Influence of Mountain Wildfires on the Insulation Properties of Air Gaps in Power Grids
The complex terrain of China frequently leads to wildfires, which in turn pose a threat to the safe operation of power transmission lines. Studying the breakdown characteristics of air gaps under wildfire conditions is of great significance for understanding wildfire propagation mechanisms, risk ass...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Energies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/2/225 |
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| author | Fangrong Zhou Hao Geng Gang Wen Yutang Ma Yi Ma Guofang Wang Jun Cao Jiaze Xu Hongwei Mei |
| author_facet | Fangrong Zhou Hao Geng Gang Wen Yutang Ma Yi Ma Guofang Wang Jun Cao Jiaze Xu Hongwei Mei |
| author_sort | Fangrong Zhou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The complex terrain of China frequently leads to wildfires, which in turn pose a threat to the safe operation of power transmission lines. Studying the breakdown characteristics of air gaps under wildfire conditions is of great significance for understanding wildfire propagation mechanisms, risk assessment and management, and ecological environment protection. This paper establishes an experimental platform simulating wildfire climatic conditions and conducts experimental research on air gaps between rod–rod gaps and conductor–ground gaps. The experimental voltage types include direct current, power frequency, and standard operating waves. The impact of wildfire factors on the breakdown voltage and discharge characteristics of air gaps was obtained. The results indicate that the main factors affecting the air gap breakdown characteristics during wildfires are flame height and smoke. Flame height directly influences the gap insulation distance. Under flame bridging conditions, the maximum decrease in breakdown voltage reaches 70–80%. As the concentration of smoke increases, the degradation of insulation performance becomes more pronounced, with a reduction ranging from 20% to over 50%. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-60edd978c43a4a89833cbc6c5db5f571 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj-art-60edd978c43a4a89833cbc6c5db5f5712025-01-24T13:30:41ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732025-01-0118222510.3390/en18020225Influence of Mountain Wildfires on the Insulation Properties of Air Gaps in Power GridsFangrong Zhou0Hao Geng1Gang Wen2Yutang Ma3Yi Ma4Guofang Wang5Jun Cao6Jiaze Xu7Hongwei Mei8Joint Laboratory of Power Remote Sensing Technology, Electric Power Research Institute, Yunnan Power Grid Company Ltd., China Southern Power Grid, Kunming 650217, ChinaJoint Laboratory of Power Remote Sensing Technology, Electric Power Research Institute, Yunnan Power Grid Company Ltd., China Southern Power Grid, Kunming 650217, ChinaJoint Laboratory of Power Remote Sensing Technology, Electric Power Research Institute, Yunnan Power Grid Company Ltd., China Southern Power Grid, Kunming 650217, ChinaJoint Laboratory of Power Remote Sensing Technology, Electric Power Research Institute, Yunnan Power Grid Company Ltd., China Southern Power Grid, Kunming 650217, ChinaJoint Laboratory of Power Remote Sensing Technology, Electric Power Research Institute, Yunnan Power Grid Company Ltd., China Southern Power Grid, Kunming 650217, ChinaJoint Laboratory of Power Remote Sensing Technology, Electric Power Research Institute, Yunnan Power Grid Company Ltd., China Southern Power Grid, Kunming 650217, ChinaJoint Laboratory of Power Remote Sensing Technology, Electric Power Research Institute, Yunnan Power Grid Company Ltd., China Southern Power Grid, Kunming 650217, ChinaShenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen 518055, ChinaShenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen 518055, ChinaThe complex terrain of China frequently leads to wildfires, which in turn pose a threat to the safe operation of power transmission lines. Studying the breakdown characteristics of air gaps under wildfire conditions is of great significance for understanding wildfire propagation mechanisms, risk assessment and management, and ecological environment protection. This paper establishes an experimental platform simulating wildfire climatic conditions and conducts experimental research on air gaps between rod–rod gaps and conductor–ground gaps. The experimental voltage types include direct current, power frequency, and standard operating waves. The impact of wildfire factors on the breakdown voltage and discharge characteristics of air gaps was obtained. The results indicate that the main factors affecting the air gap breakdown characteristics during wildfires are flame height and smoke. Flame height directly influences the gap insulation distance. Under flame bridging conditions, the maximum decrease in breakdown voltage reaches 70–80%. As the concentration of smoke increases, the degradation of insulation performance becomes more pronounced, with a reduction ranging from 20% to over 50%.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/2/225wildfiresair gapsflame heightsmoke |
| spellingShingle | Fangrong Zhou Hao Geng Gang Wen Yutang Ma Yi Ma Guofang Wang Jun Cao Jiaze Xu Hongwei Mei Influence of Mountain Wildfires on the Insulation Properties of Air Gaps in Power Grids Energies wildfires air gaps flame height smoke |
| title | Influence of Mountain Wildfires on the Insulation Properties of Air Gaps in Power Grids |
| title_full | Influence of Mountain Wildfires on the Insulation Properties of Air Gaps in Power Grids |
| title_fullStr | Influence of Mountain Wildfires on the Insulation Properties of Air Gaps in Power Grids |
| title_full_unstemmed | Influence of Mountain Wildfires on the Insulation Properties of Air Gaps in Power Grids |
| title_short | Influence of Mountain Wildfires on the Insulation Properties of Air Gaps in Power Grids |
| title_sort | influence of mountain wildfires on the insulation properties of air gaps in power grids |
| topic | wildfires air gaps flame height smoke |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/2/225 |
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