RTV silicone rubber coatings for outdoor insulators

The paper presents a review of room temperature vulcanized (RTV) silicone rubber high voltage insulator coatings (HVIC). These coatings are designed to replace greasing and water washing of insulators. Present day coatings are the result of nearly thirty years of development and use. In all but a very few dirty environments, these coatings have lasted ten or more years without maintenance and where maintenance has been found to be necessary, water washing is done at a significantly reduced schedule. The paper focuses on the important characteristics of these coatings and on the rigorous attention that is required in their application in order to ensure good performance     

Experience with IEC 1109 1000 h salt fog ageing test for compositeinsulators

This paper covers some examples of the STRI and NGK experience with the standard IEC 1109 salt fog test and some modifications of this test for different types of test objects     

Effect of insulator profile on aging performance of silicone rubber insulators in salt-fog

The paper presents the results of the study on the influence of insulator profile on the aging performance of silicone rubber (SIR) insulators in salt-fog. Experiments have been conducted on various two-shed arrangements at 35 V/mm average stress and 0.25 S/m salt-fog conductivity level. The work is also extended to include commercial 15 kV class insulators with different profiles. Shed spacing, shed diameter, alternate shed design and shed shape are the parameters investigated in this study. The low frequency harmonics of the leakage current, early aging period (EAP), and equivalent salt deposit density (ESDD), are used to evaluate the aging performance of different designs. Insulator profile is shown to greatly influence the aging performance of SIR insulators. Shed shape proves to be the most important parameter to be considered in designing non-ceramic insulators profiles. Also, as the shed spacing decreases, the performance of SIR insulators improves. Simulation results using FEMLAB show that the electric field on insulators is below the corona onset at both dry and wet conditions. Dry band arcing is therefore the main electrical cause for aging in distribution class insulators and it is possible to improve the pollution performance of SIR insulators using appropriate profiles as suggested in this work     

Flashover mechanism of silicone rubber insulators used for outdoorinsulation-I

Experimental results show that the contamination performance of silicone rubber composite insulators is better than porcelain insulators. This is attributed to the hydrophobicity of the silicone rubber. This suggests that the flashover mechanism of these insulators is different. This paper experimentally investigates contamination build-up, diffusion of low molecular weight (LMW) polymer chains, surface wetting, electrical field caused interaction between droplets, generation of conductive regions and filaments, field intensification caused spot discharge and the ultimate flashover of silicone rubber along wetted filaments. The studies resulted in a new flashover mechanism, which provides a better understanding of the superior performance of silicone rubber outdoor insulators. The results will be useful for the development of improved laboratory test procedures and to evaluate composite insulators' performance in contaminated conditions. The part of the paper describes an overview of the flashover mechanism and the diffusion of LMW polymer chains and wetting of the silicone rubber surface in detail     

Flashover mechanism of silicone rubber insulators used for outdoorinsulation-II

Flashover mechanisms of silicone rubber used for outdoor insulation is presented and experimentally proven. A hydrophobic surface of silicone rubber wets and accumulates contaminants differently compared to conventional porcelain and glass insulators. This suggests that the flashover mechanism of silicone rubber insulators is different than porcelain and glass. This part of the paper experimentally investigates ohmic heating, electrical field caused interaction between water droplets, generation of conductive regions and filaments, field intensification caused spot discharges and the ultimate flashover of silicone rubber along wetted filaments. These studies have resulted in a new flashover mechanism which provides a better understanding of silicone rubber outdoor insulators and their excellent contamination performance. These results will be used for the development of a better laboratory test procedure to evaluate composite insulators' performance in contaminated conditions     

Influence of fog parameters on the aging of HTV silicone rubber

Testing of outdoor insulators in a fog chamber is universally used. Many factors affect the generation of fog. Fog parameters such as the pressure of the compressed air and the water flow rate feeding the nozzles to form the fog, as well as the size and the speed of the fog droplets impinging on the surface of the insulators, play a major role in the outcome of electrical performance tests. In order to be able to compare test results from different laboratories, the conditions of fog generation should be defined unambiguously and clearly. In the present paper relationships between air pressure, water flow rate and air speed which are related to the distribution and the speed of the fog droplets, are determined as a function of distance from the IEEE-IEC standard nozzles forming the fog. The distribution of different fog droplet sizes is measured. The influence of the fog parameters on the aging characteristics of surface resistance, surface roughness, leakage current and surface hydrophobicity of high temperature vulcanized (HTV) silicone rubber are presented     

Influence of shed parameters on the aging performance of silicone rubber insulators in salt-fog

