Numerical Simulation of Leakage Current on Conductive Insulator Surface

Abstract

The outdoor insulator is commonly exposed to environmental pollution. The presence of water like raindrops and dew on the contaminant surface can lead to surface degradation due to leakage current. However, the physical process of this phenomenon is not well understood. Hence, in this study we develop a mathematical model of leakage current on the outdoor insulator surface using the Nernst Planck theory which accounts for the charge transport between the electrodes (negative and positive electrode) and charge generation mechanism. Meanwhile the electric field obeys Poisson’s equation. Method of Lines technique is used to solve the model numerically in which it converts the PDE into a system of ODEs by Finite Difference Approximations. The numerical simulation compares reasonably well with the experimental conduction current. The findings from the simulation shows that the conduction current is affected by the electric field distribution and charge concentration. The rise of the conduction current is due to the distribution of positive ion while the dominancy of electron attachment with neutral molecule and recombination with positive ions has caused a significant reduction of electron and increment of negative ions.