Calculation and Measurement of Potential and

Electric Field Distribution along 1000 kV AC

Transmission Line Composite Insulator
Daochun Huang, Student Member IEEE 1*, Jiangjun Ruan 1, Yong Chen 2, Feng Huo 2,
Shifeng Yu, Student Member IEEE 1, and Shoubao Liu 1
1

School of Electrical Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China

Wuhan High Voltage Research Institute of SGCC, Wuhan, 430074, China

Abstract Potential and electric field distribution along 1000

kV AC transmission line composite insulator are analyzed in this
paper. A sub-model approach based on finite element method
(FEM) is applied in calculating the potential and electric field
distribution along the insulator under clean and dry conditions.
Using this approach, three dimensional (3D) electrostatic models
taking into account the grading rings, conductors, cross arm are
set up and investigated. To make a comparison, the simulated
measurements considering the grading rings, conductors and
cross arm are also carried out at Wuhan High Voltage Research
Institute (WHVRI) UHV outdoor test yard. A relative good
agreement between the calculated and measured results of some
sheds is obtained. The results of comparison and discussion can
be a reference for the UHV AC transmission line external
insulation configurations design in China.

I. INTRODUCTION
Insulators are widely used in power systems to provide
electrical insulation and mechanical support for HVAC
transmission lines. Potential distribution is non-uniform along
insulator strings because of the capacitance effects of
conductors, tower and other hardware fittings to the insulators.
The non-uniform characteristic is more severe for composite
insulators [1]. The electric field stress is the highest across
discs near the line end, and for long strings the stress across
discs near the ground end is also elevated. This can possibly
cause strong corona, partial discharge, audible noise, radio
interference and premature aging of the insulation, especially
for composite insulators. Electric field distribution can also be
used to detect defective insulators [2-4].
Composite insulators are widely used in modern power
systems. Hence, potential and electric field distribution along
composite insulators are very important for the insulation
design, operation and maintenance of composite insulators [1].
Although the potential and electric field distribution can be
evaluated by using on-site and laboratory measurements on
full scale equipment, such measurements take considerable
time and resources [4]. What is more, new experiments are
needed when new types of tower and insulator are proposed.
In contrast, numerical calculation is an economical and
efficient way to evaluate the potential and electric field
distribution, and the calculation results can satisfy the
precision requirements of engineering.
Many papers have calculated the potential and electric field
distribution along HVAC insulators and some numerical
methods were proposed. Several circuit methods for

calculating potential distribution were analyzed in [5], but

these methods could not analyze electric field distribution.
Methods based on field theoretical approach were reviewed in
[6], which indicated the advantages of field theoretical
approach in the analysis of electrical insulation problems.
Charge simulation method (CSM) and modified CSM were
applied to calculate potential and electric field distribution
along insulator strings in [3, 7-8], but they often simplified the
problems into two dimensional or axial-symmetric problems,
which could not include the influence of conductors or towers.
What is more, the acceptable accuracy choice of type, number
and locations of these simulation charges is complicated; often
optimization is needed [8]. Boundary element method (BEM)
was applied in calculating the potential and electric field
distribution along insulators in [9-11], and [9] considered the
effects of conductors, grading devices and transmission towers.
But using the boundary methods, fully unsymmetrical
matrices were generated by the discretization; and the
demands of computer memory and the central processing unit
(CPU) time was high. FEM was applied in calculating the
potential and electric field distribution along insulators in [4,
12-14], but [4, 12-13] simplified the problems into two
dimensional or axial-symmetric problems. Asymptotic
boundary conditions (ABCs) were used in [4, 13] to model
infinite open boundary. Domain decomposition method
(DDM) was used in [14], and the tower was treated as a solid
body with zero voltage. A method coupling the indirect BEM
with moment method (IBEM-MOM) [15] and coupling CSM
with indirect BEM (CSM-IBEM) [16] were proposed to
analyze the electric field distribution around the composite
insulators and the transmission tower respectively. The effects
of grading rings, tower, phase conductors and ground wires
were considered, but they had no testing data.
A sub-model approach based on FEM is applied for
calculating the potential and electric field distribution along
1000 kV transmission line composite insulator under clean
and dry conditions in this paper. The salient feature of this
method is that it gives the possibility to examine the effects of
various hardware fittings and ensures to model very complex
geometry without extra high computational effort.
Measurement experiments are also carried out at Wuhan
High Voltage Research Institute (WHVRI) to make a
comparison. A relative good agreement between the calculated
results and the measured data of some sheds is obtained.

