The study aims to elucidate which type of bird excrement contamination causes insulator flashovers in 110 kV overhead power lines in Estonia. Laboratory wetting and bird streamer tests performed on naturally contaminated glass and composite insulators show that most likely the flashovers are caused by highly conductive bird excrement streamers and that insulator properties have little influence, if any, on the generation of this kind of contamination driven flashovers.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1049/PBPO007E
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