Hack Am 1999

IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Vol. 6 No.
5, October 1999 557
REVIEW
Outdoor HV Composite Polymeric Insulators

Reuben Hackaml
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
ABSTRACT
HV composite polymeric insulators are being accepted increasingly for use in outdoor installa-
tions by the traditionally cautious electric power utilities worldwide. They currently represent
-60 to 70% of newly installed HV insulators in Nortb America. The tremendous growth in
the applications of non-ceramic composite insulators is due to their advantages over the tradi-
tional ceramic and glass insulators. These include light weight, higher mechanical strength to
weight ratio, resistance to vandalism, better performance in the presence of heavy pollution in
wet conditions, and comparable or better withstand voltage than porcelain or glass insulators.
However, because polymeric insulators are relatively new, the expected lifetime and their
long-term reliability are not known and therefore are of concern to users. Additionally they
might suffer from erosion and tracking in the presence of severe contamination and sustained
moisture. This leads to the development of dry band arcing that under certain circumstances
could lead to failure of polymer insulators. In this paper a review is presented of the recent
performance experience of HV composite polymeric insulators in outdoor service, testing
methods, aging, the ranking of the materials, the role of fillers, the role of low molecular
weight components present in the insulators, the mechanisms responsible for the loss and
recovery of hydrophobicity,one of the most important properties of polymers, the mechanisms
of failure, detection of faults, type and quantity of natural contaminants, effects of exposure
to rain, hydrocarbons, stationary air and wind, various methods to optimize the electrical
performance and a relatively new method for evaluating the performance status of polymeric
insulators in the field.
In ?X
Introduction 558 Weathersheds of Polymeric Materials 558
Testing Methods of Composite Insulators 559 Test Results of Composite Insulators 560
Ranking of Materials forOutdoorlnsuiation 561 Effect of VoltagePolarily on Performance 562
Properties of Pollution on Polymeric Insula- 562 Artificial Contamination on Polymeric Insu- 563
tom lators
Aging of Polymeric Insulators and Mecha. 563 Aging fram Bxposure to Ultraviolet Radia. 564
nisms of Failure tion
Detectionof Faults on Composite Insulators 564 Effects of Immersion in Water and Aeid Rain 565
Effect of Rain on Eiectriclield Distribution 565 Exposure of Polymers to Acids and Hydro. 565
carbons
Hydrophobic Properties and Fluid Diffu- 566 Identification of the LMW Silicone Compo- 567
sion to the Surface nents
Effecb of Wind and Immersion in Water on 568 Determination of Hydrophobicity 569
~MWFluidContent
Surface Energies of sin, ErDM and their 569 Effect of Amount and 5 p e of Filler on P e r 570
Blends formance
Other Additives in Pnl)mer Bare hliterialr 572 Role of ATH and other Hydrated Fillers 573
Dirper~iunof the Filler 8" the Polymrt 374 Optimum Size of Particles of ATH Filler 575
Optimization of Ihkknejo of I~lV-IIRon 576 Substrate Rod Material and the Performance 576
r RI' Rods of nTv-sIn
Tllat of Adding Silicone Fluid 377 Loss andRegenerationof LMW Fluidin RTV- 577
s l ~ , ~ r D M a nSIR
d
SurlraResirtanc~ofA~iugPolymerInsula. 579 Conclusions 580
-_
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1070-98781991 $3.00 0 1999 IEEE
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558 Hackam: Outdoor HV Composite Polymeric Insulators
1 INTRODUCTION Quebec in Canada installed on a 16 km section of 735 kV,,, transmis-

sion line 282 composite insulators made by three different manufactur-
P OLYMERIC insulators areincreasinglybeingusedinboth the distri-
bution and transmission voltage ranges and are steadily capturing
a wider share of the market 111. The primary impetus for their increased
ers [IS]. This was followed with a 120 km section using 1100 composite
insulators [la]. In addition, the same power utility installed compos-
ite insulators on circuits of 120, 230 and 315 kV,,,. Different generic
acceptance by the usually cautions electric power utilities is their sub- materials were used in the manufacture of composite polymeric insula-
stantial advantage compared to inorganicinsulators whichhave primar- tors [1].Initially they included ethylene propylene rubber (EPR) which
ily been porcelain and glass. One of their major advantages is their low were made by Ceraver of France (1975),Ohio Brass of USA (19761, Sedi-
surface energy [2,3] and thereby maintaining a good hydrophobic sur- var of USA (1977)and Lapp of USA (1980); silicone rubber (SIR) which
face property in the presence of wet conditions such as fog, dew and rain was manufactured by Rosenthal of Germany (1976)and Reliable of USA
141. Other advantages include: (1)light weight which results in a more (1983); and cycloaliphatic epoxy by Transmission Development of the
economic design of the towers or alternatively enabling to upgrade the UK (1977). Currently polymeric composite insulators are manufactured
voltage of existing systems without changing the tower dimensions. An worldwide.
example of this was a case in Germany where the voltage was increased
Early experience with SIR included room temperature vulcanized
from 245 to 420 kV,, [5] and in Canada where two 115kV,, 50 km long
(RTV)-SIR which had a low tear resistance of the weatliersheds. Sub-
lines were up-rated to 230 kV,,, using horizontal Vee polymer insula-
sequently this was replaced with high temperature vulcanized (HTV)-
tors in the same towers [6]. The light weight of the composite insula-
SIR. SIR composite insulators were used in Germany in 1977 for up to
tor strings also permits an increase in the clearance distance between
123 kV,, and in 1979 for up to 245 kV,, [19-21].
the conductor to ground and an increase in the phase-to-phase distance
in order to reduce the electric and magnetic fields which are becoming The use of non-ceramic insulation systems is increasingly capturing
a growing concern to some members of the general public. The light a larger share of the market. Currently, in the United States polymer in-
weight of the composite insulators also obviates the need to use heavy sulators formbetween 60 to 70%of all new installations of HV insulators
cranes for their handling and installation and this saves on cost 171, (2) a [22] and their share of the market continues to grow. In Ireland 75%of
higher mechanical strength to weight ratio which enables the construc- allupgraded 20 kV,, lines willemploy compositeinsulators in placeof
tion of longer spans of towers, (3) line post insulators are less prone to glass [23]. Ohio Brass (1986)introduced an alloy of ethylene propylene
serious damage from vandalism such as gunshots which cause the ce- monomer (EPM) and SIR which was subsequently changed to ehtylene
ramic insulators to shatter and drop the conductor to the ground [E], (4) propylene diene monomer (EPDM) and SIR compound in 1989 122). This
much better performance than ceramic insulators in outdoor service in alloy in a ratio of 10 (EPDM or EPM) to 3 (SIR) provided the better me-
the presence of heavy pollution [9-11] as well as in short term tests (121 chanical properties, such as the stiffness, of the EPDM [22] and the excel-
when done according to the method outlined in 1131, (5) comparable or lent hydrophobic characteristicsof SIR [9,22,24,25]. It was reported 1221
better withstand voltage than porcelain and glass insulators [11, 141, (6) that one company has produced commercially with the alloys of EPDM
easy installation thus saving on labor cost and (7) the use of composite and SIR over 2.5 million (M) distribution insulators, 0.1 M transmission
insulators reduces the maintenance costs such as of insulator washing class [me post insulators and 0.4 M suspension insulators which are cur-
which is often required for ceramic and glass insulators in heavily con- rently installed in power systems in different parts of the world. This
taminated environment. gives a clear indication of a wide acceptance of this blend of materials.
The main disadvantages of composite polymeric insulators are: (1) In some cases power utilities are still reluctant to use composite insu-
they are subjected to chemical changes on the surface due to weather- lators because of the remaining uncertainty of their long-term reliability,
ing and from dry band arcing [15], (21 suffer from erosion and track- the unknown life expectancy and the lack of adequate detection technol-
ing which may lead ultimately to failure of the insulator [16], (3) life ex- ogy of faulty insulators. However, there are many organizations includ-
pectancy is difficult to evaluate, (4) long reliability is unknown and (5) ing IEC and IEEE which have been attempting to address these problems
faulty insulators are difficult to detect. and develop standards and test methods for polymeric insulators [26].
