RE: A Look at the Insulators Guarding Our Electricity
Concerning material, pin type insulators can either be made of glass, porcelain or composite material. But in design pin type insulators are most suited for voltage up to 33Kv,.Beyond 33kV, it is no longer economically because of the heavy mass of material involved. Also, since the insulator is secured by means of a pin as the name implies, higher voltage entails a longer pin to hold the insulator.The longer length reduces the strength and imposes a constraint on the level of voltage that can be achieved from it. Also, the mass of the porcelain involved makes it uneconomical. The only way out is to resort to suspension insulators which can be built from individual disc until the required voltage level is achieved. Notice that is a crack appears in one disc of the insulator; there is no need to change the entire string, the faulty one can be isolated and replaced thereby leading to savings in maintenance. I sincerely thank you for the apt question and hope you will continue to find time to read my post.