IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, Vol. 6,No.
1, January 1991
PERFORMANCE OF HV 'IRANSMISSION LINE
INSULATORS IN DESERT CONDITIONS
P a r t 111. POLLUTION MEASUREMENTS AT A COASTAL
SITE IN THE EASTERN REGION OF SAUDI
ARABIA
M. Akbar
Senior Member, IEEE
Research Institute
King Fahd University of
Petroleum and Minerals
Dhahran. Saudi Arabia
Indexing term: Field testing, Flashover, Insulators, Desert
Pollution, Severity Assessment
Abstract - Contamination flashover is t h e major cause of
insulator failure in t h e eastern region of Saudi Arabia. Saudi
Consolidated Electric Company in t h e eastern region (SCECO
East) has adopted several countermeasures such a s increasing
t h e creepage distance and using insulators of different shapes
and materials including resistive-glazed insulators. The
utility, however, still relies primarily on an expensive,
rigorous maintenance program.
The insulator contamination problem is strongly
environment-dependent and no generalized anti-pollution
c r i t e r i a can b e offered. Optimizaton of insulators design and
t h e i r subsequent maintenance requires information about t h e
performance of specific insulators under w e t , contaminated,
and energized conditions. The most reliable approach t o
acquiring this information would b e long-term outdoor
testing in a r e a s of interest f o r existing and f u t u r e
transmission lines.
As p a r t of a national e f f o r t t o study insulator
contamination problems, t e n field stations, five energized
and five unenergized. have been constructed
representative locations throughout t h e country. The first
dedicated energized insulator test station near t h e Ghazlan
power plant has been operational since April 1985. The test
s i t e is about 500 m away from t h e coast. Insulator samples of
different shapes and materials have been t e s t e d in different
string configurations. Leakage current s t a t i s t i c s in t e r m s of
surge counting and I-highest have been recorded
simultaneously with meteorological parameters. Moreover,
t h e number of flashovers experienced by different insulators
w e r e registered. All d a t e w e r e acquired and stored utilizing a
digital a u t o m a t i c d a t a acquisition system.
In this paper, fundamental d a t a of equivalent s a l t deposit
density and t h e chemical composition of prevailing pollution
a r e presented and a modified classification of pollution
severity is proposed. Leakage c u r r e n t d a t a and t h e flashover
statistics are given. Based on various measured parameters, a
comparison of performance among different insulators is
discussed.
89 SM 600-8 PWRD A paper recommended and approved
by the IEEE Transmission and Distribution Committee of
the IEEE Power Engineering Society for presentation at
the IEEE/PES 1989 Summer Meeting, Long Beach, California,
July 9 - 14, 1989. Manuscript submitted January 31, 1989;
made available for printing April 21, 1989.
0885-8977/91/0100-0429$01.000 1990 IEEE
429
F. Zedan
Member. IEEE
Electrical Engineering Dept.
King Fahd University of
Petroleum and Minerals
Dhahran. Saudi Arabia
INTRODUCTION
Selection of outdoor insulation in a new environment is a
difficult task without having some knowledge on t h e severity
of prevailing pollution. The problem becomes r a t h e r a c u t e at
higher levels of transmission voltage where overinsulation is
not practical due t o various technical and economic
constraints. I t is, therefore, imperative t o have a reasonably
a c c u r a t e assessment of s i t e severity f o r a technically sound
design. Areas where transmission lines already exist,
measurement of s i t e severity is required t o economically
control t h e type and frequency of maintenance procedures. I t
is important t o n o t e t h a t several f a c t o r s which contribute t o
atmospheric pollution may change significantly over t h e
years and thus regular monitoring of pollution severity s e e m s
essential. This is particularly t r u e in f a s t developing
countries where urbanization and industrialization can
significantly a l t e r t h e pollution severity level with time.
In Saudi Arabia, high voltage transmission lines have
been constructed extensively over a relatively short t i m e t o
m e e t increased demands of urbanization and industrializa-
tion. Time constraints coupled with unavailability of relevant
d a t a , resulted in considerable reliance being placed on
foreign design criteria in building t h e lines. A t present,
transmission lines of up t o 380 kV a r e operational in Saudi
Arabia. Experience has revealed t h a t contamination-related
at outages a r e adversely affecting t h e reliability of e l e c t r i c
power supply, particularly in t h e eastern and western regions
of Saudi Arabia. To address this problem, a national research
program was initiated a t t h e King Fahd CJniversity of
Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, through t h e establishment
of t e n dedicated outdoor test stations [ I 1.
The first unenergized t e s t station was established in
October 1985 a t Dhahran in t h e eastern region of Saudi
Arabia which has been thoroughly discussed in t h e companion
paper [2]. The f i r s t energized test station in t h e e a s t e r n
region was e r r e c t e d in April 1985 a t Ghazlan. The
performance of different insulators has been evaluated f o r
about 30 months through t h e measurement of equivalent s a l t
deposit density (ESDD). I-highest, surge frequencies of
different levels, and t h e number of flashovers. Because of
their significant influence in t h e contamination flashover
process, prevailing meteorological conditions were
simultaneously measured. Moreover, contaminants were
analyzed f o r their chemical composition. As an indirect
assessment of pollution severity, a dust-deposit gauge was
also installed a t t h e test station.
In this paper, performance of different insulators is
evaluated through t h e measurement of ESDD, I-highest,
surging frequency, and t h e number of flashovers. The
order-of -merit (OOM) among different insulators is also
presented.
TtiL ENERGIZED CI-IAZLAN TEST STATION
Occupying a floor a r e a of 3000mL. t h e Ghazlan insulator
430