Composite polymer insulators are composed of three components
2 WEATHERSHEDS OF and the design of each must be optimized to yield satisfactoryelectrical
POLYMERIC MATERIALS and mechanical performance over the lifetime of the insulators, which
is expected to be in the range of 30 to 40 years. At the center of the in-
Polymeric insulators have been in use in outdoor service for about sulator system is the fiberglass reinforced polymer (FRP)rod. This is
fifty years. They cover a wide rangeof materials and formulations. They reinforced with either polyester, vinyl ester or epoxy resin [22] to pro-
include bisphenol epoxy resins which were used commercially for in- vide the mechanical strength Epoxy FRP is the most widely used mate-
door applications in the mid 1940's. In the 1950's cycloaliphatic epoxy rial for the rod. The metal end fittings are typically forged steel, ductile
resins were used in the United Kingdom (UK) in outdoor service due cast iron, malleable iron or aluminum and are selected for mechanical
to their better performance 1171. Cycloaliphatic epoxy insulators were strength and to resist corrosion. Their shape is also important to limit
used as suspension insulators up to 400 kV,, and in station circuit the production of corona discharges which causes the polymeric mate-
breakers for up to 500kV,,, in the early 1960's in the UK [11. rial to become brittle 1271 and may crack, leading to failure of the in-
Polymeric insulators for transmission lines began to be manufactured sulator by moisture ingress into the fiberglass rod. In the more recent
in Europe and the USA in the mid 1975 and beyond. In 1977 Hydro- designs the metal fittings incorporate a silicone sealant and are crimped
IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Vol. 6 No. 5, October 1999 559
to the rods. In one design two O-rings are included to ensure a tight seal be found in (461. The IEC test described in (411 has been criticized as be-
against the possible ingress of moisture into the F R P rods which could ing more of a pollution test and not an aging test and therefore sugges-
result in a brittle fracture and corrosion should it occur, tions for improvements in the test procedure were made [47,48]. Most
The weathersheds provide the required leakage distance and cur- existing laboratorytests for accelerated weathering are primarily useful
rently are supplied with different materials, shapes, diameters, thick- for ranking of the compounded materials. They include salt-fog cham-
nesses and spacings. Materials for weather sheds for HV insulators bers [46,49-561, inclined plane with solid contaminant 157-591, rotat-
might include SIR, EPDM, EPR [I,5,11,14,28-30], EPM (221, alloys of ing tracking wheel test [29,30,32,34,52,60-651 and a simulated track-
EPDM and silicone (1,221, ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) [22] and cy- ing wheel in which the nozzles spraying the water are turned on for 20 s
cloaliphatic and aromatic epoxy resins [I, 5,11,28,31-351. For low volt- and off for 40 s every minute to give the same effect as the conventional
age applications in outdoor or indoor applications additionally high- rotating tracking wheel (661. The tracking wheel test was originally de-
density polyethylene (HDPE),polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) [S, 351, veloped by Ontario Hydro in Canada for testing laminated insulation
polynrethene (PUR) [5], polyolefin elastomers [3537] and other materi- WI.
als are employed [%I. Only tests in field stations [9-11,681 and actual performance on
SIR was first produced in 1944 (381. When the chain of the dimethyl power lines and in outdoor substations could yield realistic results on
polysiloxaneisverylong(thenumber of theunitsof thesiloxaneis given outdoor service performance.
as "several thousands" [38]) the silicone fluid becomes viscous with a Inacceleratedaging tests in fog chambers the specimens are subjected
gum-like consistency from which SIR is made by adding fillers and cur- to a simultaneous salt-fog and electric stress. The leakage currents, the
ing agents [%]. In addition to outdoor insulation, SIR has been used in pulsecurrents and theaccumulatedcharge are determined duringapm-
the insulation of special purpose cables that operate at high tempera- longed test which can last to 1000h [411, using an automaticdata acqui-
tures (>150Tnear furnaces and in special motors 1381, but these appli- sition system [49]. Often NaCl is added to tap water (250 to 300 @/cm)
cations are not covered in this review. to obtain a much higher conductivity of 414.7 mS/cm (10 & 0.5 kg
In SIR the bonding energy of the Si-0 is 1 . 7 6 ~ 1 0 - ' J~(106 kJ/mol of salt per m3 of water). However, micro-organisms are known to be
or 1.10 eV) which is higher than that of 1.42x10-" J (85 kJ/mol or present in the tap water which may grow rapidly and form a jelly like
0.882 eV) for the C-C bond in EPDM. Thus SIR has a higher resistance layer on the insulator. This is highly conductive and hydrophilic 169,701
to UV radiation [5] and heat generated by dry band arcing than EPDM. which could lead to premature failure of the insulators being tested. An
After a lengthy exposure of SIR to intense discharges, silica (302)which addition of CuCL to the water (12 g/m3) obviates the problem [69].
In the compoundingof the weathersheds, fillers are added to enhance

. " "
on-the development of the leakage current even when the d e c k field
the resistance to tracking and erosion as well as to provide improved stress is maintained at the same level [46]. The clean fog test method,
mechanical performance in tensile strength, abrasion resistance, tear in which steam is employed, reflects the contamination in industrial ar-
strength, modulus and to reduce flammability Typical fillers used are eas away from the sea coast [69,71-763. However, the dispersion in the
alumina trihydrate (ATH), A1203.3H20 or hydrated alumina, and silica test results amongst different laboratorieswas reported to be very large
(quartzpowder). Theformerisnow very extensivelynsedandforms be- using this method [73]. In 1751 it was recommended that in the clean
tween 40 to 55% of the total SIR and EPDM compounds [22,26]. Quartz fog method 40 g of Rogers kaolin per liter of water and steam input of
flour is widely used in cycloaliphatic epoxy resins [28,29,31,33]. (0.05i20%)kg/m3/hbe used 174,751 while 0.2 kg/m3/hwasused in
It has been reported that weathersheds of porcelain insulatorscoated (771. The latter steam input rate was used because it resulted in a lower
with a thin layer of RTVSIR which are being increasingly used world flashover voltage I711 than that specified by IEC [74]. The clean fog test
wide in outdoor substations and on heavily contaminated insulators, gives a lower witlistand voltage than in outdoor line performance, be-
gave similar performance results to SIR sheds 1391. Early guidelines for cause the insulators are more uniformly coated with the contaminants
the applicationsof composite insulators to transmission lines based on than in natural conditions [IS].
field experience, manufacturers recommendations and laboratory tests, In the tracking wheel, four or more specimens may be tested. The
were discussed in [40]. wheelrotatestopermit adippingofthespecimeninasalinesolutionfor
a predetermined time of "20 s 152,601 but can he shorter to 8 s 1451or
3 TESTING METHODS OF even down to 3 s 1311. In the next part of the cycle the excess water from
COMPOSITE INSULATORS the specimen is allowed to drop off and in the following cycle a stress
Currently there are no well defined specifications for accelerated life is applied at a level in the range of 0.35 kV/cm (521 to 0.8 kV/cm 1311
test of composite polymer insulators or insulating materials. There are to permit the development of dry band arcing. It should be mentioned
several national and internationalorganizationsattempting to develop that the IEEE recommended practice for the tracking wheel test is that
standards, guidelines and tests for composite insulators. These indude thewheelrotates through4positions inonecycleand thatit should take
IEEE, IEC, CIGRE, AmericanNationalStandards Institute (ANSI) and Na- 8sfromonepositiontothenextand thenremainsstationaryfor22s 1651.
tional Electric Manufacturers Association (NEMA). Some of the recent The incline tests of ASTM [57,58,] are usually of short duration and
standards and guides are given in 141-451 and a summary of others can do not yield information on the leakage current. A typical application
,-
M
coatings applied to ceramic rods provided consistent results of the rank- 2 20 -
ing of the materials in terms of leakage current, cumulative charge flow 2 Tests conducted within 5 h
and pulse current count [52]. This gives enhanced confidence in the test after pollution
resuits of insulators using the salt-?og and the tracking wheel methods. 0'
Seven types of commercial distribution insulators with weathersheds 0.01 a. 03 0. 1 0.3 I
SOP. mg/cm'
made of EPR or epoxy resin were tested according to IEC and l6EE ag-
ing tests using salt-fog and tracking wheel [60]. The effect of uv radi- Figure 1. Dependence of the withstand voltage on (equivalentsalt de-
ation on the aging was also included in that test. It was found that the pasit density (ESDD)) in SIR and porcelain insulators 1691.
aging caused erosion and cracks were observed. The EPR formulations
SIR insulators had been evaluated in outdoor conditions for nine
generally performed better than the epoxy resins [60].72 and 230 kV,,
years and were found to remain water repellent when either energized
composite rod insulators made of EPDM,EPM and HTV-SIR were tested
or un-energized [89]. It was also observed that the chemical changes
by aging withcement coating andclean fog, salt-fog and cement coating
were larger for dc than for ac [SS]. The leakage currents in polluted SIR
and salt-fog [Sl]. Substantial differences in the ability to withstand the
were smaller and less frequent compared with porcelain, while those of
aging were found amongst the different insulator types [83].
