Composite fibre optic insulators and their application to high voltage sensor systems

The author describes composite fibre optic insulators which are now in widespread usage through out the world and have been for up to 10 years. The length of successful service and qualification test data gives a good indication of the long term reliability of these insulators. The main consideration in the systems which use these insulators is how to interconnect them and which type of insulator to use. High voltage optical sensor systems are currently in their infancy and the increasing acceptance of them on the power network will lead to even more usage of the composite insulator