Effects of Static Icing on Flashover Characteristics of High-Speed Train Roof Insulators

Abstract

To study the icing flashover characteristics displayed by insulators on the roof of a high-speed train at a low-speed or static state, an environment with a low temperature and high humidity is established in the artificial climate chamber to carry out the icing flashover test of composite insulator under a static state. The results of the study indicate the presence of ice ridges bridging the sheath at the edge of the sheath when the ambient wind speed is less than 2m/s. The arc appears firstly at the end of the ice ridge, and it is likely that the arc at the adjacent tip converges in the air and then further extends to the edge of the next sheath. The arc melts the ice ridges at the end and enables it to stick to the tip of the ice ridge in the form of water droplets, and therefore the existence of droplets results in the distortion of the electric field near them. Moreover, the elongation of droplets and the bridging of ice edges accelerate the process of flashover. The research results can offer a reference to the structural optimization design of anti-icing insulators for high-speed trains in the future.