EVA insulators were almost comparable to porcelain insulators 1691. The
Tracking and erosion performance of different profiles of EPDM, HTV- withstand voltage of SIR insulators decreased with increasing ESDD as
SIR and epoxy insulators were examined 182). The effects of weather- shown in Figure 1[69]. The dependence of the withstand voltage in SIR
shed material, construction, insulator orientation (verticalor horizontal) on ESDD followed a power law (of -0.2) which was similar to that of
and ac and dc voltages were examined. The resistance to tracking and porcelain [90].
erosion with dc is reduced compared to ac (60 Hz). It was concluded
that the weathershed design plays an important role in the erosion and The withstand voltage of SIR also decreased with increasing non-
tracking of the insulator 1821. HTV-SIR insulators, with 27.6 mm leak- soluble deposit density (NSDD) in the range 0.1 to 5 mg/cm2 and in-
age path per kV, showed that dry band arcing did not develop in the creased with increasing length of the insulator 1691.
presence of severe salt storms while with 17.3 mm/kV large leakage cur- The effects of the weathershed materials of outdoor polymeric insu-
rentsdeveloped 1831. Alargepowerutilityreported that duringa severe lators, profiles such as aerodynamically designed for natural cleaning
weathercondition therewaenoflashovasinany oftheir138 kV,,,,, (377 of contaminants by wind and rain, construction, and orientation on the
units) and 230 kV,, (1430 units) SIR insulators while there were many tracking and erosion performance in ac and dc energized salt-fog (250 to
flashovers in their 138 kV,,na and 230 kV,,, EPDM and porcelain insula- 1000pS/cm) wereexamined [82]. HTV-SIR with filler ATHof 3Opartsper
tors [84]. hundred (pph) of the base SIR, EPDM (ATH at 45 to 200 pph) and epoxy
HV porcelain and glass outdoor insulators coated with RTV-SIR per- resin (ATH at 220 pph) were used [SZ]. The ratio of the leakage distance
formed better than silicone grease under dc test in salt-fog where dry to the surface area of the insulators was constant at 5 . 6 ~ 1 0 -mm-I
~
band arcing was present 1851. Because of possible corrosion products &io% and the average electric stress was that used in practice [82].
produced by the dc voltage which could impact on the results of the It was reported that the leakage current decreased when this ratio in-
tests, platinum wire and graphite electrodes were used [85]. Other met- creased [30]. In RTV-SIR the leakage current in salt-fog increased with
als such as aluminum, stainless steel, brass and copper were tried [86j increasing electric stress [91,92].
but were found unsatisfactory because they corroded and left corrosion TestingsiRinatrackingwheelusingasalinityof 1,33mS/cmshowed
by-products on the specimens surface. Polymeric coatings of RTV-SIR on that erosion was more severe with dc (t) than with ac [64]. The e r e
66 kV,, systems were first used in 1973 [87] and are now very widely sion was confined to the vicinity of the electrodes with dc but it cov-
used 152,881, Their purpose is to render a hydrophobic surface for im- ered a larger area with ac. There was a larger loss of material with dc
proving the contamination performance of outdoor bushings and ce- than ac and the loss was larger at the higher electric field, using 0.83
ramic and glass insulators. Full length porcelain multi-cone insulators and 0.5 kV/cm [64]. Tests in a tracking wheel of SIR filled with quartz
coated with RTV-SIR had higher flashover voltages than uncoated porce- powder (10 to 50%) failed by tracking, SIR filled with ATH (50%)stood
lain insulators when contamination was present on their surface in the the test, EPR filled with ATH (50 to 55%)and cycloaliphatic epoxy filled
~
IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Vol. 6 No. 5. October 1999 561
with quartz powder (65%)performed well. The test was conducted by after exposure to combined salt-fog and cement, followed with 1hand
wetting the specimens with 356 pS/cm water every 120 s 1291. longer (to 6.5 h) drying time, was significantly and consistently higher
25 kV,, class cable terminations made of SIR, EVA and EPDM were than that for EPM and EPDM, and for EPM was higher than for EPDM [U].
tested in energized salt-fog (50 to 1200 pS/cm) to compare the effects It was reported that after a long-term outdoor test with HVDC and HVAC
of the weathershed material, construction design, methods of electrical SIR kept good performance while EPDM deteriorated [47,104]. When
stress relief on the contamination performance [93]. It was determined aged, SIR has a higher repellency of water than EPDM [47,104].
that for terminations having good track resistant materials, satisfactory
performance can be obtained with a reduced leakage distance than hith- Long rod insulators with EPDM weathersheds initially showed better
erto had been used [93]. performance than porcelain in HVDC and HVAC but after many years in
operation they were degraded and showed cracks on the surface, ero-
Aromatic epoxy resins with different filers (epoxy silane treated sion, pin holes and a white layer on the surface due to weathering by
quartz powder, aluminum oxide (A1203) and dolomite (CaMg(C03)z) ultraviolet rays and pohtion [105]. Flashover voltage of RTV-SIR, HTV-
were tested in a tracking wheel (0.5 mS/cm) [94]. The release agent Sr~andEPRdecreasedwhen tested withincreasing steaminput rate [71].
was removed using isopropanol. The epoxy specimenswith the silane- SIR had a higher flashover voltage than EPR and porcelain. However,
treated filler sustained its hydrophobic surface for longer periods than the difference between SIR and EPR (and porcelain) was significantly re-
with the other fillers [94]. After aging it was found that the carboxylic duced under heavier wetting conditions [71]. The efficacy of SIR was
groups increased and the aromatic groups decreased [94]. The observed demonstrated in the phenomenon of a 'single unit flashover' in a mnlti-
hydrophobicity was attributed to the presence of the fillers, because the units HVDC porcelain insulators. The flashover was eliminated when a
resin was not hydrophobic and the release agent did not contain silane. few units were coated with RTV-SIR [106].
On the surface of the epoxy resin oxalic acid crystals in the form of white
powder were formed after the test in the tracking wheel [94] and after Comparison between the naturally aged RTV-SIR coating on porce-
subjecting epoxy resins to partial discharges [95]. Glycolic and formic lain and aged SIR insulators indicated that the former exhibited lower
acids were also detected [95,96]. A casting of epoxy resin with silane hydrophobicity than the latter material [107]. It has been reported that
treated quartz powder showed good performanceos. the degradation of RTV-SIR coated porcelain long rod insulators had peak currents for both
hydrophobicitybut s~~performedbetter thanepoxyina tracking wheel dc (t300 kV) and ac (130 kV,, phase-to-ground) energized insulators
test using 0.5 mS/cm saline solution [31]. equivalent to those of SIR insulators [108].
