S.

Nord 36-WG11/Vienna/48
CERAM 2000-02-14

Creepage Distance-Is it a Reliable Design Parameter?

Thomas Johansson, Robert Axelsson, Sven Nord Ceram Group

Introduction
Creepage Distance(CD) has many advantages. It is easy to understand, visualise,
calculate and measure. A disadvantage is that it does not accurately predicting the
electrical performance of Insulators of various diameters. Even following IEC
standards, the accuracy of the calculations are limited. The poorer performance,
under polluted conditions, of lager diameter versus smaller diameter Insulators,
both designed in accordance with IEC standards, similar profiles and located in the
same position, indicates the need for more accurate design parameters than those
offered by CD.

How is an Insulator operating?

If we look at the world from an ”e”(electron) view point, the ”e” does not follow
(our) laws, but instead follows the quantum laws which continually break our laws
by using the tunnel effect.
When an ”e” is surfing on the (Transmission)net, it has a free life until it reaches an
Insulator. At the Insulator it tries to overcome the obstruction in three theoretical
ways:
a) Passing through the Insulator. This would consume more energy than is
available.
b) Passing through the air on the outside of the Insulator. This consumes less
energy
than a) but it is still usually more than is available. In thunder storms, there
would be enough energy available for this alternative.
c) Tunnelling on the surface of the Insulator. This is a an energy saving method
and is
possible if the total or indivi dual distance between conducting islands
(H 2O, microbes, NaCl, dust etc) is short enough compared with the energy
gained by moving up to a higher electrical potential. If the energy gained is
higher than the energy lost during the surfing, the ”e” creates company by
releasing like ”e’s” from atoms it passes resulting in formation of billions
of ”e’s” with a free life on the surface of the Insulator.
The electrical weakness of an Insulator is normally its surface. What can be done to
minimise this weakness? Let us consider a conducting surface.
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Surface Conductivity
For a surface with a specific resistance, the total resistance is dependent only on
the shape of the surface and not at all dependent on the size of the surface. A
square that is 1 km 2 has exactly the same resistance, between the opposite sides, as
a square that is 1 mm2 if the surface properties are identical. Because the creepage
distance is a size factor, and not a shape factor, the creepage distance is not fully
determining the electrical behaviour of an Insulator.
The total resistance of a specific surface is given by the formula:
R = Kv*Rs (1)
where Rs = the specific surface resistance and
Kv = òds/p(s) = K-value(the same as form factor, see IEC) (2)
where s = the shortest distance between the electrodes and
p(s) = the width, perpendicular to s, of the surface as a function of s
For an Insulator will the parameters above have the following meaning:
s = the creepage distance and
p(s) = the circumference of the Insulator as a function of s
During an Insulator design we know what minimum resistance we must have on our
Insulator. From formula (1) we can then calculate the minimum Kv we need on the
Insulator when we know the resulting specific surface resistance in the specific
environment. Also if we know the Kv on our Insulator, we can calculate what
maximum values of surface conductance the Insulator can work under and thereby
what type of environment the Insulator can tolerate during operation.

How to Calculate the Kv

The Kv is calculated by the formula (2). At IFÖ Ceramics AB in Sweden, this
calculation has been incorporated as an integrated part of the CAD-CAM system.
By this arrangement, can we optimise the surface shape on our products, also
within the specifications from IEC.

Practical Experience
To date, many different tests have been performed on Insulators by the CERAM
group, but lacking are tests for Kv and CD by independent sources using Insulators
of various diameters, but with similar profiles, and under different contamination
conditions. The conclusion from existing results show, as expected, that Kv or CD
should not be the only determining parameter for the performance of Insulators. Kv
is shown to be as good as, or in most cases, better than CD in predicting Insulator
performance, especially when core diameters and contamination levels are
combined parameters.
The clearest indications of this statement come from customer experience and not
trough quantitative testing. A typical situation is when different Insulators, at the
same voltage, are located in the same place and one or a few types are generating
problems( such ”problem Insulators” are not connected with any specific
supplier(s), if they are made of good Porcelain!). Normally Insulators are
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constructed according to IEC recommendations. Without exception ”bad

Insulators” have a lower Kv than the good ones, even when the CD is higher.
The use of Kv is also a fundamental design parameter when Semi conducting glaze
is used.
Consequences for the Insulator Market
In fig. 1 is the Kv / diameter relation shown for Insulators that are designed
according to IEC recommendations. This diagram indicates that the continuously,
with increasing diameter, decreasing Kv must, at a specific diameter, lead to a
insufficient Insulator behaviour when contamination is a major problem. A
concequence is that a too high Kv is used on products with too small diameters!. A
total optimisation in areas where contamination is a concern will result in shorter
CD on the small diameter Insulators and longer CD on the larger ones. The
economical consequence from this will be that the larger Insulators(a small
number) will be more expensive to buy and more complicated to produce and the
smaller(a bigger volume) will be easier to produce and thus cheaper. If the total
cost for an investment in electrical equipment will go up or down as a consequence
from Kv based optimisation is hard to predict, but the performance of the
insulators will improve and the change in total investment cost will be limited.

Future Activities
Because of the ”not proven situation” for Kv and the today, in house, lack of
relevant test results, we plan to make a verification test according to following
procedure:
Design 3 Insulators according to the dots in fig. 1:
1) One on the ”IEC” line in fig. 1
2) One more on the ”IEC” line but with higher diameter(= lower Kv than 1)
3) One with the same diameter as 2) but the same Kv as 1)
By testing these Insulators in contamination tests we can see if Kv is a more
relevant design parameter than CD i.e. if the behaviour of Insulator 1) corresponds
with 2) is CD a better design parameter but if 3) corresponds better is Kv a better
design parameter.

Conclusions
Kv is today possible to use as a standard design parameter because of the
improvement in computer technology.

Theoretical knowledge strongly supports that Kv, in comparison with CD, is the
relevant design base for Insulators that operate in areas where the surface might
become contaminated.

Practical experience is not in contradiction with theory

For optimum computer design of Semi conducting glazed Insulators Kv is

necessary.
January 21, 2000
\Kvaluegraphguide Specific K-value and Creepage Distance
at Average Insulator Diameters
100

Average
Diameters
mm

75

100
Ratio K-value - Insulating Distance

10

200

300

400
500
600

700

800
1

How to Use This Graph

1. Calculate "Ratio Creepage Distance - Insulating Distance" by deviding

the creepage distance with the insulating distance of insulator.
2. Find corresponding value on horizontal axis in the graph.
3. Go vertical to curve that corresponds with "average diameter" of insulator.
4. Go horizontal left to vertical axis for corresponding
"Ratio K-value - Insulating Distance" value.
5. Multiply this value with insulating distance to get a good approximation
of the insulators K-value.

0,1
1,5 2,0 2,5 3,0 3,5 4,0

Ratio Creepage Distance - Insulating Distance