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The calculated and measured results can be a reference for

the UHV AC composite insulators design, operation and
maintenance in China.
II. PARAMETERS OF INSULATOR, GRADING RINGS, CROSS ARM
AND CONDUCTORS
The insulator type is FXBW-1000/210-9750, which has
117 equal diameter sheds, and the diameter is 250 mm; the
spacing of each two sheds is 79 mm. The core rod diameter is
40 mm, and the core rod protective shed thickness is 10 mm.
The length of hardware fitting at high voltage and ground end
is 180 mm and 210 mm respectively; and the diameter is 30
mm.
The mechanical strength of the insulator is 210 kN and the
spacing is 9750 mm.
Two grading rings are equipped at high voltage end of the
insulator, one tube diameter is 50 mm, ring diameter is 400
mm, and the elevation height is 250 mm; the other tube
diameter is 120 mm, ring diameter is 1120 mm, and the
elevation height is 500 mm. One grading ring equipped at
ground end of the insulator, tube diameter is 120 mm, ring
diameter is 720 mm, and the elevation height is 9480 mm.
The conductors type is 8LGJ-630/45 (the diameter is 33.6
mm), 8 regular polygon bundles; and the bundle spacing is
400 mm. The length of all the conductors is 20 m; and the
distance of phase conductor to the ground is 10 m in
accordance with the measurements.
III. NUMERICAL CALCULATION
The numerical calculation method and procedures of
potential and electric field distribution along insulator string
are introduced in this part.
The numerical analysis is carried out on a workstation
computer with 3GB memory and the CPU frequency is 2.33
GHz.
A. Sub-Model Method
Often in a numerical analysis, we need to get more
accurate results for a region of interest in the full model. Two
ways can be used to obtain the expected purpose, one is that
the full model is meshed with higher refinement, which can be
time-consuming or the calculation quantity may be too large to
be calculated; and the other one is that an independent, more
finely meshed model only at the region of interest is generated
and analyzed by using sub-modeling technique [17-18].
Sub-modeling technique relies on the St. Venants
principal of stress analysis [18], which implies that stress
concentration effects are localized around the concentration;
therefore, if the boundaries of the sub-model are far away
enough from the stress concentration, accurate results can be
calculated in the sub-model.
Using sub-model method, firstly, a large-scale coarse model
is created to determine the potential distribution near the
insulator string. The finite element mesh must be fine enough
to produce a reasonably accurate potential solution near the
region of interest.
Secondly, a refinement sub-model including the insulator

string is created. The sub-model is completely independent of

the coarse model; and it has the same global coordinates with
the coarse model. The sub-model boundaries are called cut
boundaries, and the potential at those nodes along the submodel cut boundaries are obtained by interpolating potential
results from the coarse model.
For each node of the sub-model along the cut boundaries,
appropriate elements are used to determine the potential
values from the coarse mesh. These values are then
interpolated onto the cut boundary nodes using the element
shape functions.
Thirdly, it is important to add loads and boundary
conditions existing on the corresponding locations of the
coarse model on the sub-model. Then the sub-model is
analyzed to get the correct potential and electric field
distribution along the insulator strings.
Finally, the results of the sub-model are almost entirely
based on interpolated potential results on the cut boundaries.
Hence, it is important to guarantee that the cut boundaries of
the sub-model are far enough to get accurate potential
distribution near insulator strings. This can be carried out by
comparing the sub-model results along the cut boundaries with
those along the corresponding locations of the coarse model.
The good agreement indicates that proper cut boundaries have
been chosen; on the contrary, the sub-model needs to be
recreated and reanalyzed with cut boundaries further away
from the region of interest.
B. Coarse Model
The type of insulator, grading rings, tower framework,
yoke plates, and conductors influence the potential and electric
field distribution along insulator string [1]. Generally, the
rated power frequency of AC transmission lines is 50 or 60 Hz.
Hence, the problem of potential and electric field distribution
calculation along insulator strings can be considered as a 3D
open-boundary electrostatic problem [1, 19].
3D electrostatic calculation model is set up on the
assumption that there is no corona, leakage current, and the
insulator is under clean and dry conditions.
According to the symmetric characteristic of the
transmission line (insulator, tower, conductors, fittings,
grading rings) 1/2 models are considered in the numerical
analysis. Entities of insulator, simulated cross arm, conductors
and grading rings are set up in accordance with their actual
configurations and dimensions in the measurements. Entities
of yoke plate, conductor suspension clamps are not set up,
and their influences are simulated by loading potential directly
on the nodes in the region where the yoke plate, conductor
suspension clamps exist. The permittivity of the sheds and
core rod is 3.5 and 3.0 respectively. The length of the
conductors in the model is 10 m, and all of these entities are
overlapped by air, which is modeled by a half column. The 1/2
model is shown in Fig. 1 a), b), c), and d).

