Method of manufacture of porcelain insulator structures and method and assembly for affixing metal flanges to porcelain insulators

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9818509-B2
Application number	US-201314372054-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 14, 2013
Priority date	Jan 13, 2012
Publication date	Nov 14, 2017
Grant date	Nov 14, 2017

Abstract

A manufacturing process for a structure having a porcelain body and a flange includes: inserting an end portion of the body into a flange opening, providing a gap between the body end portion and a metal surface of the flange, filling the gap with adhesive to create a bond between the surfaces, installing an electrically active subassembly in the porcelain body and placing the structure in a heated environment to simultaneously dry the subassembly and fully cure the adhesive to provide the bond.

First claim

The claimed invention is:

1. A manufacturing process for forming a porcelain insulator structure, the process comprising:
providing a porcelain hollow or solid body of a type used in a high voltage transmission application, the body having an end region configured for connection to a flange by insertion within the flange;
providing a metal flange having an opening for receiving the end region of the porcelain into the flange along an interior metal surface thereof;
inserting the end region of the porcelain body into the flange opening to place an exterior surface of the porcelain body end region adjacent the interior surface of the flange with a gap between a portion of the exterior surface of the porcelain body end region and the interior surface of the flange;
providing a sand band as a texture on the exterior porcelain surface of the porcelain body end region;
providing an adhesive in the gap which fills voids and creates a bond between the porcelain and metal surfaces;
providing said flange with one or more injection ports extending from an outer surface thereof and through said flange to provide a path for injection of said adhesive into said gap;
providing said flange with a surface texture along said interior surface of said flange that facilitates bonding of the adhesive to said flange surface and includes a series of grooves such that, in addition to providing a bond to the interior surface, said adhesive, in combination with the grooves provides mechanical locking between said flange interior surface and the exterior surface along the end region of the porcelain body;
installing a subassembly of electrically active components in a hollow region of the porcelain body;
securing the subassembly of electrically active components in a hollow region within the porcelain insulator body; and
after partial curing of the adhesive that sufficiently stabilizes the joint for movement of the structure, placing the structure in a heated environment to simultaneously dry the electrically active components and fully cure the adhesive to provide the bond.

2. The manufacturing process according to claim 1 , wherein the step of injection the adhesive fills all voids between the porcelain and the interior metal surface of the flange.

3. The manufacturing process according to claim 1 , wherein the adhesive is selected from the group consisting of an epoxy formulation, polyurethane adhesive, a polyester adhesive and another polymeric adhesive.

4. The manufacturing process according to claim 1 , wherein the step of securing the subassembly in a hollow region within the porcelain insulator body is performed while the adhesive is curing.

5. The manufacturing process according to claim 1 , wherein installation of the subassembly includes providing a dielectric material in the hollow region and sealing the hollow region from the ambient environment.

6. The manufacturing process according to claim 1 , wherein the steps of injecting and curing the adhesive create a structural joint by forming a bond, between the exterior surface of the porcelain body end region and the interior surface of the flange, which adhesive is characterized by a compressive strength of at least 60 MPa to provide structural integrity to the bond between the porcelain and metal surfaces.

7. A high voltage insulator structure of the type having a structural joint between a porcelain insulator body and metal structure, the insulator structure comprising:
a porcelain body of a type used in a high voltage transmission application, said body having an end region configured for connection to a flange by insertion within the flange;
a metal flange having an opening for receiving said end region of said porcelain body, said flange including an interior metal surface along which said porcelain body end region is positioned, thereby providing a joint between said porcelain body and said flange, with an exterior porcelain surface of said porcelain body end region adjacent said interior metal surface of said flange and with a gap between a portion of said exterior surface of the porcelain body end region and said interior metal surface of said flange;
said exterior porcelain surface of the porcelain body end region including a sand band providing a texture on the exterior porcelain surface of the porcelain body end region;
an adhesive disposed in said gap and extending between said exterior surface of said porcelain body end region and said interior surface of said flange to form a bond between said porcelain body end region and said flange, said adhesive being characterized by a compressive strength of at least 60 MPa to provide structural integrity to the bond;
said flange being formed with one or more injection ports extending from an outer surface thereof and through said flange to provide a path for injection of said adhesive into said gap; and
said flange is formed with a surface texture along said interior surface of said flange that facilitates bonding of the adhesive to said flange surface and includes a series of grooves such that, in addition to providing a bond to the interior surface, said adhesive, in combination with the grooves, provides mechanical locking between said flange interior surface and the exterior surface along the end region of the porcelain body.

8. The high voltage insulator structure according to claim 7 , wherein said porcelain body has a length dimension which extends at least two meters in height when erected above a ground plane, and said porcelain body contains a high voltage step down transformer, wherein said adhesive has a compressive strength to provide structural integrity necessary for the joint to support said porcelain body when said porcelain body is placed on a pedestal extending at least two meters in height above a ground plane in an environment subject to wind loading or seismic activity.

9. The high voltage insulator structure according to claim 7 , wherein said exterior surface of said porcelain body end region includes a texture configured to facilitate adhesive bonding between said porcelain surface and said adhesive.

10. The high voltage insulator structure according to claim 7 , wherein said adhesive is selected from the group consisting of an epoxy formulation, a polyurethane adhesive, a polyester adhesive and another polymeric adhesive.

Assignees

• Siemens Ag

Inventors

• Diamanti Paolo
• Mctaggart Ross
• Arjune Joseph

Classifications

• H01B3/12

  ceramics · CPC title

• H01B19/00 Primary

  Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing insulators or insulating bodies {(manufacture of porcelain for electric insulation C04B33/26)} · CPC title

• H01B17/66 Primary

  Joining insulating bodies together, e.g. by bonding · CPC title

• H01B19/02

  Drying; Impregnating · CPC title

• H01B19/04

  Treating the surfaces, e.g. applying coatings · CPC title