Studies using electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA) on
SIR and EPDM insulators, whichhad been energized at 130 kV,,, (phase- It was shown that SIR insulators preserved their hydrophobicity
to-ground) in agricultural areas, showed that the content of carbon de- while EPDM became completely hydrophilic after 7 yr in field test and
creased and of oxygen increased on the surface of EPDM compared to energized to positive 300 kVac [9]. SIR performed better than ceramic,
the bulk, while in SIR the changes in these elements were not significant and EPDM worse than SIR. However EPDM enhanced with low molecu-
[lo]. On the surface of SIR the content of ATH was reduced after -5 yr lar weight (LMW) SIR additives showed good hydrophobicity and low
on the lines [lo]. Similar observations were reported on SIR and EPDM leakage current [9]. Porcelain insulators coated with RTV-SIR gave sim-
insulators which had been energized at 300 kVdc [9]. These results were ilar performance to that of RTV-SIR insulators which had been exposed
independently confirmed using ESCA after tests in salt-fog which also to HVAC and HVDC for many years in outdoor service [39].
indicated a higher concentration of oxygen on the surface than in the
bulk of SIR [97,98]. It was suggested that this was due to the crosslink- Gunshots to ceramic line post insulators cause them to shatter and
ing reactions of the silanols from dry band arcing [97]. The oxidation of drop the conductor, while non-ceramic line post insulators withstood
the surface of EPDM and the EPDM/SIR alloy was evaluated by removing severe gunshot damage both electrically and mechanically [8].
a small amount of the polymer and analyzing it with Fourier transform
infrared (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectric spectroscopy (XPS) [99]. Tests in salt-fog (0.28 to 0.6 kV/cm, 1600 pS/cm) showed that epoxy
(filled with ATH, 220 to 350 pph) performed poorly in comparison with
Typicalofworldwidecollaborativeeffortson testing of insulatorsand
SIR (ATH, 30 to 130 pph) and EPR (ATH,30 to 250 pph). This was the case
establishing guidelines of tests can be found [U, 100,101].
despite the epoxy having higher levels of ATH filler [109].
5 RANKING OF MATERIALS FOR
OUTDOOR INSULATION Theweight lossof epoxy, EPRand HTV-SIRwaSexaminedduring tests
in energized salt-fog (1600 pS/cm, 0.4 kV/cm) (491. For the same level
Polymeric materials perform differently according to the severity of of filler (ATH at 105 pph), and at a given time into the test, the epoxy
the tests. However, there appears to be a general consensus that HTV- resin had a larger loss of material than both EPR and HTV-SIR and EPR
SIR insulators performed well under severe contamination and usually more than HTV-SIR [49]. HTV-SIR had a lower leakage current than EPDM
better than ceramic insulators [11,14,102,103]. The withstand voltage when tested in salt-fog (1000 pS/cm; 0.28 to 0.6 kV/cm) with negative
of SIR, EPR and epoxy resin was, in the presence of pollution, higher than andpositivedc polaritiesand withac [86]. Inepoxyresininsulators, the
that of porcelain [U]. Some EPDM insulators (34.5 to 500 kV) performed contact angle decreased after 6 yr of outdoor service from 74" to -30'
poorly and showed punctured holes and damaged sheds [U]. EPR per- and the surface leakage current increased due to this loss of hydropho-
formed better than epoxy resin [60]. The flashover voltage of HTV-SIR, bicity [110].
6 EFFECT OF VOLTAGE 7 PROPERTIES OF POLLUTION

POLARITY ON ON POLYMERIC INSULATORS
PERFORMANCE
It was reported that both sea and industrial pollution produce uni-
form contamination layers on the surface of SIR insulators [112]. The
The times to failure during testing in salt-fog of HTV-SIR and EPDM salt-fog produced for un-energized insulators an ESDD of -0.02 mg/cm2
rods at a fixed filler concentration of either ATH or silica powder, for ac after exposure to 3 mS/cm salt-fog for 4 2 h, and 0.02 to 0.05 mg/cm2
(60 Hz), and positive dc were similar [86]. For negative dc, the time to when energized at 0.4 kV,,, for 10 and 120 min, respectively [112]. SIR
failure was reduced by a large factor of -4. The polymer rods were insulators from transmission lines after a number of years in service had
tested in the vertical orientation and the dc voltage polarity refers to the typically 8 pm (ESDD at 0.05 mg/cm2) to 23 fim thick of contaminants
top electrode. FigureZshowsthedifferences in thecumulative chargein (ESDD at 0.026 mg/cm*). The nature of the contamination was either
EPDM duringexposure to energized salt-fog for ac, positive and negative carbon dust on the insulators removed from lines near a highway and
dc, and comparison with MTV-SIR for ac and positive dc [%I. The cumu- dust and bird droppings from agricultural areas [112].
lative charge and therefore the leakage current was highest for negative
dc, and it was higher for EPDM than HTV-SIR under the same conditions. For artificial contamination Tonoko'rM, kaolin and AerosilTMhave
been employed [113]. Tonoko powder, which is a clay, consisting of Si02
(58 to 76%),AI2O3(14 to 30%)and Fe203 (2 to 6%) mixed with water has
beenusedverywidely[114]. Theparticlesizeis typically62wmand the
O E P D M I-dcl
powder density 2.76 g/cm3 [115]. For kaolin, the particle size is 5.8 pm,
O E P D M lac AND tdcl
lZo- @ S I L I C O N E RUBBER I-dcl
the density 2.6 g/cm3 and the main compositions are Si02 (46%), A1203
(37%)and Fe203 (0.9%)[115]. The main minerals constituting Tonoko
@ S I L I C O N E RURBER
Lac AND i d c l
are muscovite (KA12Si3Allo(OH)2) and quartz. For kaolin the main con-
-100- stituents are kaolinite (A12Si205(0H)r)and quartz [115]. It should be
U noted that there are different types of kaolin including Brazilian, Rogers,
Y
Mexican, Georgian and Italian [115]. Contaminated surfaces with kaolin
?r
80- are relatively more uniform. This is because kaolm is hydrophilic while
U Tonoko, which has more 3 0 2 , is hydrophobic [115].
The dc flashover voltage of SIR contaminated with kaolin was 15%
lower than with Tonoko, and with Aerosil was lower than both because
it absorbed water and formed a much thicker layer on the surface [113].
After 7 yr of service near the coast no significant difference in ESDD was
observed on composite and porcelain insulators [69]. The 95% confi-
dence values of ESDD for SIR, EVA and porcelain were 0.107,0.087 and
0.116 mg/cm2, respectively [69].
During hurricane strength winds, ESDD values of 0.1 to 0.2 and NSDD
in the range 0.061 to 0.159 mg/cm2 were measured on insulators 1781,
Pollution layers of silica powder (Si02), manganese dioxide (Mn02) and
kaolin were used on SIR and EPDM [116]. It took up to 5 days for the
Figure 2. Cumulative charge in EPDM and HTV-SIR rods during expo- hydrophobicity to recover for Si02 and Mn02 and for kaolin did not re-
sure to energized salt-fog showing the differencesbetween ac (60 Hz), tdc cover by 7 days [116]. When RTV-SIRwas coated with kieselgur contam-
and -dc. Conditions: conductivity of the saline water forming the fog,
250 pS/cm; electrical stress, 0.6 kV/cm [86]. inants in the range 0.5to 2mg/cm2 the hydrophobicity recovered within
18 h [117].
At low conductivity fog (250 pS/cm), filled SIR samples had substan- In an industrial area near a steel plant Fe203 (hematite) contamina-
tially longer times to failure for ac, positive and negative dc than the tions were found whileCaS04, Si02 and CaS0&5H20 (bassanite) were
correspondingly filled EPDM samples, while this order was reversed at found on insulators in both agricultural and industrial areas [llS]. The
high conductivity salt-fog (1mS/cm) 1861. insoluble contaminants were 3 0 2 , Fe203, CaO, MgO, and K 2 0 [llS].
The particle size of the contaminants varied from 1to 80 ILm. The aver-
At low conductivity fog (250 pS/cm) for the same filler concentration age size of the particles was -2x the size of that of Tonoko [118] which
(30 to 250 pph), ATH and silica imparted similar resistance to tracking in is used in the standard of insoluble contaminants in artificial contamina-
EPDM as judged by their similar times to tracking failure (in ac, t d c and tion tests [74]. Natural industrial contaminants deposited on 110 kV,,,
-dc) while at high conductivity fog (1 mS/cm) ATH imparted superior SIR insulators which were located near a copper producing plant in-
tracking and erosion resistance to EPDM than silica [86]. This suggests cluded insoluble substances (80 to 90%) of 3 0 2 , Al2O3, Fe203 and metal
that the water of hydration plays a significant role in high Conductivity sulfide. The remainder constituted soluble sulfates (CuS04) and soluble
fog [16,86,111]. carbonates (MgC03) [119].