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a) Coarse model
a) Mesh of partial coarse model

b) Mesh of partial sub-model

Fig. 2. Mesh of coarse model and sub-model of the interest region

The number of element is 113520 of the coarse model,

while that is 229920 of the sub-model. Based on the FEM
theory, the more fine of the mesh, the more precise of the
results, hence, the results of sub-model are more accurate than
that of coarse model.
IV. MEASUREMENT METHOD AND PROCEDURES
The measurement method and procedures of potential
distribution along the insulator are introduced in this part.
A. Measuring Facilities
The energized voltage is 100 kV, which is supplied by a
750 kV, 4 A transformer.
The voltage distribution is measured by a special insulator
voltage distribution measured apparatus, which is handheld by
a measuring worker with a 5 m long insulating pole.
B. Measuring Method
A thin sheet copper is tightly circled and bandaged to the
core rod at the middle position of two shed spacing.
The potential difference of each neighboring two sheet
copper is measured twice. One time is from high voltage end
to the ground end, and the other time is from the ground end to
the high voltage end. The average value is the withstand
voltage value of one shed and its neighboring core rod.

b) Mesh of coarse model

c) Insulator, grading rings,

d) Insulator, grading ring
conductors and fitting at high voltage
and fitting at ground end
end
Fig. 1. Calculation model and mesh

Curved face ABMNGH models the open boundary by using

infinite elements, plane ABGH models the earth. Unit 1
amplitude voltage is loaded on the investigated insulator, as
well as the conductors, grading rings and hardware fitting at
high voltage end. 0 amplitude voltage is loaded on the
investigated insulator, grading ring and hardware fitting at
ground end, as well as the cross arm.
C. Sub-Model
The composite insulator, grading rings, hardware fittings
and their vicinity are the interest regions. The coarse model
and sub-model mesh of the interest regions are given in Fig. 2
a), and b).

a) Measurements assembly

b) Measurements on the
insulator

Fig. 3. Measurements assembly and method

The measurements assembly of insulator, grading rings,

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conductors and simulated cross arm is shown in Fig. 3 a); and

the measurements on the insulator are shown in Fig. 3 b).
V. CALCULATED AND MEASURED RESULTS COMPARISON AND
ANALYSIS
The calculated and measured results are compared and
discussed in this part.
A. Calculated and Measured Results
The equal potential line distribution is shown in Fig.4. The
actual values can be obtained by multiplying the phase to earth
voltage (1100/ 3 =635.1 kV).

results are almost the same in the middle of the insulator,

though the difference is relative big at some sheds, the
tendency is relative the same. However, at high voltage and
ground end, the voltage distribution errors of some sheds
between calculated and measured results are too big to be
accepted, especially the sheds near grading rings. The big
errors may be caused by that the probe is very close to the
grading rings in the measurements, as well as the influence of
electromagnetic fields. There may also be a reason that the
spacing of two sheds is small and some sheds close to the
grading rings, hence, the probe is uneasy to be contacted to the
sheet copper by the measuring worker.
The calculated electric field distributions along the axis of
composite insulator of coarse model and sub-model are given
in Fig. 6. The actual values can be obtained by multiplying the
phase to earth voltage value (1.100106/ 3 =6.351105).

Fig. 4. Equal potential distribution of insulator and its near region

The potential difference of neighboring two sheet copper is

measured by the probe, and the voltage is the withstand
voltage of the shed and its neighboring core rod inside the two
sheet copper.
The first shed includes the core rod and fitting at high
voltage end, and the last shed includes the core rod and fitting
at ground end. Hence the voltage distribution of these two
sheds is a little higher.
The calculated and measured voltage percentage
distributions are compared in Fig. 5.