t e s l station i s located about I k m west o f Ghazlan power severity indicators, were measured along w i t h actual
plant of SCECC) Last. She coast of the Arabian Gulf i s about performance data. The major results are presented i n this
500 m t o the north. There is vast desert east and south o f sec tion.
the test station.
Measurement of Pollution Severity Index
A galvanized steel portal structure measuring 16 m by 16
m by 1 5 rn high has been installed, in addition t o t w o towers.
A dust-deposit gauge was installed a t a standard height
Each tower has a height of m and a crossarm of 15 m
of 3 m above the ground. It has four collectors i n t o each of
and is also constructed of galvanized steel. Using these
which both rain and pollution are blowri through a vertical
structures, a t o t a l of 3 3 insulator strings have been installed.
slot on each side. The installation i s such that one slot faces
28 test strings have been installed a t the actual height o f
north, one south, one east. and one west. The test procedure
supporting structures while f i v e are installed a t a lower
involves the monthly removal o f pollutiori f r o m each
height.
collector and measurement of the electrical conductivity o f
the contents when dissolved i n 500 m i o f distilled water. The
1he station has been energized using a single phase test
pollution index i s defined as the mean value of conductivities
transformer of 250 kV, 500 kVA capable of simulating a 433
kV system voltage. 1he primary side i s fed through a 13.8 a t 20 OC for a l l four directions expressed in pS/cm and
kV/O-l kV. 500 kVA voltage regulator. The complete power normalized t o 30 days.
supply has a short circuit current capability of 28.9 A and
satisfies the stiffness criteria [3. 41. The test transformer is
provided w i t h cascade winding permitting future expansion t o
a higher range o f output voltage.

The data acquisition system (DAS) a t the Ghazlan test

station i s a self-contained, portable instrument powered by
(AP1)
internal rechargeable batteries and/or from the station
service supply. Major parts o f the system comprise scanners.
disc: drives, digital clock, monitor, printer, and computer. A
detailed description of the DAS has been given earlier [I].

The choice of insulators was based on inputs from

SCL_CO Last and leading insulator manufacturers. Porcelain
and toughened-glass insulators as shown in Figure I have
been tested. 7 heir geometric parameters are given i n Table
I. kqual-creepagt> distance o f 30 mm/kV of system voltage
has been adopted as the criterion t o evaluate the relative
performance o f different insulators. 1he chosen creepage
distance i s considerably less than the design level used by
SCECCI Last i n a search f o r relative OOM among several
insulators over H relatively short time duration. Ari overall
view of the Chazlan test station i s shown in F igure. 2.
(LRAP3)
LVALUATION 1 ECI iNIWIJES

Several techniques have been adopted internationally t o

measure site pollution severity and t o evaluate the relative
performance o f different insulators [ 5 ] . In the present
investigation, test procedures adopted are measurement o f
equivalent salt deposit density (ESDD). I-highest, and surge
counting.

The deposition of contaminants on an insulator surface is Fig. 1. Shapes of insulators tested a t the energized
the f i r s t stage in the contamination flashover process. The Chazlan test station.
deposit normally contains soluble salts and other insoluble
ingredients. To measure the degree of contamination, FSDD Table 1. Dimensional parameters o f i n s u l a t o r s under
was measured on a monthly-basis. Since shape and test a t t h e Ghazlan t e s t s i t e l o c a t e d i n t h e
orientation play an important role, a l l representative shapes Eastern r e g i o n of Saudi Arabia.
were used t o compare the LSDD on vertical and inclined
strings. These strings were installed a t the same height, [nsul a t o r - - i - T - L r T
having a ground-clearance o f about I O meters. l o avoid any (nun) (nun) t o p bottom f a c t o r
loss of contamination, ESDD was measured on actual strings.

I-eakage current which flows through the insulator 254

surface depends on the amount o f contamination, i t s
280
distribution, and the degree o f wetness. I n this test program,
320
measurement of both the I -highest and the surge -counting
320
were adopted. I n conjunction w i t h these measurements, the 425
number o f flashovers are also registered.
390
215 3800 10.03
RESULT S AND DISCUSSIONS 207 4225 11.50
270 1318
The research program was designed t o prornote
195 4800 20764 13.22
understanding of degree o f pollution severity and to identify
the mosl promising type of transmission line insulators f o r
1 L ~-
.. 1
* Material of eac i n s u l a t o r i s shown i n
the eastern region of Saudi Arabia. F o r this purpose, several P a r e n t h e s i s . P: P o r c e l a i n , G : G l a s s
parameters, such as dust -deposit pollution index, ESDD. H : Height ( S p a c i n g ) , D: Diameter
leakage current surges, and I-highest, which are used as LD: Leakage D i s t a n c e , SA: Surface Area
 43 1

Fig. 2. Photographic view of the Ghazlan test

station.

Based on 21 monthly measurements, t h e Cihazlan test

station has an average pollution index of 226. l o translate
this indirect p a r a m e t e r into actual s i t e severity, line
performance d a t a needed t o b e collected. In t h e past, through Fig. 3. Monthly mean of dust gauge conductivity
a systematic investigation which involved measuremen1 of measurements [6].
t h e pollution index in various regions and of t h e performance
of standard disc insulators on a c t u a l lines in t h e vicinity of
each test site, t h e s i t e severity classification and t h e
required creepage path which should be provided f o r a given
contamination level w e r e established (Figures 3 and 4) [ 6 ] . >
7 hrough comparison of t h e results with these figures, i t can Y
b e said t h a t t h e Ghazlari t e s t station is experiencing E 20
exceptionally severe pollution, and t h e required creepage
distance (in t e r m s of standard disc insulators) is about 30.4
mm/kV. As will b e discussed l a t e r , considering o t h e r d i r e c t
severity indicators, t h e Ghazlan t e s t s i t e actually
1

e
.
experiences exceptionally s e v e r e pollution. I iowever, our
operational experience indicates t h a t correlation of t h e
pollution index t o t h e size of t h e required insulation, a s
proposed in Figure 4, seems t o b e less accurate. Considering
t h e simplicity of t h e equipment (dust -deposit gauge), which e
does not require any maintenance or e l e c t r i c source, t h e
W
pollution indices d a t a can b e utilized advantageously f o r an
approximate severity assessment o f new locality without *a 18
any previous knowledge or reference.

