Insulator Icing Test Methods and Procedure

This is a position paper prepared by the IEEE Task Force on Insulator Icing Test Methods. Test methods for evaluating flashover voltage of ceramic and nonceramic insulators under ice, snow, and cold-fog conditions are recommended. The paper describes the procedure to be followed at various stages of an evaluation test including preparation of the test object, insulator precontamination, ice, snow, and cold-fog deposits, as well as voltage applications and flashover voltage evaluation. Some relevant parameters for ice accretion, flashover voltage evaluation, artificial pollution, and power source requirements are taken from IEC 60129, IEC 60507, and IEEE Standard 4-1995 on standard techniques for high-voltage testing.