Measurements of contamination severity on typical insulators in a and then tracking and/or erosion failure. X-ray diffraction studies in-
345 kV,,, switch yard near the coast showed that ESDD values as high as dicated an increase in the crystallinity of the SIR with aging in salt-fog
0.034 mg/cm2 were present [78]. The higher deposits always occurred and dry band arcing [85].
on the side of the insulator facing into the prevailing wind. NSDD of The difference in the flashover voltage performance for the same
0.061 to0.159mg/cm2 were foundand these were attributed to theaccu- ESDD was attributed to the difference in the solubility of the contami-
mulation of dust from construction activity NaC1, Na2SOa and NaN03 nants [90]. The ambient temperature has a significant influence on the
were detected on the surface. The latter originated from a cement pro- solubility of the salts and therefore on the contamination flashover volt-
cessing facility nearby [78]. age. The solubility of the salts depends on several factors, the most
Equipment for measuring ESDD which are of increasing interest to important of which are temperature, pH (hydrogen potential) and the
power utilities are currently being developed [120-1221. In one method presence of strong ionic components. In outdoor conditions near the
the apparatus detects the leakage current, after moistening the surface, coast highly soluble salts such as Ca(NO&, NaNO3, MgC12, CaC12, KC1,
and from which the ESDD is determined following calibration [122]. NaCl and poorly soluble salts such as MgSOa, NazSOa, Na2C03, K2S04,
NaF, CaC03, CaSOa.2H20, Ca(P0a)z and MgCQ have been identified
8 ARTIFICIAL CONTAMINATION on insulators [90]. The density of the deposits varied from 0.003 to
0.168 mg/cm2 (901.
ON POLYMERIC INSULATORS
Shah et al. postulated that the flashover mechanism of SIR was dif-
Because of the initial hydrophobic nature of polymeric insulators it is ferent from that of porcelain and glass insulators because the latter two
rather difficult to apply artificial contaminants and to ensure that they wet and accumulate contaminants differently [112,127]. They hypothe-
adhere to the surface for the duration of the test in the salt-fogand in the sized Ohmic heating due to leakage current, interaction between the wa-
tracking wheel. A method of application of artificial contamination on ter droplets and the electric field, generation of conductive regions and
SIR which was reported to provide a uniform contamination layer was filaments, spot discharges caused by field intensification, which lead to
developed [69,124]. flashover along the wetted filaments.
It employs powdered Tonoko which is deposited after spraying the Contamination severity in the range of ESDD 0.03 to 0.6 mg/cm2 and
surfacewitha finemistofwater dropletsandallowing it to dry Then the the degree of wetting were treated as probabilistic variables in assessing
deposited Tonoko is washed off with running tap water. The insulator the flashover of insulators [128].
is then immersed in the slurry of contaminants and dried. This method
was reported to have been applied successfully to SIR and EPDM [69,
1241.
Attempts have been made to coat polymeric insulators with a pollu-
tion layer for testing purposes by first destroying the hydrophobic na-
ture of the surface by sand blasting or adding wetting agents [125,126].
The usual procedure to coat insulators is to contaminate the insulator
with a slurry containing water, NaCl and an insoluble material which
is usually kaolin. The insoluble material content typically is 40 g/I [78].
The slurry is allowed to dry on the insulator before the test. This test
represents service conditions in which subsequent wetting occurs in in- 100 zoo 300 400 600 1100 700
Tcmpnrurc (‘C)
sulators which have already a layer of contamination built-up on the
surface [78]. Figure 3. TGA of field aged HTV-SIR in the presence of oxygen [129].
In [71] a dry cotton swab was used to apply dry kaolin powder to the A depolymerizationwas reported of HTV-SIR and RTV-SIR which had
specimens and dabbing was required to make the kaolin adhere to the been in service near the coast for -7 yr, compared to virgin specimens
surface. NSDD of 0.1 to 0.22 [71], 0.7 11231 and ESDD up to 0.8 mg/cm2 [129]. A depolymerization of the RTV-SIR silicone matrix was also re-
were achieved readily [123]. ported using gas chromatography @)-mass spectrometer (MS) [130].
Figure 3 shows a thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of HTV-SIR which
9 AGING OF POLYMERIC had been in outdoor service and indicates a reduction in the weight of
INSULATORS AND the aged polymer compared to the virgin specimens 11291.
MECHANISMS OF FAILURE Degradation mechanisms O ~ S I Rwere discussed by Goudie et RI. [131].
The flashover mechanism and performance of contaminated SIR and
Gorur et al. suggested that agingofpolymer insulatorsinoutdoor ser- EPR insulators at levels of NSDD of 0.7 mg/cm2 and ESDD from 0.08 to
vice starts with the loss of hydrophobicity due to weathering and dry 0.9 mg/cm2 were investigated [132]. The choice of the contamination
band arcing follows, and in the case of SIR, with a reduction of LMW levels were based on service experience. In the presence of rain the flash-
fluid on the surface [103]. This leads to increased current, increased sur- over occurred at lower contamination severity than in clean fog. There
face roughness, depolymerizationof the top surface layer, changes in the wasnoelongationof the water droplets duringvoltageapplicationcom-
structure due to crystallizationof the polymer and clustering of the filler pared to un-energized insulators [132].
It was reported that under even rain conditions, the flashover on decreasing wavelength. This is important because the shorter wave-
polymeric insulators involves a streamer-leader mechanism and differs length is more energetic and thus less energy remains to cause damage
from that for pollution flashover which involves dry band arcing [133]. to the surface of the polymer [119].
Niemi and Orbeck [134] suggested that the failure of polymeric insula-
tors resulted from progressive tracking due to arcing or by direct flash- 11 DETECTION OF FAULTS ON
over initiated by large leakage current and dry band arcing. They re- COMPOSITE INSULATORS
ported that low filled silicone elastomer had the longest time to failure
while cycloaliphatic epoxy, both filled and unfilled, failed quickly by For timing of maintenance work on HV live insulators, various meth-
comparison. ods were tried in order to detect flaws in composite insulators. Flaws
may include wires, cracked rods, metallic shavings, salme moisture and
Time to failure of EPDM rods in energized salt-fog (1 mS/cm) was conducting paints [loll. Non-ceramic transmission line insulators were
longer for horizontal than vertical orientation [86]. This was because made by five different manufacturerswith internal flaws for exploration
the water droplets cascaded down the vertical rods and thus were ex- of test methods. The insulators were rated at varying voltages from
posed to dry band arcing and formed water scales in more abundance 138 kV,,, (0.75m long) to 220 kV,,, (1.25 m long) [loll. Effects which
than in the horizontal orientation. were measured included radio influence voltage (RIV) [140], high inter-
10 AGING FROM EXPOSURE TO nal partial discharges, high leakage electric currents, internal heating
ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION and reduced flashover voltage. Partial discharges and corona initiation
and extinction in polymer insulators were measured using procedures
Polymeric materials employed to fabricate composite insulators con- as described in [141]. The latter technique of corona initiation and ex-
tain small amounts of compounds such as Zn02 and EO2 which absorb tinction identified the insulators with embedded wires and those with
uv radiation and thus protect the material against damage from the ra- improper corona ring attachment. Insulators were considered accept-
diation of the sun rays. able if the discharge did not exceed 3xlO-"W and the initiation volt-
SIR filled with ATH (45 to 54%), EPR filled with ATH (56 to 61%) and age of corona was >17.5 kV in the above insulators. The most effective
SIR filled with silica quartz powder (46 to 50%)were exposed to uv ra- test method to detect flaws was reported to be the RIV [loll.
diation for 1000 hand tested in a tracking wheel [30]. The test results Visual inspections of composite insulators were carried out every two
indicated that uv radiation had no effect on the tracking endurance of years since 1981on the 735,315,230 and 120 kV,,, composite insulators
the polymers. The EPR exhibited surface chalking and cracks [30]. in the Quebec power system in Canada [18]. It was found that most of
RTV-SIR and HTV-SIR specimens which were exposed to natural uv the problems with composite insulators could be found by visible in-
radiation for 1yr in the tropics had a higher contact angle than when the spection from the towers and these presented the largest percentage of
surface was shielded from radiation [135]. Artificial exposure of RTV- failures. An inspection from the ground using binoculars was not suf-
SIR and HTV-SIR to UV combined with electric stress of 2.5 kV/cm and ficient [18].
humidity of 70 to 90% at 50 to 70°C resulted in an increase in the loss
angle (tan 6) and the permittivity ( E ~but) these were attributed to the IS
absorption of moisture and not to the effect of radiation [136].