ESDD Measurement ll 1 1 1 1 I I I I I I I
25 75 125 175 225 300
ESDD measurements w e r e made over a 33-month period
on 12 insulator strings having different shapes and Pollution Index
orientations. Eight strings, each 6 m long, w e r e installed on ~ i 4 ~ Creepage
. path required on standard disc f o r
t h e a c t u a l portal and tower structures giving a minimum given pollution severity [ 6 ] .
clearance from t h e ground of 10 m. Four inclined strings
w c r e installed ill a lower height tiaviny a rninirnurn clearance
(1) Irrespective of
insulator shape, t h e average ESDD
of at)oul 7 r r i from t h e ground. The measim2rnent.s were
2
carried oul. a t morithly intervals t o give a b e t t e r exceeded 0.1 mg/cm in just two months, which is
understanding of t h e pollution build-up mechanism. During classified a s heavy pollution [7].
ttie f i r 4 eight months, me~siirerrientswort: c,<irriwl out Io
determine t h e average I SDD f o r t h e complt:te w i d a c e . (2) During t h e initial seven dry months, t h e ESDD exceeded
Ia t e r , F-.SDD was measured separately fllr t h e top and bottom
sudar:HS of each type of ilisc: insiilator. 1 he irifluerir:e of 0.3 mg/cm2 on those insulator designs with a l a g e r
several parameters is discussed below. under -surface. Although open -profile insulators such a s
AGI and LRAP3 collected less pollution, t h e difference
A. E f f e c t of Insulator Shape on ESDD of Vertical Strinqs was smaller than expected. Considering t h e pollution
collection characteristics ( t h e lower, t h e better), t h e
In Figure 5. t h e average ESDD d a t a o f five vertical OOM among t h e five insulator desigrls can b e assigned a s
strings of different. insulators a r e shown. l o p and bottom LRAP3. AGI, F P I , F G I , and SPI. tiowever, t h e
distributions of LSDD a r e separately given in Figures 6 and 7. differences in ESDD between t h e last t h r e e a r e
To f a c i l i t a t e understandirig of LSDD fluctuations, t h e negligible arid therefore no c l e a r superiority of one
quantity of rainfall f o r t h e duration of these measurements is design over another c a n b e seen.
shown in Figure 8. From these d a t a , t h e following comments
a r e given: (3) Duririy t h e 8 t h and 9Lh months some rainfall (Figure 8)
432

07:' 1.07

0.65 E 0 93

0 no

0 67
-
n

5 c.9
-E"
g 0.40
VI
Y

0.27

0 1.4

0 4 8 12 16 20 21 28 32
u
,
r
,
.A
C.00 0 1. 8 12 16 20 26 28 j2

EXPOSURE PEhtJD !??ONTHS) EXPOSURE PERIOD (PLINTHS)

I-iy. 5. Polhitior1 biiild
insulators of vertical strinqs.
performance of different
lip F ig. 7. Pollutiofl build-up on bottom surface of
different insulators of vertical strings.
was recorded, and t h e self -cleaning characteristics of
t h e various insulator types can be judged from t h e
a f t e r - r a i n LSDD measurements. It is c l e a r t h a t I.RAPJ
and AG1 a r e b e t t e r self-cleaners than t h e deep-ribbed
t i SP1 designs such a s F P 1 , F (2I , and SP I . In o t h e r instances of
rairlfall, the insulators demonstrated similar
self-cleaning characteristics.
(4) During tht: dry period, FSDD on t h e top surface rises
quite rapidly and insulators having a large f l a t s u r f a c e
such a s SPI, and AC;I collect relatively more pollution.
Self -cleaning of t h e top surface during rainfaill is quite
e f f e c t i v e irrespective of insulator type.

( 5 ) l h c r a t e - o f - r i s e of t S O D on t h e bottorn s u r f a c e is
smaller than t h e top surface. I {owever, t h e bottom
s u r f a c e inherently has poor self -cleaning ability diiring
rainfall.

( 6 ) Corresponding to worst measured cases of pollution, t a p

and bottom surfaces have approximately 1:2 F-SDD ratio.

€3. E f f e c t of Insulator Shape on ESDD of Inclined Strinq

o " > l - L . L . . L l - A l - l . I I I I I I I 1 I
G 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32
lhrer: inclined strings consisting of FPI, SPI, arid A G I
EXPCSURC FE9100 (MONTHS) with a clearance uf I O m frorri t h e ground were used f o r
F 19.6. I%iliition build -up top surrace o f cliffwent kSDD measurements. Because uf hanging constraints, all
insuletors of vartir:al stririgs. three strings were exposed in different directions. 1h e
I -__-- insulator string of S P l was installed with t h e bottorn surface
exposed southward. Similarly, t h e lower p a r t of t h e F P I and
AGI strings w e r e exposed westward and eastward
respectively. 1h e average F.SDD and t h e distributions for the
top and bottom surfaces of t h e inclined strings a r e given in
F igures 9. 10. and I I respectively .

o I t is c l e a r from Figure 9 t h a t F.SDD exceeded 0.1

mg/cm2 i n a period of two months. Cornparirig t h e
perfarrnance of different shapes, it appears t h a t f o r t h e
inclined strings, t h e OOM of different insulators is quite
similar t o vertical strings i.e. A G I . FPI, and SPI.
Moreover, t h e difference between S P I , and F P I is only
marginal.

o From Figures 10 and 11, i t is c l e a r t h a t t h e behavior of

ra top and bottom surfaces of t h e inclined strings in t e r m s
.
o f rate-of -rise. arid self -cleaning ability is very similar
t o t h e vertical strings for t h e S P I , and F P I . Iiowever,
ACi1 has shown relatively superior self -cleaning or t h e
bottom surface.
 433

0.60 -

0.50 -
-
-5 OLO-
>
- -
8 030 -
v1
Y -

CO?!
c
1 I I ~ ' L - ~ . . J - ' L L '
t
U i 6 12 20 Zf si 29 ?r
EXPOSURE PERi2D (MONTHS 1

F ig. 9. Pollution build -up perforrriarice of different

insulators of inclined strings.

02';-r - - 1 I 1 I 8 1 I 1 I 1

I
0231

0.09

205,
t
I
I
I-
1 1
o.oaL--J
0 4
' 1
8
' I
12
' '
16
'
20
' '
24
' ' '
28 32
0.0
0 L 8 12 16 20 24 28 32

EXPOSURE ?ER100 (MONTHS) EXPOSURE PERIOD I MONTHS 1

F ig. 12. Iieiylil crfw I oIi pollution build -up
I- iq. 10. Pollution blJi\d-lip oti top surface of
rlirferent irisiliators uf iriclined stririgs. pcirformance.

