Effect of Conducting Particle on Spacers in Air Insulated Systems

Gas Insulated System (GIS) has been known to be reliable for more than 40 years. One of the reasons is because the active components are installed inside sealed-enclosures that reduce the environmental stress. Gas Insulated systems require solid insulating materials to provide mechanical support for conductors. Hence the spacers used in GIS should be precisely designed to realize more or less uniform field distribution along their surfaces. GIS occupy an important position in the power system. Insulating spacers are important parts in GIS. GIS have been used for many years as a means to provide safe and reliable high volt-age electrical systems. Normally, the problems connected with the use of these systems are few, especially when lower voltage levels are considered. However, the presence of metallic contamination can seriously reduce the insulation performance of a GIS. The aim of this work is to investigate the effect of conducting particle on spacers in air insulated system. The spacers used for study are Poly Methyl Metha Acrylate (PMMA) and nylon.