Contamination performances of silicone rubber insulator subjected to acid rain

Abstract

Acid rain causes one of the more severe environmental contaminants, and there is an increasing interest in the degradation of outdoor polymer insulating materials in severe pollution conditions such as acid rain. The performance of high temperature vulcanizing (HTV) silicon rubber insulators in accelerated aging of artificial acid rain is investigated by the salt fog method. Experimental results and theoretical analysis show that acid rain exerts a large erosion effect on the silicone rubber insulator. The inorganic filler alumina trihydrate (ATH) in the silicone rubber easily dissolves in acid rain, and the increasing discharge heat from dry band arcing due to acid rain can further cause the loss of ATH. The hydrophobic groups of hydrocarbon branch (ie. methyl in silicone rubber), are also degraded in acid rain. Therefore, the surface of aged insulators becomes rough, they become less hydrophobic, and the surface discharge current increases. However, in a subsequent dry environment, the low molecular weight (LMW) polymer silicone liquid or oil in the bulk of the insulator diffuses and migrates to the surface to provide a hydrophobic layer so that the degraded surface of silicone rubber insulator is compensated, and the contamination performance is restored to some extent. Such recovery of contamination indicates why silicone rubber insulators can be used for long times under severe environmental stress.