For a long time, the main application scenarios of glass insulators have been concentrated in the high-voltage transmission grid. However, with the improvement of performance requirements for insulation equipment in various industries, their excellent insulation and stability have begun to attract the attention of rail transit, industrial manufacturing and other fields. The application scope has gradually broken through the traditional boundary, forming a new pattern of multi-field coverage.​

In the field of rail transit, the power supply systems of subways and high-speed railways have become important application scenarios for glass insulators. The third rail power supply system of subways (the track that provides power for trains) requires insulators to achieve insulation isolation from the track bracket. The core demand of this scenario is "anti-vibration and wear resistance" — subways will generate continuous vibration (vibration frequency 10-50Hz) during operation, and there is slight friction between the third rail and the insulator surface. To meet this demand, the special glass insulators for rail transit adopt the design of "thickened shed + wear-resistant coating": the shed thickness is increased from the traditional 8mm to 12mm to improve the structural vibration resistance; the surface is sprayed with a 10μm thick silicon carbide wear-resistant coating, which increases the surface hardness to HV1200 (the surface hardness of traditional glass is HV600) and reduces the wear rate by 80%. At the same time, the fitting connection of insulators adopts an "elastic buffer structure", which absorbs vibration energy by adding rubber gaskets to avoid fitting loosening caused by long-term vibration. At present, such insulators have been applied in subway lines in many cities, and after 3 years of operation, the failure rate is less than 0.1%, far lower than 1.5% of traditional ceramic insulators.​

The catenary power supply system of high-speed railways (which supplies power to trains through pantographs) has high requirements for the "wind deflection resistance and low-temperature resistance" of glass insulators. High-speed railways run at high speeds (up to 350km/h), which will cause violent swing of the catenary (maximum wind deflection angle of 15°), and need to withstand low temperatures of -30℃ in winter in northern China. The special glass insulators for high-speed railways adopt a "streamlined shed" design to reduce the wind resistance coefficient (from 1.2 to 0.8) and reduce the wind deflection amplitude; calcium oxide (CaO) is added to the glass formula to improve the frost resistance of the glass — the freezing point temperature is reduced from the traditional -5℃ to -40℃, avoiding material embrittlement caused by low temperature. In addition, the insulators are also equipped with "wind deflection prevention fittings", which limit the wind deflection angle to no more than 8° by increasing lateral support, ensuring stable contact between the catenary and the pantograph.​

In the field of industrial manufacturing, the high-temperature and corrosive environments of the metallurgical and chemical industries provide a new application space for glass insulators. The power supply system of electric arc furnaces (used for iron and steel smelting) in the metallurgical industry requires insulators to achieve insulation in a high-temperature environment of 150℃, and traditional glass insulators will soften and deform at this temperature. The special industrial glass insulators increase the softening temperature of the glass from the traditional 600℃ to 800℃ by adjusting the formula (increasing the silica content to 75%), and can operate stably in an environment below 200℃ for a long time; at the same time, the surface is sprayed with a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) coating to resist the erosion of metallurgical dust and corrosive gases (such as sulfur dioxide). The electrolyzer power supply system in the chemical industry (used for electrolytic production of chemical products) requires insulators to "resist strong corrosion and low leakage current". The special glass insulators adopt a "high-purity glass matrix" (impurity content less than 0.1) and add zirconia (ZrO₂) nano-particles to improve corrosion resistance. After soaking in 30% concentration hydrochloric acid for 300 hours, the insulation performance has no obvious change, and the leakage current is always lower than 1μA.​

From the power grid to rail transit and industrial fields, the application expansion of glass insulators not only opens up a new growth space for the industry but also promotes the development of products towards "scene customization", providing more accurate solutions for the special insulation needs of different fields.