Abstract
The profile optimization of an insulator such as a spacer is very important for reducing the cost of power equipment. This paper describes the profile optimization of a post-type spacer utilized in coaxial cylindrical power equipment such as a gas insulated transmission line, which needs a three-dimensional electric field calculation.
We have developed new techniques for analyzing electric fields in three-dimensional arrangements, which utilize elliptical charges in the Charge Simulation Method. One of the techniques is to numerically integrate the potential & the electric field of elliptical charges which are defined by spline functions. The other uses segmented line charges to approximate elliptical charges. In an arrangement of a spheroid under a uniform field, the difference of the maximum electric field strength was less than 1% between the segmented line approximation and the analytical solution.
The optimization is to make the electric field distribution as uniform as possible on the surface of a spacer. The Marquardt method was used as an optimization technique. In the optimization of a total electric field, the field strength decreased to about 68% of the maximum value in the corresponding coaxial cylindrical arrangement without a spacer.
