Developing Intelligent Real-time Contactless Overhead Line Insulators Prognosis System using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV)

Faculty Development Competitive Research Grant Program (General) 2024-2026

Overhead line insulators are undoubtedly crucial components in all transmission and distribution systems, as they ensure the isolation between the live conductors and grounded tower in aerial and prevent a leakage current from conductors to the ground. They also provide mechanical support for the high voltage (HV) line conductors. To evaluate the overhead line insulators' conditions precisely, expensive, time consuming off-line or on-line inspection techniques have been utilized very widely over the last century. The majority of the employed techniques require de-energizing of distribution or transmission lines, or even HV equipment to perform evaluation or monitoring techniques accurately. Advanced emerging technologies, however, facilitate insulator inspection using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). An “intelligent” UAV, or more precisely an “intelligent system” in a UAV can substantially simplify inspection, evaluation, analysis, and decision over overhead line insulators as it can identify hazard and risk at early stages, and significantly reduce the accident rate in electricity distribution or transmission lines. During the overhead lines' operation, a UAV can reduce the time spent to recognize pollution or localize damage and determine the reasons of malfunctions. Hence, the main aims in this proposal are focused on, (i) developing an intelligent platform using machine learning techniques for overhead line insulators contamination and fault prognosis, (ii) employing UAV for monitoring and capturing images and adopting a developed system to support industry for fast, economic, contactless, easy to use, simple accessible, and non-destructive method for HV insulators' assessment, and (iii) providing a real-time prognosis system for overhead line insulators monitoring. Based on aforementioned aims, the following measurable objectives are required and planned in this proposal:
● Modeling Insulator Surface Contamination and Mechanical Faults, Practical Sampling, and Data Collection,
● Developing Insulator Detection and Surface Condition Assessment System Using Intelligent Techniques,
● Contaminations, Faults and Malfunction Classifications Using both Intelligent Techniques and Conventional Diagnostic Methods in High Voltage Assessment Technology,
● Developing a Free-Access Online Engine with Web-Based Interface for Industrial and UAV Access to Analyze/Classify Insulators' Condition from UAV Images.