LAUSR

In this paper, three types of insulators with no crack, short crack, and long crack are taken as the research objects to evaluate the influence of the penetrating cracks on the 1st sheath of the roof silicone rubber composite insulator of high-speed train on the flashover characteristics. The continuous voltage rising method is used to obtain the influence characteristics of the crack on the development process of the flashover arc. The constant voltage withstand method is adopted to compare the leakage current when the contamination degree is 0.1 mg/cm2. The test results demonstrate that the crack has no significant effect on the flashover voltage and flashover path, and the flashover arc can burn the edge of the crack. The peak leakage current of the three different tests ranges from 24 mA to 30 mA. Additionally, the development of leakage current can be divided into four stages: rising, continuous violence, falling, and oscillating. Moreover, the sequence of the apparent leakage current of the insulator is long crack insulator, short crack insulator, and the one with no crack. The acceleration of the rising stage of the leakage current increases with the increase in the crack length. Meanwhile, the sum of the time of the rising stage, continuous stage, and falling stage of the insulator with long crack is the smallest. The crack will distort the distribution of current density and the electric field intensity in the vicinity. The results can provide references for evaluating the influence of radial cracks at the edge of the sheath on the flashover characteristics and optimizing the design of the roof insulator sheath structure.