10 understand t h e effect of orietitation. by comparing clear- frorn this figure t h a l t h e irif1iienc:e of height on FSDU
F-SDD d a t a o f f-igures 5 and 9, it is obvious t h a t during t h e f o r t h c investigated range is negligibly small.
initial seven months of dry weather, t h e difference in F-SDU
between vertical arid inclintxl strings of t h e s a m e type of 1he r- SC)U mcasuremenls carried o u t a t t h e Lharlari t e s t
insulators, is only marginal. I-iowever, a noticeable difference SI aticiri have shown t h a t t h e pi r?vailirig piillritiori coritlitic~nsin
c a n be observed particularly for t h e acrodynamic type a f t e r the: coastal part o f t h c c:.isterri rugiorl a r e vcr'y severe. A!; will
rciinfall where iriclinerl stririgs expose themselves I n b e t t e r bc disciissell l a t e r , several flastiovers have IJf:cn cxpwiariced
self -clr?ariing. I r i t h e vortical position, t h e highest of average a t a l e s t r:rtir:page of 30 mm/kV of Lhe system voltaye.
I SDI) valu+:s for SP1. rFiJ1, and A(;I art? O.69, 0.51, arid 11.53
D. p0 I l!i t ion. C&ssific_aI&n
niq/cni2 rcspt:c:tively. 1 he corrospondirig valiies i n iriclint!d
positions are 0.51, 0.50. arid 0 . 5 riiy/cm2. C1assific:atiori u f pollutirm s e v w i t y or1 Lhe ri~cidwred
1 SDI) values is given iri Table 71 [ I ] . This table, hnwcver, does
r:. EfecJ of I ieiyht no1 provi(lr! I t i e nei?derl riisl iiii.1 ioii for thr? raiiye o f TSDD
vnluc!s tictwccn 0.1 mg/cni7 and 1.0 mg/crn'. From C SDD
Two inciinfxj strings o f antifog inwlators wert? installed measurements conducted aL t h e Gliiizla~i tesl stal.ion. it has
a t t h e Gliiirlan t e s t stal ion. I h o clearances frorn t h e ground becornc kriowri t h a t somo insdaLors can accumiilal t! (lust
were I O r n a i d 2 m respectively. I SI)I) was rne<tsiired
mi)rithly and I tie rf!siJll.s are prcsenl r:rl i n Ficjcire 17. 11 is qiiite n w r e than ari cquivalent TSDD valut: cif 0.1 ing/(:rn* in a
434

period of less than two months. I-laving collected ESOD d a t a Table 4 . Data of Leakage Current Surges from the
f o r about 31 months, a modified ESDD -based classificaLin of Ghazlan T e s t S t a t i o n .
s i t e severity 1s proposed in Tahla 3 . S i t e severity assessrnent
using Table 3 will give a b e t t e r appreciaticm uF pollution Ranges o f s u r g e c o u n t e r s
problems wilh particular r e f e r e n c e t o coritamination 10-25 25-50 50-100 100- 250 250-500 2 5 0 0
conditions in t h e d e s e r t environment. (mA) (mA) (mA) (mA) (mA) (mA)

lri pollution measurements, in addition t o t h e 30,189 19,058 9,842 4,047 740 116
measuremenls of t.SDD, i t is desirable t o know t h e chemical 13,838 3,521 1,214 476 59 0
composition of prevailing pollutants 1.0 effectively simulate 22,044 6,583 2,173 937 156 13
condil.ions in t h e laboratory and more importantly t o identify 24,428 6,826 1,486 191 6 1
t h e source of pollution in eacli region. AFIt:r about 15 months 19,815 9,513 1,614 292 34 2
of exposure, dusk samples collected from t h e Ghnrlan test 31,767 27,398 13,882 3,639 316 3
stal ion w e r e chemically analyzed f o r snluble arid irisoliible a.
ingredients. The results show t h a t sodium s a l t s a r e t h e most
dominarit followtlcl by calcium salts. Among t h e insoluble
fraction, silica is t h e major constitilent.
10-75 25-50 50-100 100-250 250-500 > 5 0 0
Table 2 : ESDD range f o r d i f f e r e n t s i t e s e v e r i t i e s 1 7 1 . (mA) (mA) (mA) (mA) (mA)
I
25,893 57 5
31,277 10,922 18 2
112,406 56,431 1,378 83
vcry l i g h t 9,022 54 2
light 63,369 23,744 16 3
medium 44,817 24,905 88
0.1 - up hcavy 79,595 22,568 448
Table 3: Proposed classification of site 35,785 I 838
severity b. Exposure d u r a t i o n : October 12, 1985 - Hay
- -. 31, 1986.

ESDU (mg/cm2) Site severity Type of Ranges .of surRe c o u n t e r s

Insula- 10-25 25-50 50-100 1 0 0 - 2 5 0 250 500 2 5 0 0
-tor (mA) L a --(mA) .-(mA) (mA) (mA)
0 - 0.03 very l i g h t
0.03 - 0.06 light LRFPl 332,412 2,111
0.06 - 0.10 medium 126,060 1,436
0.1 - 0.30 heavy 188,415 14,688
0.3 - 0.50 severe 92,976 3,167
0.5 - 1.0 extremely s e v e r e 169,045 1,076
AP 1 160,529 4,407 248
LRAP3 1177,181 11,153 1,145
C. Exposure d u r a t i o n : June 1, 1986 - May 13,
1987.

Type of
Insula- 10-25 25-50 50-100 100-250 250-500 >500
tor (mA) (mA) ( mA) (mA) (mA) ( mA)

51,917 11,947 4,404 3,236 553 42

16,184 10,127 7,414 6,358 759 16
110,800 43,542 7,537 4,337 1,152 112
12,991 5,974 5 , 4 3 1 5,144 1,118 57
22,730 10,812 9,018 2,300 124 5
88,173 13,078 12,321 7,725 547 32
25,469 15,766 7,974 2,950 105 10
21,748 5,843 3,h20 2,151 445 32

d. Exposure d u r a t i o n : May 1 4 , 1987 - August 2 2 ,

1987.

