6.2.1 stipulates Standard reference atmosphere condition and
atmospheric altitude correction factor conforming to IEC60061-1 for ascertaining test
voltage
IEC (Ref 10) Fig 1 of IEC 60694 gives altitude correction factor based on Formula
contained in Para 4.2.2 of IEC 60071-2
ka= Where H is altitude in metres and ‘m’ relates to test voltages ( Ref 10).
Fig 1 (Ref 10) may also be referred for determining Ka for given value of ‘m’ and altitude
upto 4000m

x) IEC 60815 (Ref 11) Part 2 & 3 stipulates that Correction factor at higher altitude is critical
for Lightning impulse than compared to pollution performance and as such increased insulation
considering altitude correction factor would suffice.
The correction factor for altitude above 1500m can be based on CIGRE Technical Brochure TB 158
and the same can be derived @ 5% per 1000m of elevation as per relation given as under
E= Eo(1-0.05H) Where E & E0 are the impulse flashover voltage of insulator at
site and msl respectively and H is the height in km above mean sea level (msl)

For DC insulators

Awaiting results from CIGRE D1.44, ‘n’ is considered 0.35 as per IEC 60071-1, that means
‘n’ is about 4.5% per 1000m above elevation
Ca = ( )
3. CIGRE Publication 7005: ‘Guidelines for Altitude Correction of Pollution Performance of
Insulators’ by Convener, CIGRE WG D1.44 on 28th August during CIGRE Paris Session 2018
(Ref 11)
Summary of Guidelines for determining Altitude correction factor for Polluted Insulators
is given as under:
i) Existing practices for altitude Correction factor are available upto 2000m, TLs to be built
traversing altitude of around 5000m above msl and harmonization of different
formulae/ approaches adopted by IEC & CIGRE as also in other National / international
 standards are deemed necessary to arrive at widely acceptable value of altitude
correction factor.
ii) The tutorial has made a comparison of provisions made in IEC Publications and CIGRE
WGs / Technical Brochures and made recommendations.
iii) For details on Correction Factors recommended in CIGRE WGs/ Tech. Brochures/
Laboratory Studies carried upto1997 (Large spread data (1997), reference may be made
to this Tutorial (Ref 11)
iv) Correction factors as given in IECs (referred in the Tutorial) are also given under Para 2
above of this document
v) Altitude correction factor adopted in other counties are reproduced below:
a) AC system
- Russia: No correction upto1000m and 5% correction on each further 1000m
upto4000m
- Japan: No correction upto1000m and 2.5% correction on each further 1000m
- China: Though a detailed National Standard for AC and DC is available and
Correction factor is applied for altitude above 1000m over msl but as per
short summary made available to CIGRE, correction factors are as:
- For Suspension Insulators (Ceramic and composite), the
Correction factor lies between 3.1% to 10.8% for each 1000m depending on
profile and material
- Insulators with different profiles have different correction factors
b) DC System

No Guide lines are available except Chinese National Standard which provides a
lot of different correction factor for insulator profile, material and polluting
severity level listed as under:

- For DC Suspension Insulators (ceramic or composite), correction factor lies

between 1% to 7% for every 1000m depending on profile and material
- For DC Post Insulators, correction factor lies between 2.3% to 6.5% for every
1000m depending on profile.

Conclusion
i) Different Altitude Correction factors have been given in National and International
Standards for insulation (Clean & Polluted) and air gap & creepage distance as may
be seen Para 2 above.
ii) There is need to harmonize the Altitude Correction Factor for arriving standard
values of lightning / switching and PF withstand values and select the insulator
characteristic including creepage distance.
iii) Tutorial on Guidelines for altitude correction of pollution performance of insulators
by Convener WG D1.44 held on 28th August 2018 during CIGRE Paris Session 2018
has made recommendations
 - Altitude Correction Factor Ca for Creepage distance in the acceptable IEC
Format (IEC 60071-2 and IEC 60815-4), given at 3 (iii) above,0.50 for AC polluted
Insulators and 0.35 for DC Polluted insulators pending further CIGRE
investigation.
-Many Industry practices, for apparatus insulators, propose correction factors only for
altitude greater than 1000m ie (H-1000). The WG D1.44 has left for respective IECs to
decide whether H or (H-1000) m is to be considered above mean sea level.

iv) The Indian CIGRE and National bodies may also consider the recommended Altitude
Correction factor and altitude correction to be applied for Hm or (H-1000) m above msl. In
our opinion no Altitude correction factor shall be applied upto Hm whereas for H above
1000m to 6000m, the correction factor shall be applied for H m and not for H-1000
References
1. CBIP Publication 299 : Manual on S/S Layout
2. IEEE 32
3. IEC 60071: Insulation Coordination-Part 1: Definitions, Principles & Rules (1993-12) &
Part 2: Application Guide (1996-12) for AC system
4. IEC 60071- Part 5: Insulation Co-ordination for DC System (2002-06)
5. INMAR
6. IS 731: Specification for Porcelain Insulators for Overhead Power Lines with a Nominal
Voltage greater than 1000V
7. IEC 383: Insulators for Overhead Lines with a Nominal Voltage above 1000V
Part 1: Ceramic or Glass Insulator units for ac system- Definitions, Test Methods and
Acceptance Criteria
Part 2: Insulator Strings and Insulator sets for ac system- Definitions, Test Methods and
Acceptance Criteria
8. IEC 611099: Composite Insulators
9. IEC 61211: Insulators of Ceramic material or Glass for O/H Lines with a nominal voltage
Greater than 1000V- Impulse Puncture Testing in Air
10. IEC 60694: Common Specifications for H.V Switchgear and Control gear Standards
11. IEC/ TS 60815: Selection and Dimensioning of High Voltage Insulators intended for use in
polluted conditions for AC system - Part 2: Ceramic and Glass Insulators & Part -3: Polymer
Insulators/ TB 158 and Part 4: Part 4: Insulators for DC System / CIGRE WG D1.44-Correction for
DC
12. CIGRE Publication 7005: ‘Guidelines for Altitude Correction of Pollution Performance of
Insulators’ by Convener, CIGRE WG D1.44 on 28th August during CIGRE Paris Session
2018