AI-Assisted Defect Detection in Polymer Composite Insulators Using an Optimised Ensemble Deep Learning Framework for Structural Health Monitoring

[{“box”:0,”content”:”n[if 992 equals=”Open Access”]n

n

n

n

Open Access

nn

n

n[/if 992]n[if 2704 equals=”Yes”]n

n

Notice

nThis is an unedited manuscript accepted for publication and provided as an Article in Press for early access at the author’s request. The article will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and galley proof review before final publication. Please be aware that errors may be identified during production that could affect the content. All legal disclaimers of the journal apply.n

n[/if 2704]n

n

Year : 2025 [if 2224 equals=””]15/09/2025 at 2:22 PM[/if 2224] | [if 1553 equals=””] Volume : 13 [else] Volume : [/if 1553] | [if 424 equals=”Regular Issue”]Issue : [/if 424][if 424 equals=”Special Issue”]Special Issue[/if 424] [if 424 equals=”Conference”][/if 424] 05 | Page :

n

n

nn

n

n

n

    By

    n

    [foreach 286]n

    n

    Hari Krishnan G, Mohandass G, Umashankar G, Ram Prasad Reddy M, Ravindra G,

    n t

  • n

    n[/foreach]

    n

n[if 2099 not_equal=”Yes”]n

    [foreach 286] [if 1175 not_equal=””]n t

  1. Associate Professor, Professor, Assistant Professor, Professor, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, School of Engineering, Mohan Babu University, Tirupati, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Saveetha School of Engineering, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai, Department of Biomedical Engineering, GRT Institute of Engineering and Technology, Chennai, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Aditya College of Engineering, Madanapalle, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering and Technology, Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, India, India, India, India, India

    2. n[/if 1175][/foreach]

n[/if 2099][if 2099 equals=”Yes”][/if 2099]n

n

Abstract

n

n

nPolymer composite insulators, particularly those made from silicone rubber and epoxy resins, are increasingly adopted in high-voltage transmission systems due to their superior electrical insulation, lightweight design, hydrophobicity, and environmental durability. Despite their advantages, these materials are susceptible to surface degradation, mechanical cracking, and flashover under prolonged exposure to environmental pollutants, thermal stress, and electrical aging. Accurate, real-time condition assessment of these composite insulators is critical for ensuring operational safety, preventing grid failure, and extending material lifespan.  This study proposes an intelligent image-based inspection framework specifically tailored for polymer composite insulators used in high-voltage networks. The framework integrates an optimized ensemble of VGG16 and ResNet50 convolutional neural networks to detect and classify physical defects such as broken surfaces and flashover burn marks—symptoms directly linked to polymer degradation and loss of dielectric properties. The method was trained on high-resolution field images of polymer insulators and demonstrated classification accuracies exceeding 91%, with strong precision and recall across all fault classes. By enabling non-destructive, automated evaluation of surface-level deterioration in polymer composites, this approach provides valuable insights into failure mechanisms and supports risk-based maintenance strategies. It offers a promising tool for advancing structural health monitoring in polymer engineering, particularly within the context of electrical insulation materials in smart grids.nn

n

n

n

Keywords: Polymer Composite Insulators, High-Voltage Electrical Systems, Surface Degradation, Deep Learning Classification, Structural Health Monitoring, Silicone Rubber, Epoxy Resin, Flashover Detection, Non-Destructive Evaluation, Predictive Maintenance.

n[if 424 equals=”Regular Issue”][This article belongs to Journal of Polymer and Composites ]

n

[/if 424][if 424 equals=”Special Issue”][This article belongs to Special Issue under section in Journal of Polymer and Composites (jopc)][/if 424][if 424 equals=”Conference”]This article belongs to Conference [/if 424]

n

n

n

How to cite this article:
nHari Krishnan G, Mohandass G, Umashankar G, Ram Prasad Reddy M, Ravindra G. [if 2584 equals=”][226 wpautop=0 striphtml=1][else]AI-Assisted Defect Detection in Polymer Composite Insulators Using an Optimised Ensemble Deep Learning Framework for Structural Health Monitoring[/if 2584]. Journal of Polymer and Composites. 15/09/2025; 13(05):-.

n

How to cite this URL:
nHari Krishnan G, Mohandass G, Umashankar G, Ram Prasad Reddy M, Ravindra G. [if 2584 equals=”][226 striphtml=1][else]AI-Assisted Defect Detection in Polymer Composite Insulators Using an Optimised Ensemble Deep Learning Framework for Structural Health Monitoring[/if 2584]. Journal of Polymer and Composites. 15/09/2025; 13(05):-. Available from: https://journals.stmjournals.com/jopc/article=15/09/2025/view=0

nn

n

n[if 992 equals=”Open Access”]Full Text PDF[/if 992]n

n

n[if 992 not_equal=”Open Access”]n

n

n[/if 992]n

nn

n nn

n[if 379 not_equal=””]nn

Browse Figures

n

n

n[foreach 379]

figures

[/foreach]n

n

n

n[/if 379]

n

n

n

n

n

References n

n[if 1104 equals=””]n

nn[/if 1104][if 1104 not_equal=””]n

    [foreach 1102]n t

  1. [if 1106 equals=””], [/if 1106][if 1106 not_equal=””],[/if 1106]

    2. n[/foreach]

n[/if 1104]

n

nn[if 1114 equals=”Yes”]n

n[/if 1114]

n

n

[if 424 not_equal=””][else]Ahead of Print[/if 424] Subscription Original Research

n

n

n

n

n

Journal of Polymer and Composites

n

[if 344 not_equal=””]ISSN: 2321–2810[/if 344]

n

n

n

nn

n

[if 2146 equals=”Yes”][/if 2146][if 2146 not_equal=”Yes”][/if 2146]n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n[if 1748 not_equal=””]

[else]

[/if 1748]n

n[if 1746 equals=”Retracted”]n

n

n

n

[/if 1746]n[if 4734 not_equal=””]

n

n

n

[/if 4734]n

n

Volume 13
[if 424 equals=”Regular Issue”]Issue[/if 424][if 424 equals=”Special Issue”]Special Issue[/if 424] [if 424 equals=”Conference”][/if 424] 05
Received 26/08/2025
Accepted 05/09/2025
Published 15/09/2025
Retracted
Publication Time 20 Days

n

n

85

nn

n

Login

n
My IP
n

PlumX Metrics

nn

n

n

n[if 1746 equals=”Retracted”]n

[/if 1746]nnn

nnn”}]