HVL Tamworth High Voltage Laboratory in the UK has gained worldwide recognition as an independent high voltage and mechanical test facility. Their testing capacity includes two 50Hz transformers cascade connected and an artificial rain spray system to give up to 1300kV wet flashover test voltages. The laboratory can also be fully darkened to a photographically black condition to allow location of corona discharges.

Tests carried out under wet test conditions on various types of glazed ceramic insulators demonstrate the reduction of corona activity to almost zero on insulators treated with Voltshield, and much increased withstand voltage and flashover values. Click the links below to download tests carried out on insulators treated with the VoltShield System.

 Tamworth VoltShield Test
 VoltShield Evaluation on Third Rail Insulators

A paper entitled 'VoltShield – Anti-Pollutant Treatment for Glass And Glazed Porcelain Insulators' was presented at CIRED 2009, the international conference on electricity distribution. Click the link below to download.

 VoltShield – CIRED 2009 Paper 

Experience

Since its introduction in 2002, VoltShield has been increasing the efficiency of glazed ceramic and glass electrical insulators worldwide.

VoltShield has been applied on insulators in the UK, Japan and Australia with great success. Workers on treated sites have been impressed with the easier maintenance properties. For example, in a major ironworks site in Japan, the porcelain insulators were heavily contaminated with salt which impaired performance. Prior to VoltShield protection, the insulators had to be thoroughly cleaned every six months in addition to cleaned with high pressured water every ten days. After treatment with VoltShield, frequency of cleaning was significantly reduced and performance increased.

In the UK, a major energy supplier has invested in VoltShield treatment because the company found the technology dramatically increased the performance of its 132kV insulators by reducing incidence of power loss from flashovers.

A Project Engineer from the energy supplier was impressed, stating: “After the application of your VoltShield product to the insulator, as far as I am aware, we haven't had a single flashover, which in my eyes is a success."