Design of a connector for fault detection in eye bolts used as insulator anchorages

Abstract

Abstract Eye bolts are part of a system used to anchor electrical insulators in substations and on transmission lines, connected by concrete structures. Structural failures in these devices may lead to service interruption, financial losses and risks for the general population. In this article, we propose a signal adapter capable of applying and receiving high frequency signals to a portable vector network analyzer for the eye bolt. The technique consists of injecting high frequency signals into the samples in order to detect their integrity and analyzing their return loss (S11), using the principle of reflection and transmission lines. Should the eye bolt present a failure, the ∣S11∣ response is changed, thereby enabling its detection. The development of the adapter, for both intact and defective bolt models, was based on electromagnetic simulation models using the Ansys HFSS program. The measurements were made with models of real bolts presenting approximate wear, in order to validate the simulations.