10
Subjecting HTV-SIR, EPDM and EPM to multi-stresses of electrical (0.5 I
to 1kV/cm) and/or mechanical and to uv radiation showed that there
s
9 15
was a synergetic effect between exposure to uv irradiation and mechan- 5
ical stress [137]. However, a synergism was not present between uv ra- j PO
w
diation and electrical stress when discharges were absent from the sur-
face 11371. When EPDM had no UV or thermal stabilizers, the advancing
1 I 5 1 9 11 13 i 5 i 7 IS 21 13 2 1 27 1s
contact angle decreased with increasing exposure time to UV [138]. FTIR
Shad No.
spectra showed that the absorbance of the carbonyl (C=0), the alcohol
(C-0-H)and hydroperoxide (C-0-0-H)peaks increased with increasing Figure 4. Electric field along an insulator as a function of shed number
time of exposure to uv and there was a correlation between the latter showing the effect of three simulated defectsplaced in a groove in EPDM
two bonds and the contact angle [13M]. insulator. Lengths of defects, 16 to 32 cm [MI.
uvirradiationof RTV-SIR caused a rednctionin thereceding angle on Electric field testing permitted the detection of non-visible defects
virgin specimens which had a hydrophobic surface and an increase in which had occurred at the interface between the fiberglass rod and the
the angle in hydrophilic areas 11391. covering polymeric material. It was reported that in the area of a defec-
It was reported that the build np of a pollution layer on SIR protects tive shed there was a decrease in the longitudinal field along the string
it against uv radiation [119]. The thicker the layer of the pollution, the IlM]. Figure 4 shows the effect on the electric field along the insulator
lower would be its transparency to the radiation. The amount of ra- surface when a defect is present in one of the sheds of an EPDM insula-
diation reaching the surface of the insulator decreased with increasing tor [RI].
ESDD and NSDD for the same wavelength in the range 200 to 500 nm Tests of cracks in SIR in the presence of atmospheric air containing
[119]. Further, more radiation was absorbed by the contamination with 0.5 parts per million (ppm) of ozone is covered in [142]. A test designed
to evaluate the materials and construction of composite insulators on The weights of SIR and epoxy resin increased during immersion in
transmission lines as suspension or tension insulators above 70 kV in 0.5 mS/cm solution [31]. In cycloaliphatic epoxy resin filled with silica
respect of tracking, erosion, chalking and water penetration is covered powder, the permittivity and loss tangent increased while in the absence
in [143]. of filler both parameters were not affected by water absorption [158].
SIR does not form a nukient for fungi in the presence of moisture and
12 EFFECTS OF IMMERSION IN this coupled with good water repellency makes it suitable for tropical
WATER AND ACID RAIN applications [38]. Leaving HTV-SIR and HTV-SIR in an outdoor tropical
climate (Bandung, Indonesia) for 1yi- without electric stress had negli-
Studies on the effects of simulated acid rain on the degradation of gible effect on the surface hydrophobicity [135].
polymer insulating materials indicate a gradual loss of weight with The permittivity of SIR increased with increasing water absorption
increasing immersion in acid rain [144-1473. This was attributed to (159,1361and tan 6also increased with increasing moisture absorption
the loss of the ATH filler from the compound. The loss of weight in- [136]. It was shown that the receding angle on HTV-SIR decreased from
creased with increasing pH of the acid rain and with increasing salin- 80 to 45" after immersion for 100 h in tap water at 2OcC and the weight
ity level. The dielectric loss, the leakage current and the surface rough- increased by 0.36% during this time [160]. Increasing the water temper-
ness increased steadily with increasing immersion time while the hy- ature accelerated the reduction of the receding angle [160]. Imme$ion
drophobicity as represented by the contact angle of a droplet of water on of RTV-SIR in water and subsequent drying resulted in a loss of weight
the surface decreased only marginally with increasing immersion time of 0.1% [161].
[144]. The loss of weight of SIR in the presence of simulated acid rain Flashover did not occur on a visibly wet SIR because of the diffusion
was 0.07% and in a saline solution 0.6% after a continuous immersion of LMW flnid ontd the layer of artificial contamination (NSDD of 0.7 and
for 20 days [144]. The weight loss of EPDM and HTV-SIR increased with ESDD from 0.01 to 0.4 mg/cm2) which had been present on the surface
increasing water conductivity in ac energized (0.6 kV,,,/cm) salt-fog in [721.
the range 250 to 1000 pS/cm, and decreasing filler concentration of ATH
in the range 120 to 250 pph [16]. When RTV-SIR was tested in a tracking
13 EFFECT OF RAIN ON
wheel using a synthetic acid rain of -275 bS/cm, the leakage current ELECTRIC FIELD
was found to be lower than for a saline solution of the same conductiv- DISTRIBUTION
ityusing NaCl[148]. The conductivity of thenatural rainis highest after The axial field distribution along a porcelain post insulator coated
the onset of rain and gradually decreases until it reaches a steady state with RTV-SIR changed when artificial rain was applied to it [162]. The
value when the rain lasts a long time. In the natural rain, a pH of 1.5 sensitivity of the field distribution and the discharge activity to the pre-
appears to have no effect on SIR [149]. Values of 10 to 30 pS/cm [150] cipitation rate of the rain (0.4 and 1.6 mm/min) was small for conduc-
and 2.5 to 10 @/cm [151] have been reported for the conductivity of tivities of 50 and 250 @/cm at low voltage. At high Conductivity of the
rain. When RTV-SIR was exposed for one week to nitric (HNQ), sulfu- rain (250 @/em) and high precipitation rate, higher fields at the upper
ric (HzS04) and oxalic (HzC20) acids with pH of 2 and 4, only a slight sheds were observed [162].
reduction in the hydrophobicity was found and the tracking and ero- In artificially contaminated SIR and EPR insulators, the phenomenon
sion resistances were not affected [152]. Immersion of SIR in distilled of sudden flashover without a prior leakage current was investigated
water resulted in a decrease of the receding angle and an increase in the [77]. The sudden flashover was attributed to the high electric field at
permittivity due to the hydration of the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) the edges of the dried high resistance regions. When sufficient recovery
backbone at the surface [153]. time was allowed, SIR did not experience sudden flashover while EPR
EPDM performed poorly in an acid fog compared to RTV-SIR using an insulators did [77]. It was reported that in rain tests, hydrophobic sur-
electrical stress of 0.71 kV/cm [51]. The contact angle of SIR was found faces prevent a field increase in the dry zones and significantly reduce
to decrease with increasing pH of sulfuric and of nitric acid solutions the radial field strength [133].