Fig. 5. Voltage distribution of calculation and measured results along

insulator

It can be seen from Fig. 5 that the calculated and measured

Fig. 6. Electric field distribution along insulator (coarse model and submodel)

It can be seen from Fig. 6 that the electric field distributions

of coarse model and sub-model are almost the same. But, it
can be seen from the partial enlargement that the values
calculated by the coarse model are more fluctuated than that of
sub-model. Hence, the sub-model is more accurate than coarse
model.
The electric field distributions of the composite insulator at
typical distance to the axis are given in Fig. 7.
It can be seen from Fig. 7 that the electric field distribution
at typical distance to the axis are different, especially at high
voltage end. This is mainly caused by the high withstand
voltage of some sheds and grading rings.
B. Influence of Conductors, Grading Rings and Cross Arm
In order to analyze the influences of conductors, grading
rings and cross arm, the models of full, no conductor, no
grading ring and no cross arm are analyzed by using submodel numerical method. The potential distribution along
composite insulator is given in Fig. 8.
It can be seen from Fig.8 that without grading ring and
conductor, the potential decreases greatly at high voltage end,
especially, the potential decrease of without grading ring is
much more than that of without conductor; without cross arm,

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the potential increases at ground end. Hence, the grading rings,

conductors and cross arm influence the potential distribution
greatly, and should be modeled in the numerical analysis
model. This can also be seen from the voltage distribution
Fig.9 and the following Table 1.

a) Partial enlargement of

b) Partial enlargement of

high voltage end

ground end

a) Partial enlargement of

b) Partial enlargement of

high voltage end

ground end

c) Voltage distribution along the whole insulator

Fig. 9. Voltage distribution along the insulator

The voltage stresses across the nine sheds at high voltage

end, and three sheds at ground end from numerical analysis
and measurements are compared in Table 1. The sheds
number is counted from high voltage end to the ground end of
the insulator.
c) Electric filed distribution along the whole insulator

TABLE I
CALCULATED AND MEASURED RESULTS OF VOLTAGE DISTRIBUTION ALONG
INSULATOR (%)

Fig. 7. Electric field distribution along insulator

Fig. 8. Potential distribution along insulator

Number
of
sheds

Coarse
model

Submodel

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
115
116
117

2.53
1.73
1.96
2.19
2.47
2.70
2.85
2.85
2.78
1.02
0.95
1.65

2.53
1.73
1.96
2.19
2.47
2.70
2.85
2.85
2.78
1.02
0.95
1.65

Without
Conductors
5.63
3.28
3.56
3.82
4.24
4.62
4.86
4.82
4.63
0.26
0.24
0.41

Grading
Rings
21.2
4.11
2.89
2.30
1.96
1.73
1.57
1.44
1.34
0.78
0.97
4.17

Cross
Arm
2.32
1.58
1.80
2.00
2.25
2.46
2.60
2.60
2.53
2.49
2.35
4.96

Measured
Results
4.42
2.86
1.39
3.43
4.42
4.50
4.66
4.17
3.84
0.16
0.16
0.16

The voltage distributions of coarse and sub-model are the

same; this indicates that the mesh is fine enough for
calculating the potential along insulator. The grading rings are

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very important for decreasing the voltage distribution,

especially the first shed of the composite insulator. Hence, the
design of grading rings is very important for external
insulation design.

REFERENCES
[1]

VI. DISCUSSIONS
The potential and electric field along insulator are
influenced greatly by cross arm, grading rings and conductors,
hence the calculation model should consider the full model
with all phase conductors and true tower dimension, this is
very important [1].
However, the calculation quantity of numerical analysis of
actual transmission towers will be much bigger than the
simulated measurement, especially for the UHV levels
transmission line; hence the calculation capability should be
improved. The sub-model can be selected flexibly and easily,
the interest region can be analyzed. However, for more large
calculation quantity numerical analysis, parallel calculation
may be needed.
The voltage distribution measured tools and methods are
very important for the measured precision, especially for the
sheds near grading rings, optical fiber probe may be needed.
VII. CONCLUSIONS
Voltage and electric field of 1000 kV AC transmission line
composite insulator are analyzed by using numerical analysis
and measurements. Conclusions can be drawn as follows:
(a) Sub-model method has the advantages of overcoming
the error of insufficient mesh, verifying the precision of model
mesh, examining the effects of various hardware fittings and
modeling very complex geometry without extra high
computational effort.
(b) The sub-model method can analyze a relative small
interest region; hence, this method can be used for analyzing
the electric field of grading rings, hardware fittings, etc.
(c) The calculated results indicate that the grading rings,
cross arm, conductors, should be considered in the calculation
model, hence, the full model with tower, other phase
conductors should be considered.
(d) Though the calculated and measured results are not in
accordance with the actual operation transmission line and
towers, the calculation and simple measurement method can
be a good choice for the optimization of the external insulation
design.
Both the method and the results are useful for the external
insulation design, operation, and maintenance of HVAC
transmission lines composite insulator.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors wish to acknowledge the technical support of
Wuhan High Voltage Research Institute of SGCC in the
measurements.

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