Type of
Irisu l a - 0-25
0
LRFPl 29,199 9,043 3,588 2,683 361 28
9,608 10,049 5,854 1,692 90 0
27,902 30,163 8,308 5,082 1,076 131
LRAP4 9,458 h.032 4,640 2,h24 635 37
37,079 10,367 11,706 5,491 469 14
15,027 11,206 6,209 2,030 198 17
LRAP 3 11,259 11,199 10,815 10,027 1,080 41
I I I 1 1
e. Exposure duration: August 23, 1987
September 2 4 , 1 9 8 7 .
 435

Table 5 . The OOH Based on Leakage Current Surges (I) I-highest d a t a can b e used wilh a considerable degree of
Exceeding 500 mA. confidence t o anticipate how close an insulator is t o
flashover in an environmerit similar t o one exprienced in
t h e eastern coastal region of Saudi Arabia.
11-o6-@ 14 05.1
to to (2) I n general i t would b e difficult t o convert t h e I-highest
3-05-87 22- 0 % 4-09-87 values into FSDO d a t a because of t h e dependence of t h e
former on t h e degree of wetting and t h e insulator shape.

K
Insula
t o r Type _-
Therefore, f o r practical purposes, t h e setting of t h e
alarm signal based on I -highest will require adjustment
in e a c h situation.

C. A ~ t u a l . P ~ r f o r m a n cDea t a
LKFPl 5 6 4
AG1 3 3 1 Flashover d a l a form t h e most realistic basis f o r a
SP1 1 8 7 comparison of t h e various types of insulator. In l a b l e 7,
LHAP~ 2 7 5 a c t u a l flashover and tripping statistics a r e given. Almost all
FGI 1 1 flashovers arid trippings w e r e caused due t o occurrence of
AP1 4 5 high relative humidity. 7 h e number of trippings indicated
FPI 2 against each insulator represents t h e transformer trippings
MAP3 6 4 caused by excessive leakage current oti a given insulator
_______ -_ stririy a t t h e t i m e of tripping. 1-his was based on a detailed
presentation of t h e I-highest d a l a at t h e instant of tripping.
1-he insulatrir string which hail t h e highest probability of
N. Measurement of I -hiqhest flashover a t t h e t i m e of tripping was considered resporisible
f o r t h e tripping. l h e r e f o r e , t h e trippirig counts may also be
I-highest measurements w e r e carried o u t oii eight considered a s one possible evaluation criterion.
insulator strings. l t i e d a t a storage system is such thrlt t h e
I-highest or1 each insulator during a ten-minute period is Considering only t h e flashover statistics, the test
stored rls one value. Therefore, if desired, t h e I-highest can insulators can b e ranked as:
b e presented 011 a ten-minute basis. Iiowever, in view of t h e
large amount of d a t a , t h e highest leakage current values a r e AGI. and LKAP4 : Hank I
conveniently pmsentt:d through software control on a 10 -day ILRAP3, and A P I : Hank 2
basis. Representative values of t h e I-highest a r e given in F G I , F f j l , and I-RFP1 : Hank 3
Table 6 . A f t e r careful comparison of t h e 1 -highest dal a with SP 1 : Hank 4
actual flashover, t h e following comments a r e given.
Iiowever. if tripping d a t a a r e considered i r i t h e
Table 6 . R e p r e s e n t a t i v e 1 h i g h e s t Data f o r Various performance evaluation (as a n equivalent of flashover), t h e
Types of I n s u l a t o r s a t t h e Ghazlan T e s t overall OOM becomes LRAP4. A C I , A P I , I-RFPI, F G I , F G I ,
S t a t i o n f o r t l w Ppriod Apri 1 7 7 , 1 9 8 5 I HAPJ. and SPI.
October 1 5 , 1 9 8 7 .
It appears, therefore. t h a t in general, using equal
.RFP1 AG1 SP1 LRAP4 FG1 AP1 FP1 LRAP
creepage criterion, t h e aerodynamic designs give superior
performance. For future d a t a collection. i l may b e inore
appropriate t o consider equal-height criterion a s t h e basis of
comparison. Moreover, t o improve t h e stiffness performance
or t h e feediriq source, it is desirable t o isolate strinys used
27-04-85 - 08-06-85 768 271 150 - 126 - 133 66 for nonelectrical measurernents.
09-06-85 - 05-08-85 775 184 336 - 180 - 578 225
06-08-85 - 17-08-85 809 398 6 9 3 - 286 - 422 369 Table 7. Trip and Flashover S t a t i s t i c s of Various
18-08-85 - 02-09-85 .707 326 637 - 1034 - 524 669 Types of Irisulators a t the Ghazlan Test
14-09-85 - 11-10-85 ,452 259 5 5 3 - 166 - 81 413
- 11-10-85 1034- S t a t ion
27-04-85 -
.707 --
398 637 - 578 649

12-10-85 - 22-10-85 616 535 1181 483 1660 658 826 810
03-11-85 - 31-12-85 150 8 5 577 219 156 128 144 168
01-01-86 - 01-06-86 247 128 529 245 245 140 549 429
12-10-85 - 31-05-86 - _--
616 5 3 5 1181 483 1660 e -_ 828 810