[154]. Withstand voltage tests [155] in simulated rain (conductivity of The electric field at the surface of water droplets increased with in-
0.1 mS/cm) of composite insulators with weather sheds of PTFE, EPDM, creasing droplet size and this enhanced the surface discharge activity
SIR, EPM and EPR indicated that the withstand voltage is higher than [163]. Designs of polymer bushings using field calculations, such as
at high conductivity. Tnese authors concluded that the reduction in the epoxy resins in medium voltage switchgear [164], and 500 kVdc SIR for
surface withstand voltage after 3 yr in service in severe conditions can dry hydrophobic surface and for a contamination layer [19] have re-
be reproduced by 3000 h of test in the laboratory [155]. Under prolonged cently been reported. Field and potential distributions along HV out-
exposure to severe uv radiation for -1 1000 h, SIR was degraded as de- door polymer insulators in the range 115 to 500 kV,,, were discussed in
termined by a large reduction in the contact angle from 90 to -50" as [165].
well as a large reduction of the methyl groups in the FTIR spectra [156]. 14 EXPOSURE OF POLYMERS
The withstand voltage of contaminated SIR insulators was found to de-
crease with increasing fog density and increasing degree of coutamina-
TO ACIDS AND
tion 11571. The withstand voltage of SIR was higher than that of porce- HYDROCARBONS
lain, depending on the severity of the contamination, by a factor of 2 to Polymer insulators used in outdoor insulation are subjected to degra-
1.5 [156]. dation from the environment such as uv radiation [30,136], hydrolysis
and fungi (691 and additionally from chemical exposure to alkali [166],
acids [152] and hydrocarbon liquids and vapors [166,167].
Electrolysis of saline solution, which is more dominant with dc than
with ac, results in the formation of NaOH. The latter might be encoun-
tered on HVDC lines near the coast. NaOH was detected near the cath- Material Coating Surface composition (%) timc
ode with dc but not with ac to a maximum of 0.2 N after 500 h of ex- prn 0 Si C Ca Mg h
posure to salt fog (1600 fiS/cm,O.4 kV/cm) [166,168].The tracking and sla(S12OA) virgin 26.6021.1052.30 o 0 ~
erosion performance of HTV-SIR, EPR and epoxy resin containing either C-I 12.63 10.26 77.11 n 0 1
13.24 13.34 73.42 0 0 12
ATH (0 to 130 pph) or silica (220 to 350 pph) were not affected by expo-
14.70 13.(14 71.30 0 0 18
sure to 0.2N NaOH solution, naphtha and boiling water when tested in 16.29 18.90 66.81 o n 50
salt-fog [166,168].Exposure to 6 N NaOH solution drasticallyenhanced 26.00 20.49 54.51 U n 5u
the tracking and erosion, SIR became brittle, degraded and exposed the
ATH filler (30 to 130 pph) to the surface. However, such a highly con-
centrated solution is unlikely to be encountered in outdoor service. Ex-
again. This was attributed to the migration of the chain segments of ei-
posure to naphtha caused swelling of the material but when tested in
ther cyclic or linear polymer from the bulk to the surface [170].
energized salt-fog after regaining their original weight in air the track-
ing resistance in HTV-SIR, EPR and epoxy resin were not affected [166, In 1983 [171]this concept was picked up again in that it was also sug-
168). gested that long-term water repellency on the surface was provided by
the diffusion of the mobile silicone fluid from the bulk of the material to
RTV-SIR coatings were exposed to nitric ("03), sulfuric (HzS04)and the surface of a SIR protective coating. In 1986, in order to explain the
oxalic (HlCzO1) acids with pH 2 and 4 [152]. The tracking and erosion presence of silicone in the scales of salt deposits which was present on
resistance were not compromised even after long exposure for times to the surface of HTV-SIR, 200h after removal from testing in a salt-fog, the
one week. The leakage current pulses were higher for oxalic acid expo- same phenomenon was invoked. [16,172].
sure followed by nitric and sulfuric acids [152].
In order to demonstrate the diffusion of the LMW polymer chains,
Although cleaning of SIR bushing was found to be unnecessary even which are highly mobile due to their relatively low surface tension [173],
in a moderately contaminated area, short term exposure to cleaning fln- from the bulk to the surface, virgin RTV-SIR specimenswere coated with
ids of acetone and ethanol did not cause degradation [21]. Only longer carbon (1pm thick); then the top few mono-layers (1to 5 nm) %'ere ana-
exposure (-0.5 h) might have a deleterious effect by dissolving the lyzed with ESCA and the concentration of the elements was determined
silane fluid on the surface [21]. as a function of elapsed time after the loss of hydrophobicity [16,172].
Immersion of filled aromatic epoxy resin in an electrolyte (0.5mS/cm Since thevinylcontent ofslR wassmall (<I%)theelementalcomposition
t 0.1%sulfuric acid) caused a reduction in the receding angle with timet of the virgin SIR was expected to be 0.25, Si=25 and C=50%as shown
toapowerof0.5 Thiswasattributed to theincreaseinthemassof in Table 1. With increasing elapsed time after the coatmg, the amount
the epoxy resin due to the uptake of water [34].In SIR the contact angle of silicone increased, thus indicating their diffusion from the bulk and
decreased after immersion in acid rain from 110" to 83.6" and did not across the thick layer of the carbon coating and then on to the top of the
recover even after 30 days in air (1471. SIR containing ATH and CaCO3 surface as shown in Table 1 [16,172]. Furthermore, it was shown that in
as fillers were immersed in nitric acid for 96 h [169]. The weight loss EPDM which contains oil that is used in its processing, and in SIR, the
was larger for specimens containing CaCO3 and ATH than those with LMW components also diffused across the salt scales which had been
ATH only Those containing CaC03 had cracks on the surface. The nitric formed during testing in the salt-fog and then on to the top surface, as
acid attacked the filler and then penetrated into the bulk [169]. can be seen from Table 1 [16,172].
Subjecting HTV-SIR to corona for 30 min resulted in the loss of its sur-
15 HYDROPHOBIC PROPERTIES face hvdroohobicitv. manifested in a laree
, L " increase in the oxveen con-
~~~~
~~
le^
AND FLUID DIFFUSION TO centration and a corresponding decrease in the carbon as shown in Ta-
THE SURFACE ble 2 [16]. After 24 h, the concentration of 0 decreased and that of C
increased (Table 2) and the hydrophobicity recovered due to the migra-
In heavily polluted areas, contaminants gradually build up on the tion of the LMW chains to the surface [16]. The composition of these el-
surface of insulators into a continuous layer. SIR insulators were re- ements on the surface of RTV-SIR before and following dry band arcing
ported to have performed better than porcelain and glass in laborato- and therefore during the recovery of hydrophobicity were also reported
ries and in outdoor test sites [9-12,16,39]. This has been attributed to in [15,174,175].
the diffusion of the LMW fluid from the bulk to the surface and including It was shown using contact angle measurements and GC analysis,
the contaminant layer. that LMW silicone componentshad transferred into an artificially placed
This phenomenon was first suggested in 1981 [170]. After exposure layer of contamination made of quartz flour (98%)and NaCl (2%) on
of SIR to corona it was found that the hydrophobicity was lost and on SIR [176]. Subsequently, other workers demonstrated the same phe-
the surface SiH decreased by 50% while OH increased by 500%. After nomenon of diffusion from the bulk to the surface using different tech-
the recovery of hydrophobicity it was observed that SiH had increased niques. These included FTIR [97,104,177],secondary ionmass spectros-
Table 2. ESCA analysis of virgin SIR, corona treated (30 min) and after where Ais the absorbance which was determined using FTIR as a func-
allowing it to recover for 24 h in air. Conditions: S120A, HTV-SIR with tionoftimet(h). InRTV-SIRuSing60%wtofATH,forCH3,Si-OandSi-C
120 pph of ATM [16],
bonds, the K values (the absorbance at saturation, Equation (1)) were
0.361,0.675 and 1.013, respectively. For a, 0.193,0.216 and 0.166 h', re-
condilion spectively; and for B, 5.339,5.583 and 6.086 h, respectively [184].
sln(Sl2OA) virgin 26.6 21.1
corona treated 45.3 24.0 The time constant a-1 of the migration of the fluid from the bulk to
24hafkrcnmna 30.97 21.14 47.88 the surface was largest for the Si-C bond at 60 %wt of ATH. a-' gener-
ally increased with increasing ATH filler concentration (0 to 60%wt) for
copy (SIMS) [lo41 and X-ray mapping (XRM) with energy dispersive X- all three bonds (1841.
ray (EDX) [72,103,112,178], chemical analysis [39], contact angle mea-
surements 191,179-1811, ESCA 11821, a combination of solvent to extract It has been demonstrated that the loss of hydrophobicity in RTV-SIR
the silicone fluid from RTV-SIR (such as hexane) and a high precision bal- following exposure to dry band arcing in salt-fogwas due to the loss of
ance to determine its weight [lll] and a combination of contact angle the CH3 groups, increased oxygen which was in the crosslinkedmolecu-
and thermally stimulated depolarization (TSD) current measurements les and from increasingSi0 [e].This was determined using ESCA which
'I'"'11x11
,
showed that carbon decreased by 7%, 0 increased by 7.5%while Si was
not removed [4]. This was further supported [4] by the measurements of
It was shown that after 8 to 12 yr of SIR ins~rlatorsin servicethere was ratios of the billding e,lergies of sizpof si.c of 102,~e~ (1851 wllicb
no reductionin the LMW silicone fluid components [5]. Dichloromethane decreased from 86.2 75.9% and of si.0 of 103.7[1851 which increased
(CH2C12)was used to extract the LMW silicone fluid from SIR which was from 13.8 to 24.3%after testing in salt-fog 141,
between 2 to 7%wt depending on the material formulation. In the pol-
lution layer the LMW silicone fluid content varied from 1.5 to 10% by It be mentioned that the hydrophobicity o' the poly-
...d - h ~,a,.
