Effect of TiO2 coating on the surface condition and corona characteristics of positive DC conductors with particle matters

Abstract

Abstract Persistent severe smog and dust weather exists in many regions of China. Particles accumulate on the surface of high‐voltage transmission lines, which affects the surface morphology of the transmission line and induces corona discharge. This work mainly studies the influence of electric field and photocatalysis on the corona characteristics of transmission lines. In this work, plasma spraying is used to prepare a dense, smooth and excellent photocatalytic TiO2 coating on the surface of transmission wires. An electron microscope and a white light interference profilometer is used to study the surface condition of the samples. The variation in the surface condition of the samples is observed under different fouling, light time and electric field intensity. The corona characteristics of power transmission lines under different surface conditions are studied. The results show that light and applied electric field promote the photocatalytic effect of TiO2, which helps to decompose the contamination on the surface of power transmission wires and thus reduce the corona discharge of transmission lines. The increase in corona inception voltage reduces the corona current pulse repetition rate and the ion current density during corona discharge.