Porcelain insulators are mainly divided into three types according to their application: insulators used in transmission lines, insulators used in electrical equipment in power stations, and insulators used in other insulating components on live conductors. Among these, the main product types of line porcelain insulators include suspension type, butterfly type, and post type.
Porcelain insulators are widely used in AC and DC transmission lines of all voltage levels from 35kV to 1000kV and above, as well as in substations and converter stations. In ultra-high voltage and extra-high voltage transmission lines, insulators act as the "joints" supporting the conductors and isolating current. In substations and converter stations, rod-shaped post porcelain insulators are the crucial "stabilizing force," an indispensable component in the construction of ultra-high voltage power grids.
Porcelain insulators are used in numerous major ultra-high voltage (UHV) power projects both domestically and internationally, such as the Jin-Southeast-Nanyang-Jingmen 1000kV UHV AC test demonstration project, the Baihetan-Jiangsu ±800kV UHV DC project, the Changji-Guquan ±1100kV UHV DC project, the Belo Monte ±800kV UHV transmission project in Brazil, the Zhangbei-Xiong'an 1000kV UHV project, and the Longdong-Shandong ±800kV UHV DC transmission project. In the Changsha substation of the Nanchang-Changsha 1000kV UHV project, the porcelain insulators used in the main equipment also come from domestic industrial clusters.
China has formed an electrical porcelain industry cluster represented by Liling in Hunan and Luxi in Jiangxi, with products covering the global market. Major global manufacturers include NGK Insulators, Liling Huaxin Electrical Porcelain Technology Co., Ltd., Modern Insulators, China XD Group, Dalian Electrical Porcelain Group Co., Ltd., and Sinoma Electrical Porcelain. Chinese products have been successfully applied in overseas power projects such as the Belo Monte ±800 kV project in Brazil, the Manchester 420 kV project in the UK, and the Frankfurt 275 kV project in Germany, and have entered high-end markets in Europe and the United States.