The paper presents the results of a study on the effect of shed design on the aging performance of silicone rubber (SIR) insulators in salt-fog. The experiments on a single shed design at 35 V/mm average stress and 0.25 S/m salt-fog conductivity level are reported. Shed diameter, location and inclination angle are the parameters investigated in the study. The low frequency harmonics of the leakage current, early aging period, equivalent salt deposit density (ESDD), and physical damage are used to evaluate the aging performance of various designs. Insulators having sheds with 100 mm diameter show a better performance than those having 80, 60 and 40 mm diameter sheds. The inclination angle of the sheds is shown to have a significant effect in reducing the leakage current to a very low value but simulation results using FEMLAB/sup /spl reg// show that a steep inclination angle results in field enhancement beneath the shed that may lead to corona damage of the shed. A cup shaped design for the shed is shown to have a low leakage current level and a low field enhancement beneath the shed.     

A method for detecting the transition from corona from water droplets to dry-band arcing on silicone rubber insulators

The paper presents an investigation on the use of partial discharge (PD) as a means to study the development of leakage current (LC) on silicone rubber insulators in a salt-fog chamber. Simultaneous measurements of LC and PD on dead-end type silicone rubber insulators exposed to different combinations of electrical stress and salt-fog salinity are performed. The results show that for an electrical stress of 33 V/mm applied to the insulator, the average LC experiences gradual changes and reaches a critical level (around 1 mA) where dry-band arcing is observed after 20 minutes at 2300 /spl mu/S/cm, and after 25 minutes at 1800 /spl mu/S/cm. The corresponding PD levels reach hundreds of pC after 15 minutes at 2300 /spl mu/S/cm, and after 20 minutes at 1800 /spl mu/S/cm. For a salinity corresponding to 1800 /spl mu/S/cm and stress of 26 V/mm, the LC changes much more gradually and reaches the critical level only after approximately 60 minutes. The corresponding PD reaches hundreds of pC after 30 minutes and more than 1500 pC after 60 minutes. Pattern recognition techniques have been applied to investigate the transition from corona to dry-band arcing. The features extracted from the maximum and mean apparent charge trends are found to be useful to cluster and classify the two phenomena. Simultaneous visual observations of the discharges on the insulator surface support the results. The investigation, therefore, shows that PD is a sensitive method for detecting the transition from corona from water droplets to dry-band arcing and an alternative method for studying the early aging stage of silicone rubber insulators.     

酸雾对污秽绝缘子的交流电气特性的影响

根据酸性湿沉降水pH值与电导率之间关系的试验结果。得出结论：绝缘子交流闪络电压随酸雾pH值的减小而降低。为此，分析了污秽绝缘子在酸雾中发生污闪的原因，以及试验溶液pH值对合成绝缘子憎水性的影响，可供有关工程人员参考和借鉴。     

Evaluation methods on polymer materials for surface of outdoor insulators

Performance of nonceramic insulators is strongly related to hydrophobicity of the surface. Therefore, it is useful to evaluate the characteristics of the surface of organic insulating materials. To characterize the methods for the evaluation, some measurements were conducted on silicon rubber (SR), EPDM, PMMA and polyethylene (PE). The influence of irradiation with a mercury lamp was detected through measurements of contact angle, formation time of water film, and mass analysis of released gases under irradiation of electron beam. Measurement of the contact angle by using polar and nonpolar liquids revealed that silicon rubber (SR) was the most resistant against UV radiation. SR also showed recovery of hydrophobicity after UV irradiation. Measurement of the current flowing across the surface of materials exposed to artificial fog showed good agreement to the measurement of contact angle. Infrared absorption spectroscopic analysis enabled the intensity of oxidation of highly UV-deteriorated organic insulating materials to be detected. Radicals on the surface of specimens were specified from the result of mass analysis of released gases. From these results, the nature of deterioration of organic insulating materials irradiated by UV is discussed.     

Formation and characterization of dry bands in clean fog onpolluted insulators

The formation and development of dry bands can best be studied by modifying the standard test procedures. When such controlled behavior is allied with synchronized optical and electrical recordings, then characterization of the pre-formative leakage current, the transient phenomena associated with partial arcs across dry bands, the location of partial arcs and the voltage drop across dry bands can be determined. Interpretation of test data is greatly aided by finite element computation of insulating structures with a conducting surface layer. When this layer is continuous, this allows straightforward prediction of dry band formation under wetting conditions. Following formation, dry bands can be represented by discontinuities in this layer. Simulation of dry bands with various lengths, when combined with the test data, enables partial arc voltage gradients to be quantified. These results will be discussed in the context of previous work on the pollution flashover mechanism of ceramic insulators     