01-06-86 - 09-08-86 597 821 1264 6 9 5 692 1 0 2 4 - 896

10-08-86 - 29-08-86 LO63 1057 1 2 1 2 882 866 1 2 6 4 - 1152
F . O . / T r i p data
04-09-86 - 02-10-86 577 336 717 600 1180 363 - 320
07-10-86 - 09-11-86 285 175 386 288 156 248 - 246
10-11-86 - 31-12-86 587 318 1202 6 6 3 1 0 3 2 482 - 393 Type of i n s u l a t o r s
01-01-87 - 21-01-87 532 214 1 2 1 0 620 8 1 1 489 - 1873 - - A F . O . Tripj &
.F Tr
b F.O. TriI
22-01-87 - 31-01-87 933 119 1043 510 8 9 3 322 - 1071
01-02-87 - 11-03-87 316 161 1667 1 5 5 2 322 5 0 8 - 861
3 0 1 1 0
16-03-87 - 19-06-87 253 73 1 2 0 8 404 224 1 8 3 - 622 LRFPl
01-05-87 - 13-05-87 225 6 6 1225 261 213 1 3 3 - 369 AG 1 0 0 1 1 0
01-06-86 - 13-05-87 !o43 -__
1057 1647 1 5 5 2 1180 1264
~~ - _ - 1873 SP1 1 1 8 1 2 2
LRAP4 0 0 1 0 0
18-05-87 - 31-05-87 531 210 1146 5 2 0 5 9 0 295 382 757
01-06-87 - 08-07-87 559 258 1057 124 354 366 732 515
FG1 2 0 1 2 1
09-07-87 - 02-08-87 985 587 887 735 771 8 0 3 5 7 0 272 AP 1 0 0 2 0 0
03-08-87 - 12-08-87 561 9 1 3 708 616 297 9 6 1 453 52 Wl 0 1 - - 2
13-08-87 - 22-08-87 677 682 1 2 6 8 545 1004 3 7 1 896 l o b 1 LRAP3 1 1 1 7 0
18-05-87
~~
- 22-08-87 985 ~~- _ _
9 1 3 1 2 6 8 735 1 0 0 4 9 6 1 ~~
896 1 0 6 1

