Brittle Fracture Failure of Composite (Non- Ceramic) Insulators

In this work, additional input is provided into the ongoing discussion on the mechanisms, causes and remedies of brittle fracture failures of composite (non-ceramic) insulators. This has been done partially to complement the recently published article on this topic entitled “ IEEE Task Force Report: Brittle Fracture in Non-Ceramic Insulators” [1]. At first, the most important characteristics of the brittle process are described in this study. Then, two important examples of insulator failures by brittle fracture are shown and their causes explained. Finally, several recommendations on how to avoid brittle fracture in service are presented to supplement those already given in [1]. This work should improve the current state of knowledge on brittle fracture of composite insulators as well as provide a potential means of avoiding it in-service.