Insulating Tube Shatter Protection for Ceramic Insulator Pressure Relief
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing high voltage apparatuses with ceramic insulators face risks of explosion due to internal failures, leading to porcelain fragments flying at high speed, posing danger to personnel and equipment, and current mitigation solutions like replacing equipment or using composite insulators are not suitable for retrofitting.
Innovation Solution
A shatter protection system comprising concentrically arranged electrically insulating tubes with tailored hole patterns and varying diameters, made of fiber composite material, which can be easily installed to catch fragments and release pressure, while ensuring adequate creepage distance and weather protection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a shatter protection system is integrated into the original product design and manufacture, then the safety performance is improved, but the adaptability for retrofitting existing equipment deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The shatter protection system is divided into separate modular components: an insulating tube with holes and a ceramic insulator. This segmentation allows the protection system to be manufactured independently and then assembled onto existing equipment, enabling retrofitting while maintaining safety performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The shatter protection components are prepared in advance with pre-drilled holes and specific dimensional specifications. This preliminary preparation enables the components to be ready for installation on existing equipment without requiring modification of the original design, thus facilitating retrofitting.
2Reliability
If multiple concentric electrically insulating tubes are used to increase safety, then the fragment arrest capability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple electrically insulating tubes are arranged concentrically, with each tube nested within the other. This nesting configuration increases fragment arrest capability by creating multiple barriers, while the concentric arrangement maintains relative simplicity in the overall structure and assembly process.
3Stress or pressure
If holes are drilled through the insulating tube envelope surface for pressure release, then the pressure relief function is improved, but the electrical insulation performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The insulating tube is designed with holes at specific locations and orientations to provide pressure relief in critical areas while maintaining electrical insulation in other areas. The selective placement of holes ensures that pressure can be released without compromising the overall electrical insulation performance of the tube.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively arrests ceramic fragments, reduces the risk of personnel injury and equipment damage, allows energized equipment access, and minimizes power outages by providing a cost-effective, lightweight, and easy-to-install solution for existing ceramic insulators.
Implementation Method 1
The holes through the envelope surface will release the pressure from an explosion in the high voltage apparatus
Implementation Method 2
the electrically insulating tube will catch fragments flying from the ceramic insulator
Implementation Method 3
at least one electrically insulating tube, the electrically insulating tube comprising a plurality of holes
Data Source
Figure 1~2c
Figure 3a~3c
Figure 4a~4b
AI summary
The present invention relates to a shatter protection (1) for a high voltage apparatus (2) with a ceramic insulator (3). The shatter protection (1) comprises at least one electrically insulating tube (4, 41, 42), the electrically insulating tube comprising a plurality of holes (5) going through an envelope surface of the electrically insulating tube (4, 41, 42). The electrically insulating tube (4, 41, 42) has a diameter such that there is a minimum distance between the electrically insulating tube (4, 41, 42) and the ceramic insulator (3) when the shatter protection (1) and the ceramic insulator (3) are arranged concentrically. It also relates to a method for producing a shatter protection (1) for a high voltage apparatus (2) with a ceramic insulator (3) comprising winding (S1) a first helix shape of the electrically insulating fiber composite material at a first pitch such that there is a first gap between the winding turns, the diameter of the first helix shape is such that there is a minimum distance between the first helix shape and the ceramic insulator (3) when the first electrically insulating tube (4, 41) and the ceramic insulator (3) are arranged concentrically, and winding (S2) a second helix shape of the electrically insulating fiber composite material onto the first helix shape, the winding of the second helix shape is in the opposite direction as the winding of the first helix shape and it is wound at a second pitch, which is different from the first pitch, and such that there is a second gap between the winding turns. Thereby forming a first electrically insulating tube (4, 41) of the at least one electrically insulating tube (4) with holes (51) formed by the first and second gap between the winding turns.