Insulators for high voltages / J.S.T. Looms

Includes index

Bibliography: pages [249]-258

Contents Foreword Acknowledgments 1 Introduction 1.1 Definitions 1.1.2 Functions of insulators 1.1.3 Classification of insulators 1.2 History of insulators for transmission systems 1.2.1 Transmission lines 1.2.2 Insulator evolution: Materials and shapes 1.3 Critical elements of an insulator 1.3.1 Properties of materials for insulators 1.3.2 Operation in adverse conditions 1.3.3 Costs of insulators 2 Insulating materials 2.1 Basic nature of insulator dielectrics 2.2 Properties of electrical porcelain 2.2.1 The determinants 2.2.2 Mechanical properties 2.2.3 Electrical properties 2.3 Properties of insulator glass 2.3.1 The glassy state 2.3.2 Mechanical properties of insulator glass 2.3.3 Electrical properties of insulator glass 2.4 Properties of resin-bonded glass fibre (RBGF) 2.4.1 Fibrous composites: General 2.4.2 Unidirectional fibre materials 2.4.3 Mechanical properties of RBGF 2.4.4 Electrical properties of RBGF 2.5 Properties of polymers and polymer concretes 2.5.1 Applications and functions 2.5.2 Polymers for housings 2.5.3 Evaluation of polymers as housing materials 2.5.4 Polymer concretes 3 Manufacture of wet process porcelain 3.1 Wet and other processes

This book is a guide to the whole field of high voltage insulators as used in electrical power networks, traction and production. It covers the historical development of the shapes - sometimes strange ones - of modern types, decribes the principal materials - both ceramic and polymeric - and their fabrication, explains the physical principles of contamination and flashover, and reviews the mass of data on research and testing. Practical advice is given, with worked examples and many illustrations, on the choice of insulator, including the problems of the environment and nuisance. The remedies that are available to deal with pollution flashover are compared and precautions are indicated for the potentially dangerous practices of live-washing and live-working. Useful guiding principles for the designer of power lines and substations are listed with the relevant international standards and tables containing properties of materials. For the student and researcher there are accounts of current basic R&D, and indications of probable future trends. The particularly current topics of optical fibre insulation, direct current and vandal-resistance are covered. The author's first-hand experience of most of the matters which he describes enables him to write clearly and to avoid confusing mathematical and technical complexities. This is a book for the intelligent layman as well as for the specialist.