23-08-87 - 07-09-87 606 654 1402 934 - 808 510

929
08-09-87 - 13-09-87 639 174 1622 718 - 348 540
435 PO*: Flashover count
14-09-87 - 17-09-87 447 279 751 348 - 383 759 470 Trip**: No. of occurrence of s e v e r e leakage
18-09-87 - 26-09-87 417 264 1486 606 - 614 5 5 5 620
current which t r i p p e d t h e transformer
23-08-87 - 26-09-87 __
639 ___ _
454 - _ 1486 934 808 759 929
~-
436
C0NC:I.I JSlf"
Basetl on field measurements taken over 30 months a t a
coastal s i t e in t h e eastern region uf Saudi Arabia, and
through a careful analysis of all severity parameters, t h e
following a r e t h e principal conclusions.
I. 1h e Ghazlan s i t e experiences extremely severe pollution.
7. Ilwing t o a long period of dry w e a t h e r lastiriy for over
eight months, t h e pollution accumulation r a t e is fast,
and F~SDr>exceediiig 0. I rng/cm2 art? experienced a f t e r
just two months of exposure. Since t h e existing
F SDD -based classification of pollution severity does not
identify distinctly t h e severity experienced i r i t h e
eastern coastal region of Saudi Arabia, a modification
has been proposed for a broader severity classification.
5. Being located near t h e coast, high relative humidity
exceeding 80 % is frequently encountered. A l l flashovers
a t t h e s i t e occurred as a result of high relative humidity
during l a t e evening or early morning.
4. From t h e occurrence of t h e flashover and t h e preceding
leakage current d a t a , it has become c l e a r t h a t in all
cases. t h e r e were sufficient indicatioris t h a l pollution
had reached a ddnger0US level. I t appears t h a l t h e
I-highest d a t a can b e used with reasonable confidence t o
signal t h e need for maintenance of transmission lines.
5. LLJsiny a simple dust -deposit gauge, t h e s i t e -severity
level can be e s t i m a t e d reasonably wcll. This may h e t h e
cheapest tool available f o r this purpose.
6. F rom actual performance data. it has been established
t h a t t h e chosen t e s t creepage distance of 30 mm/kV of
system vollage is insufficient for t h e safe: operation of
transmission lines in t h e castern regiori o f Saudi Arabia.
There is a need t o contintie t h e preserit research program
Io search f o r an optimum creepage distance. Based on
t h e acquired d a t a , refinements or t h e t e s t program a r e
being considered f o r future studies.
7. CJf t h e eight insulator dcsigris evaluated, open -profile
insulators perform b e t t e r than their deep -ribbed
counterparts. 1he overall order -of -merit is I.r<APh.
A G I , A P I , I.FIFPI. F G I , F P I , LLIIAP3, and SPI. I t should
b e clearly noted, however, t h a t the present OOM among
d i f f e r e n t insulator shapes is based on equal creepage-
distance criterion.
A C K N 0 W I.E DGEME N1
1h e research program has been supported by t h e [;enera1
Clectricity [:orporation, C;overnmerit of Saudi Arabia. -Ihe
Saudi [:onsolidated F l e c t r i c Company of t h e E-astern region
provided t h e support required for t h e F.SDU measurerncrits.
F . Zedan, A. F arag, and M. Akbar, "i-'erfor.mance of I iV
-1 ransrnission I-ine Insulators in I k s e r t Conditions : P a r t
11. Research on Iiiqh Voltage Insulators in t h e Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia", I'resented a t t h e F.I-'Rl/lF.E.k Workshop
held a t t h e 1Jniversity o f Southern California, 1-0s
Angeles, L JSA. November 1985. Accepted for publication
in 1tt.t 1 rans. on klectrical Insulation.
F. Ledan, and M. Akbar, "Performance of I i V
1ransrnission I..ine Insulators in Uesert Conditions: P a r t
IV. Study uf Insulators at a Semi-C:oastal S i t e i r i the
F astern Region of Saudi Arabia", Submitted to 1t.F l-./l+S
Summer Meeting 1989.
[3] F. 7edan. M. Akbar, and A. Farag, "Measurement of
Source IJarameters rjf 1 +V Supplies used for Outdoor and
Indoor Pollution Studies in t h e Kingdom of Saudi Arabia",
Proceedings of 5th International Symposium on I iigh
Voltage Enginecring, Braunschweig, West Germany,
P a p e r No. 62 -10, August 198.1.
[4] F . Hizk, "Some Hequirements for A C and DC Pollution
Tests", Paper Presented a t the I:I(;Ht SI: 5 3 Colloqiiium,
Iiungary, September 1985.
[SI C:IC;HF- Working C;roup 3 3 - 0 4 , " [ h e Measurement of S i t e
Pollution Severity and its Application t o Insulator
Dimensioning f o r Af: Systems", F-lectra NO. 5. pp.
101-116, 1979.
[6] H. Macey, "ltie k r f o r m a n c e of Iiigh Voltage, IJUtdoor
Insulation in Contamiriaterl F.nvironment", 7 he
1 ransactions of t h e South African Institute of filect,rical
Engincers, pp. 80-92, April 1981.
[7] I t C I : Working Group, "Applicatiorl of Insulators in a
Contaminatc!d I-.nvironment", IF tt 1 rans. on Power
Apparatus and Systems, Vol. PAS -98, 1979 pp. 1676 -1695.
Mohammad Akbar (S'7/, M'EIO, SM'85)
was born in Abbottabad, Pakistan on
November 18, 1947. l i e yraduated from
Peshawar IJniversity, Pakistan in 1970.
l i e was awarded Master and Doctor of
Engineering degrees in 197./ and 1980
from t h e 1Jniversity of 1 okushima and
the University of lokyo, Japan
respectively. Duririg t h e Period October
1971 t o April 1974, h e worked a s a
lecturer in F-lectrical F-ngineering
Department of Peshawar IJniversity.
From August 1980 t o August 1981, he worked as a Visiting
Assistarit Professor a t t h e k.lectrical F.ngineering Department
uf the I-Jniversity of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario. Canada. In
September 1981, he joined t h e Research Institute of t h e
IJniversity ( J f I-'etro\eutn and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
where he is a Research l-.rlgineor. Iiis fields of interest
include high voltage, insulation and power systems.
Dr. Akbar is a senior member of IEI-6 ([JSA) and a
member of IkF. (Japan) and C:IGI<F..
l-areed M. Zedan (M'85) WAS horn in
Kingdom uf Saudi Arabia. l i e received
his Dip. Ing. deyrer: from university of
Karlsruhe, West fAermany and Ph. 0
degreo from university o f Southern
California, 1J.S.A. in I970 and 1979
respectively. Since IY79 he has been
with t h e King Fahd IJniversity of
l'etroleum and Minerals where he is
ixirrently an Associate Professor of
lectrical F ngineering. l i e has served
AS t h e Chairman of t h e Uepartment of
I lectrical tnqineering from 1980-8/. I le has recently been
appointed a s a member of the Board of 1 rustees of t h e Saudi
[;enera1 F lectricity Corporation. Dr. Zedan has authored over
70 technical papers and 50 technical reports. lie has
pioneered research in t h e area o f Power Systern
Interconnection and I1.V. Insulators i n t h e GC,C countries. I lis
r e s e a n 11 i n t e r m t s a r e in t h e a r e a of 1i.V. Insulators, Power
System Operation, Planning and C:omponerits.
 431
Discussion that between 100-200 pS/cm severe. Could the authors please describe
the procedure used to obtain these conductivity levels from the measured
K. Naito and R. Matsuoka, (NGK Insulators, Ltd. Japan): The authors pollution. The CIGRE has published data which gives the water conductiv-
are to be highly commended for the presentation of such a thorough and ity to be used in salt-fog tests to evaluate porcelain insulators for various
contamination severities. This data, shown in Table 1, indicates that a
systematic investigation of desert contamination. The data included in this
paper is very useful for the insulator contamination design and mainte- water conductivity of 2000 pS/cm must be used to test insulators to be
nance in desert area. As the authors clearly describe in the paper, order of located in areas with very little pollution.
Could the authors explain this apparent contradiction.
merits is made based on the equal creepage criteria among various kinds
Do the authors plan to perform similar studies on non-ceramic insula-
of insulators. From the manufacturer’s viewpoint, however, we would like
to remind the following points: tors also.
(1) Order of merits (OOM) should not be evaluated only by the ESDD
data.
Table 1. ClGRE Recommended Salinity and Correspondrng Water Conducfivity For
(2) OOM should be evaluated by flashover voltage (FOV) or withstand Porcelain and Glass Insulators
voltage (WSV) of the insulators exposed in the actual field concerned,
NATURAL SALT-FOG SALINITY (kg/m’) Water
Conductivity
and not by equal creepage criteria but by equal height criteria. POLLUTION Reference
( 3 ) Anti-fog type insulators are so designed that the maximum FOV or LEVEL Range Value (pS/cm)
WSV can be obtained within a limited insulator string length by N o Significant
increasing the creepage distance per unit insulator length (L/H) and Pollution 1.25-2.5 1.75 2800
by optimizing the shed shape in spite of sacrificing the creepage Very Light
Polution 2.5-5 35 5600
efficiency (E/L). Llght Pollution 5- 10 1 I1200
Average
According to our preliminary analysis of your valuable flashover records, Pollution 10-20 14 22400
the OOM of deep-rib type fog insulator FPI in your desert area is the first Heavy Pollution 20-40 28 44800
according to the equal height criteria. Based on our investigation simulat- Very Heavy
Pollution 40-80 56 89600
ing the desert condition of heavy ESDD together with heavy NSDD, the Exceptional
special deep-rib fog insulator shown in Fig. 1 showed 20% higher WSV Pollution > 80 I12 179200
per insulator length than FPI . NOTE. Water Conductivity based on the reference value

J. S. T. Looms, (Consultant, East Molesey, England):

The conditions in the Arabian Gull are so severe
that flashovers have occurred even on insulators
carrying 4Omm/kV of creepage and regularly hot-
washed [I]. The information provided by the authors
is thus 01 immediate interest to those who must
either specily new insulation or find cures for high
faiiure-rates, there or in similar regions.

