Fabrication and investigation of local clay-based insulators for high voltage applications

Abstract

Nigeria has a large deposit of clay which is the major raw material for the fabrication of porcelain insulators for high voltage applications. However, the country depends largely on imported porcelain insulators to meet its high voltage needs even in the face of the worsening exchange rate of the Nigerian currency compared to the US dollar and other foreign currencies. As a result, it becomes necessary to sort for local means of fabricating high voltage pin insulators from locally available raw materials. In this study, clay sourced from three different geographical locations (Auchi, Ikorodu, and Ota) are used to fabricate three samples of high voltage insulators. The fourth sample of insulator is also fabricated from the Ota clay with Plaster of Paris (POP) as an additive to enhance workability. The physical and electrical properties of the insulator samples are investigated and compared with imported porcelain insulators. The results show that the insulator fabricated using the clay from Auchi has the highest breakdown voltage of 5 kV and lowest leakage current of 2 mA and thus can be adopted for low-tension insulation instead of the high-tension insulation speculated from the onset of the research.

KEYWORD:

• Clay insulator
• high voltage system
• bisque firing
• glazing
• dielectric properties

Reviewing Editor:

• Jones Ian Philip, The University of Birmingham, United Kingdom

Subjects:

• Manufacturing Engineering
• Materials Science
• Electrical & Electronic Engineering

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The authors are grateful to the management of Covenant University, Ota for sponsoring this research work.

Notes on contributors

Hope Orovwode

Engr. (Dr.) Orovwode, Hope holds a Ph.D. in Electrical/Electronics Engineering from Covenant University and M. Eng and B. Eng degrees in Electrical / Electronics Engineering (Electronics & Telecommunications option) from the University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria. He is a Senior Lecturer/Researcher in the Department of Electrical and Information Engineering of Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria Email: [email protected].

Simeon Matthew

Engr. Matthew, Simeon is a lecturer in the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB). He holds B. Eng. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria, and M. Eng. degree in Electrical Machines and Power Systems Engineering from FUNAAB where he is currently undertaking his Ph.D. research. Email: [email protected].

Elizabeth Amuta

Engr. (Dr) Elizabeth Amuta currently works at the Department of Electrical and Information Engineering, Covenant University Ota Ogun State, Nigeria. Amuta does research in Renewable energy, reliability, microgrid development and deployment, Electronic Engineering, and Electrical Engineering. Email: Elizabeth.amuta@covenant university.edu.ng.

Ayorinde Joseph Olanipekun

Engr. (Dr.) Olanipekun Ayorinde Joseph received a B.Eng.in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the University of Ado-Ekiti, Ado-Ekiti, and M. Eng. and Ph.D. degrees the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Nigeria in 2000, 2013 and 2023 respectively. His field of interest is in the areas of electronics and control system design and application, software programming and solar-powered control systems. Currently, he is a Senior Lecturer at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria. He can be contacted at: [email protected].

Tosin Thompson

Oluwatosin Dorcas Sanya is a lecturer in the Department of Electrical and Telecommunication Engineering, Kampala International University, Uganda. She has a Master's degree in Telecommunication and Information Systems from University of Essex, United Kingdom. Her research interest includes: Energy Systems Telecommunication and Renewable Energy Email: [email protected]