Electrical testing of insulated aerial lifts for contamination using capacitive current compensation technique

The authors introduce a novel method for the measurement of contamination in the insulating arms of aerial lift devices used for live line maintenance work on power lines. Test results from field measurements involving over 120 aerial lifts show that the method gives a direct measure of the contamination level. Comparisons are made as to how the total, capacitive, and resistive currents are affected by the magnitude of contamination as well as the arm orientation and length of the insulating section. The authors also introduce guidelines or criteria for the arm maintenance based on its contamination current level