What Are the Advantages of Composite Insulators?

Insulators are mostly used in utility poles, with the development of technology, slowly developed in the high type of high-voltage power lines connected to one end of the tower hanging a lot of disc-shaped insulators, it is to increase the creepage distance, usually made of glass or ceramic, it is called insulators. Insulators play two basic roles in overhead transmission lines, namely supporting the wire and preventing the current from returning to the ground. These two roles must be ensured and insulators should not fail due to various electromechanical stresses caused by changes in environmental and electrical load conditions, otherwise, the insulators will not produce significant effects and will damage the use and operating life of the entire line.

Insulators are essential for high-voltage and ultra-high-voltage power transmission lines, and the earliest ones were only porcelain and glass insulators, and in the 1970s, high-temperature vulcanized silicone rubber composite insulators were first introduced in Germany. The composite insulator is composed of insulating core bar, silicone rubber bushing and a connecting fixture at both ends, which is processed by the hole injection and pressing process. Compared with traditional insulators such as porcelain and glass, composite insulators have the advantages of a lightweight, high strength, strong flicker resistance, easy maintenance and transportation, etc., and are used in many countries in the world. So far, twenty-seven countries and regions in the world have used composite insulators, and China is one of the countries with the largest number of composite insulators.

The development of composite insulators in China started late, but the starting point was very high and based on the lessons learned from foreign composite insulator production technology, China developed its own composite insulators. At present, the composite insulators developed in China have made a new breakthrough in crimping and sealing technology, and also have the characteristics of no need to detect zero value, no need to clean for life, not easy to brittle break, low production cost, etc., and their quality is incomparable to other countries. In addition to meeting the demand of the domestic power grid, the export quantity of the products is increasing year by year.

The development of domestic composite insulators has boosted the demand for fumed silica. As the silicone rubber umbrella of the composite insulator is made of polymer silicone rubber as the matrix, supplemented with flame retardant and anti-aging agent, and the main filler is fumed silica, which is vulcanized by high temperature and high pressure by adding coupling agent. Fumed silica has a good reinforcing effect on silicone rubber umbrella cover, and also can ensure the smooth surface of silicone rubber umbrella cover. In addition, due to the low impurity content of fumed silica, it can meet the requirements of the electrical performance of composite insulators, which cannot be replaced by precipitated silica. Since composite insulators do not require the transparency of silicone rubber bushings, domestic fumed silica can fully meet the needs, and domestic fumed silica will gradually replace imported products in the field of composite insulators.

The above information is provided by a composite insulators supplier.