TITLE:
On the Use of Laser Ablation for Cleaning High Voltage Ceramic Insulators
AUTHORS:
E. de Posada, L. Moreira, M. Arronte, L. Ponce, T. Flores
KEYWORDS:
Laser Processing, Surface Cleaning, Hydrophobicity
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Surface Engineered Materials and Advanced Technology,
Vol.4 No.5,
August
11,
2014
ABSTRACT: High voltage lines
are one of the main ways for carrying electric energy. To do so high voltage insulators
are needed to insulate these lines from the supporting towers. Glass, ceramic
and polymer insulators are widely used. Generally high voltage insulators are
exposed to weather where humidity, from rain and moist, together with pollution
allows accumulation of unwanted material on the surface of the insulator.
Cleaning procedures are then needed to remove such material and avoid
short-circuiting. The most commonly used cleaning methods are hand cleaning
using chemicals that need turning off the main and water jet, which allows
keeping the line in service. In this work we explore the possibility of using
laser ablation for cleaning high voltage ceramic insulators. It is demonstrated
that cleaning can be accomplished by a two-step process. First a Q-switched Nd:
YAG laser is used to ablate the unwanted material. The second step is to use a
free running Nd: YAG laser to restore the surface hydrophobicity of ceramic
insulator, which is affected in the first process step.