In order to study the factors influencing insulators’ contamination deposition

we gathered the dimensions of some post insulators and set up numerical models for wind tunnel simulation. On the basis of the theory of computational fluid dynamics

we discussed four factors that affect the trapped mass of insulators. It is concluded that the concentration of particles has a linear function on the taped mass of the insulator surface. Higher wind velocity will lead to more trapped mass on both the top surfaces and the bottom surfaces of insulators

though different profiles of the top and bottom surfaces can result in distinct tends. Meanwhile

growth in the mean diameter of particles will increase the trapped mass of the top surfaces but barely affects the bottom surface. Moreover

for any certain shape of insulator

increasing the diameter of insulator rod significantly will reduce the density of contamination deposition. Further comparison indicates a considerable difference between the simulation results and some reported experimental data from wind tunnel tests

which is probably due to the insufficient consideration of the adhesion effect in the simulations.