Washing Insulators by Ultrasound Sonication Method to Remove Hard Sediments Caused by Dust and Aerosols

Correct and timely maintenance of power lines and substations has an important impact on the operation and optimization of the production cycle and distribution of electricity. In this way, proper and timely maintenance and repair of these lines can reduce losses, sudden defects, and thus reduce and optimize consumption. One of the most important components of transmission and distribution networks and substations are insulators. Reduce of insulation level and failure of insulators due to leakage flow can be considered a serious problem for power network and have a great impact on its efficiency. Due to formation of sediments at insulators surface, reduction of the level of insulation is an important problem, resulting in a decrease in the efficiency of the network and subsequent interruption. In this paper, the ultrasonic wave propagation technique is proposed with the help of a new sedimentation solution as a safe and effective way to remove deposition of insulators, especially in climates with high dust and moisture. In order to measure the affectivity of the proposed method, an insulator containing hard metal-contained deposits, from the Khuzestan area near a cement factory, has been washed in three steps. The results of the washes with the help of the base and complementary solution indicating that the proposed method is completely successful for washing the sample, showing that all the sediments completely separated from the insulator surface.