Aging in silicone rubber used for outdoor insulation

A hypothesis for aging produced by dry band arcing in silicone rubber material used for outdoor insulation is presented and experimentally proven. Aging is indicated by permanent changes. The analytical techniques used to study the permanent changes are Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and surface roughness measurement. The authors highlight the fact that there are permanent changes occurring in the material that lead to progressive degradation in the long run, even though there can be a complete recovery of surface hydrophobicity in a short time     

Properties of interfaces in silicone rubber

A salt fog test and an inclined plane test have been combined in order to trace changes in electrical and mechanical properties as well as in chemical stability of high temperature cured silicone rubber (HTV) samples containing interfaces. The interfaces were created in two different ways. The first technique, named adding/curing, was based on pressing together an uncured HTV silicone plate towards a piece of already cured one, followed by curing at atmospheric pressure and high temperature. The second type of interface was made by joining two pieces of cured HTV rubber by silicone glue (RTV-1). Thereafter both types of samples were divided in two parts, one of which was additionally exposed to UV-radiation before testing. The combined salt fog inclined plane test did not reveal significant differences in the development of leakage currents, in the change of surface roughness, or in the degree of surface oxidation in comparison to reference samples of cured HTV rubber without interfaces. At the same time the leakage currents became lower on the UV-exposed samples. It is suggested that the reduction in leakage currents resulted from a combination of increased surface roughness and increased hydrophobicity. Reduction of mechanical properties of UV-exposed samples was also observed. The tensile testing showed that samples containing the adding/curing interfaces maintained their mechanical strength after ageing while the strength of the glued samples was significantly reduced, indicating that the adding/curing system has better long-term mechanical stability compared to the glued system     

Effects of added silicone oils on the surface characteristics of silicone rubber

This paper reports on the effects of silicone fluids, used as processing agents, on the loss and recovery of hydrophobicity. The recovery of hydrophobicity was evaluated by the measuring the contact angle, the surface electrical resistance and the leakage current on a silicone rubber (SIR) surface. Two types of silicone fluids (A and B) having different chemical structures were selected from consideration of hydrophobicity and processability. SIR specimens were exposed to corona discharges in air and were analyzed using contact angle and surface resistance measurements. It was observed that the contact angle and the surface resistance increased gradually with increasing test time. The recovery of the hydrophobicity expressed as the contact angle and the surface resistance increased with increasing ratio of fluids A/B. The tracking and erosion resistances of SIR were investigated using the rotating wheel dip test. The leakage current of SIR decreased with increasing ratio of fluids A/B.     

An investigation of salt contamination on insulators and the effectiveness of pin-type insulators with salt-proof dishes

This paper investigates the contamination of the surface of various insulators suspended in the air at a certain altitude and connected in series. It is shown that salt-proof dishes attached to pin-type insulators are effective against contamination. Exposure tests of insulators on Okinawa have been made since 1985 and the results are as follows:

• 1 The higher the placement of the insulator, the heavier the contamination.
• 2 The amount of contamination on the downward surface of the suspended insulators at the lowest position was considerably smaller than that of the insulators at the other positions.
• 3 The extent of contamination of the pin-type insulators with the salt-proof dishes was far less in comparison to that of pin-type insulators without salt-proof dishes.
• 4 The maximum equivalent salt-deposit density was related closely to the small amount of precipitation during the observation period and the occurrence of high wind speed, which was higher than 10 m/s.

     

新型太阳电池阵用硅橡胶的研究

介绍了一种新型太阳电池阵用硅橡胶,与传统硅橡胶相比,它的特点在于具有较低的挥发份和较短的固化周期,同时具备足够的粘接强度,以及优良的电绝缘、耐湿老化、耐高低温、耐空间辐照性能,是一种综合性能优良的空间级硅橡胶。     

硅脂环境下硅橡胶的吸收特性及其关键电气性能研究

电缆附件在长期运行过程中,其界面硅脂与绝缘硅橡胶直接接触使其逐渐被硅橡胶吸收,导致硅橡胶性能下降,甚至引发电缆附件界面问题。文中以附件绝缘硅橡胶吸收硅脂的增重试验为基础,研究不同温度下硅脂/硅油在硅橡胶中的扩散规律并获得相应的扩散参数;研究硅脂对硅橡胶体积电阻率、相对介电常数、介质损耗角正切值和工频击穿场强等电气性能的影响规律。结果表明,不同温度下硅脂/硅油在硅橡胶中的扩散规律服从Langmuir扩散模型;硅橡胶对硅脂/硅油的吸收能力随温度升高而增强,且硅橡胶内硅油分子的脱附过程更强;随着硅橡胶对硅脂吸收量的增加,硅橡胶的体积电阻率逐渐降低,相对介电常数和介质损耗角正切值逐渐增加,但其工频击穿场强呈先增大后减小的趋势。