For choice oi new insulation, where maximum

flashover voltage is needed in minimum clearance,
the authors’ steam-fog tests clearly show that
strings 01 European-type antifog discs are much
(a) FP1 superior to longrods. The poor perrormance of the
aerofoil discs is surprising. It is presumably
caused by their lower creepage per u n i t length,
LD: 605 rnm which is only partly offset by their lower catch 0 2
dirt and better self-cleaning. Earlier work [ 2 1 i n
Bahrein showed better relative performance of these
aerofoil shapes but the s a w superiority of antifog,
deep secondary-skirted discs to longrods. The
general agreement, now f o u n d , between order of
insulator-merit in the Arabian Gulf and i n the
widely-difierent Salt Fog test, IEC 507, suggests
that the rules o l insulator behaviour, which have
been found in Salt Fog research, may be applicable
in the Gull. I t so, this will give valuable guidance
on matters like eiiects of inclination or diameter
of insulators. use 01 duplex sets, linearity with
system voltage, consequences 01 taper and internal
stress-control. It is hoped that the authors’ future
work may covei- some of these.

( b ) S p e c i a l D e e p - r i b F o g Porcelain Remedial action or Ilashover seems, from these

Fig. 1. Shed configuration of Special Deep-rib Fog Porcelain compared with
FP 1
R. Gorur, (Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ): The authors ate to be
commended for their detailed study.
The data presented in Fig. 3 of the paper is very interesting. Conductiv-
ity levels greater than 200 pS/cm has been considered exceptional and
papers, to call either i o r trequent hot-washing or
t o r extended creepage-lengths. Hot-washing is very
expensive, in the tiu11 region, and may incidentally
cause “Heavy Wetting” t H W i type Ilashover, on
bushings, or on posts or longrods which have tight-
packed skirts of equal length. Where longer
creepages cannot be obtained by substitution of
antiIog strings, which do n o t rail in HW conditions
- Tor example to stop iiasjlover of line-posts,
bushings or substation-insulators - a proven new
438
remedy is to lengthen the creepage by means of OOM among different types o f insulators. Similarly, tentative
polymeric additions [ 3 1 These will raise the OOMs were discussed based on surginy frequency and
flashover voltage in dew or mist, while preventing I-highest data. We have cautioned, however, that the overall
HW flashover by re-shaping the prorile OOM among different insulators must be based or1 their
actual electrical performance and so was the case i n
These adaitions, callea Creepage Extenders, are now concluding the ultimate OOM among different insulators in
in use in several dirferent climatic regions, this paper.
including tile Gulf. Their good perIormnces,
predicted in Salt Fog tests, appear to be borne out
Dr. Naito and Mr. Matsuoka argued that performance
in service
evaluation should be done on an equal height rather than on
an equal creepage basis. This is a question of design
References:
philosophy. l h e r e i s no doubt that a compact line is desirable
b u t the ultimate goal of any u t i l i t y is t o minimize overall
cost which includes construction (material, labor.
[ 11 J . S . T.Looms. "Insulators lor High Voltages"
right-of -way) and maintenance (type and frequency of
1988. Peter Peregrlnus Ltd., IBE, London. p. 183.
maintenance) costs. It appears that, without a thorough
C21 P.J.Lambeth et al. "HV insulation f o r Bahrein".
economical evaluation f o r a given situation, i t would be
Bahreln Soc. Eng. Seminar on Engineering in the
d i f f i c u l t t o be quite sure which technique is the b e t t e r o f the
Gulf. 1 Y 7 5 .
two. It should also be pointed out that our study was
conducted f o r Saudi electric companies where external
C31 J . S . T . Looms. "Insulator prableins are nothing insulation design requirements are specified in terms o f
new" Asian Electricity, Sept. 1984., pp.435-d
creepage distance.

Lastly. i t is encouraging t o know that NGK has already

carried out some simulation studies based on our extensive
field data. About 20% b e t t e r performance o f the special
h AKB C, and . Z D A N (KFUPb deep-rib fog insulator (NGK Figure l b ) compared w i t h FPI
Dhahran, Saudi
(NCK Figure la) shown in the NCK studies i s clearly
Arabia): 1he authors appreciate the valuable comments o f
the discussers o f our paper. Ur. C o r w requested an attributed t o the extra 21 -
22% creepage distance per unit
explanation o f Figure 3 o f the paper. It should be noted that height of the former. However. because o f significant
the CICHk classification o f pollution severity based on water difference i n shed design and due t o the reasons that
conductivity used in the salt -fog test, and the pollution index pollution build-up i n the field does not follow a set rule,
values (expressed in ps/cm) shown i n Figure 3 IJf the paper theeffectiveness o f creepage distance o f each type of
are two different severity indicators. The question o f insulator and an overall performance comparison may best bo
contradiction, therefore, does not arise. 7 he pollution index determined through a systematic field research.
is measured using a dust-deposit gauge (Figure A) and it
provides an indirect indication o f pollution severity. 1he
measurement procedure and definition o f the pollution index
are given in the text o f the paper. In Figure 3. the
correclation between pollution severity and pollution index i s
based on an earlier work (reference 6 of the paper) which
measured, analyzed, and compared the monthly pollution
index data from various test sites t o the actual
pollution-related performance of 2 75 kV transmission
systems in the same regions o f South Africa.

As a p a r t of this study, three different F-uropean type

non-ceramic insulators were kept energized a t the test
station f o r about four years. 1his was t o study the aging o f
these insulators i n the aggressive Culf environment. 1he
results o f this investigation w i l l be reported in the future.

W e agree w i t h Mr. ILooms that remedial action adopting

hot -line washing o f high voltage transmission systems for
heavily polluted Gulf region i s an expensive option. However.
t o insure availability of a dependable power supply, only a
proven technique can be utilized. 1o justify large scale
application of creepage-extenders in the Gulf region, their
performance should be avaluatetl through a systematic
research program. T h i s is one o f the planned activities u f our
future research program.

Concerning the f i r s t comment of Ur. Naito arid Mr. Dimensions in mm

Matsuoka. we agree that a true order o f merit (OOM) cannot
be determined on F-SDD data alone. Since we attempted t o
collect data pertaining t o a l l stages o f the contamination
i
flashover process, a tentative comparison was made among
different insulators f o r each stage separately. For example, Fig. A. A Typical Dust-Deposit Gauge
i t is desirable that pollution accumulation, the f i r s t stage in
the pollution flashover process, should be minimum.
lherefore. based on F.SDD data, we assigned a temporary Manuscript received August 28,1989.