Hunan Electric Power ›› 2025, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (6): 33-41.doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1008-0198.2025.06.005

• Expert Column:Electric Power Prevention and Reduction • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Review of Icing Issues and Prevention and Control Technologies for Power Transmission and Transformation Insulators

WANG Zhanxin1,2, ZHANG Chuyan1, YU Xinzhe2, DENG Yu2   

  1. 1. China University of Geosciences Beijing, Beijing 100083, China;
    2. China Electric Power Research Institute, Beijing 100192, China
  • Received:2025-11-17 Revised:2025-11-22 Online:2025-12-25 Published:2026-01-13

Abstract: Ice covering on insulators is a major natural disaster that poses a threat to the safe operation of power grids, especially posing a severe challenge to the high-altitude and heavily ice-covered areas that strategic projects such as the West-to-East Power Transmission pass through. For this reason, this article systematically reviews the core research progress in the field of insulator icing. Firstly, it elaborates on the physical mechanism of icing and the coupling influence laws of its interaction with water droplet movement, environmental parameters, and electric fields. Then, the flashover characteristics of icing insulators are analyzed to reveal their nonlinear voltage characteristics and the development process of arcs. Finally, it summarizes and evaluates the applicability and limitations of three types of anti-icing measures, that is, structural optimization, active de-icing, and passive protection. The article points out that current research still lacks in the aspects of microscopic icing physics, multi-physical field coupling models, and insulators adaptability in extreme environments. In the future, efforts should be focused on the construction of intelligent anti-icing technology and the construction of a full-chain risk early warning system to support the reliable operation of future power grids.

Key words: insulator icing, flashover, prevention and control technology, online monitoring, smart grid

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