WCL~",
IC1 meric material and its rate of recoverv are important parameters in the
choice of composite insulators, other properties such as erosion and
The influence of the thickness of an artificial pollution layer (89% tracking resistance, and mechanical properties such as tear strength,
quartz flour and 2%NaCI) on the transfer of hydrophobicity was inves- abrasion resistance [22,37] and tensile strength (221 are also important
tigated. Between 0.15 to 0.45 mm, the thickness had a minor influence in determining satisfactory service and the lifetime.
but in the range 0.6 to 0.9 mm it took longer to transfer the hydropho-
bicity with increasing thickness of the pollution layer 11761. The speed 16 IDENTIFICATION OF THE
of transferring the hydrophobicity decreased with increasing thickness LMW SILICONE
of the HTv-SIR in the range of 1to 10 mm [176]. Immersion of RTV-SIR
in water at 5 0 T resulted in a decrease in the advancing and receding
COMPONENTS
angles and the latter decreased faster than the former [161]. The loss of The LMW components of the SIR responsible for maintaining the hy-
hydrophobicity was faster for the thinner specimens, 250 h for 2 mm and drophobicity of the surface of SIR and the alloy of EPDM and SIR insula-
400 h for 10 mm thick while the thickness had no influence on the rate tors have been identified using GC-MS and nuclear magnetic resonance
of recovery 11611. (NMR) spectroscopy Figure 5 shows the spectra of three hexane solu-
In SIR housings which had been in service for 9 yr, the contact an- tions, silicone fluid (1000 cP) and hexane with silicone fluid that was
gle on the surface decreased from 128 to -80" with increasing ESDD to extracted from RTV-SIR [186]. The spectra of Figure 5 clearly identify
0.3 mg/cm2 [98j. In RTV-SIR coatings which had been in service for 6 yr. the composition of the material extracted from the RTV-SIR as silicone
the contact angle decreased from 120" to -70" with increasing ESDD fluid [186].
in the range 0.006 to 0.3 mg/cm2 [98]. After polluting the surface of SIR In SIR it was shown using GC-MS [5,176] that the LMW silicone fluid
with NSDD of 0.1mg/cmz the receding angle gradually increased to 42" contained 80% dimethyl-polysiloxanes with 8 to 20 siloxane units and
but did not reach the level of the clean SIR after 50 h. Therefore the mi- 20% cyclic siloxane of D3, D1, IIa and Djo configurations. In EPDM, sil-
gration of the LMW silicone fluid to the top of the contaminants layer icone oils and/or SIR often are used during processing, or purposely
was incomplete within that period [69]. added as a blend [Y, 22,1871. In the latter material siloxane molecular
It was reported that subjecting SIR to corona encouraged the recov- units of n = 3 to n = 6 (-[Si(CH3)2-0In-)and cyclo-siloxanes with
ery of hydrophobicity 1981which was consistentwith that reported after units of n = 6 to n = 12 were identified as shown in Figure 6 [188].
dry band arcing 1911. The recovery of hydrophobicity in SIR after corona The largest concentrationof the LMW silicone fluid was of cyclo-siloxane
treatment was attributed to the condensation of the hydroxyl groups at- having n = 8 (atomic mass 592). It was further found that both linear
tached to the silicon atoms [170]. The hydrophobicity of the surface of and cyclic structures existed in the LMW silicone fluid 11881. RTV-SIR has
RTV-SIR and EPDM was reduced when the surface was subjected to RF typically 200 to 2000 (-Si-0.) units per chain while HTV-SIR has 6000 to
discharges from a Tesla coil [183]. The contact angle gradually recov- 7000 units 151. The masses of the fluid components were 73,147, and 341
ered with decreasing surface charge 11831. The migration of the LMW atomic mass units (amu) which existed in both linear and cyclic struc-
fluid was empirically determined to follow a relationship of the form tures 151.
[I841 Using GC-MS, LMW siloxanes (n = 3 to n = 5 ) were identified in
A = K(l - exp[-a(t B ) ] + (11 RTV-SIR and HTV-SIR [130]. It was suggested that the LMW species were
3 2 4 8 8 10 12 14 18 18 20
rime (mid
Figure 7. GC spectrum of oil residue from RTV-SIK. Full circles corre-
spond to siloxane molecules [184].
17 EFFECTS OF WIND AND
IMMERSION IN WATER ON
LMW FLUID CONTENT
There are several standards which require that polymer insulators
be immersed in water at specified temperatures and durations to sat-
isfy certain requirements. For example that there should be no signs of
dissolution, blistering, peeling or crumbling of the polymer and that no
cracks are permitted when boilingin de-ionized water with 0.1 NaCI for
42 h [27,41,1431.
HTV-SIR and RTV-SIR in outdoor service are subjected to wetting from
rain and to wind and in the tropics the wetting and wind might persist
for long periods in the rainy season. The effect of wind and continuous
wetting on the loss of the LMW components in RTV-SIR have been sim-
ulated in the laboratory (1861.
The effects of immersion for 14 months in a saline solution of 70 &cm
on the loss of LMW silicone fluid was investigated [186,190]. Figure 8
N,"Mmco shows that the content of the LMW fluid in RTV-SIR decreased with in-
creasing time of immersion in water, The weight of the LMW fluid de-
creased from an initial value of 4.15% to 3.69% after 14 months of con-
tinuous immersion in water (1861. The reduction of the fluid content of
-1 1.l%in the RTV-SIR was attributed to the dissolution of the fluid in
the water. The fluid diffused from the bulk to the surface and then dis-
solved in the water. Continuous immersion in acid rain was also shown
to decrease the weight of SIR with increasing immersion time but that
loss was attributed to the loss of ATH (1441.
rime ,m\n j
The hydrophobicity of the surface of RTV-SIR was maintained at 0 =
Figure 6. GC-MS spectra of the fluid extracted from EPDM [ISS]. 98 k 1"during the 14 months of immersion in water if the specimens
were allowed to dry in air for 24 h [186]. Tlie recovery of hydrophobic-
ity was attributed to the diffusion of the silicone fluid from the remain-
ing reservoir in the bulk (3.69%remaining after 14months in water, Fig-
produced by depolymerization of the PDMS during aging [130]. Fur- ure 8) to the surface.
thermore, acid rain can cause depolymerization and a decrease in the In outdoor conditions insulators are subjected to the impact of wind.
monomer units which ranged from n = 7 to 14 in the unaged, while Figure 8 shows that the LMW fluid content of RTV-SIRremained un-
n = 3 to 6 in the weathered and energized specimens of RTV-SIR coat- changed at 4.22 f 0.04% by the action of continuous wind tangen-
ings (1891. In RTV-SIR coatings several peaks corresponding to siloxane tially directed at the surface at a speed of 7.45 km/h for 14 months. In a
molecules with n = 6 t o n = 15 units were observed (Figure 7). The different formulation the content of the fluid also remained unchanged
largest concentration was at n = 12 units (mass 888 g/mol) (1841. when subjected to the impact of 7.45 h / h wind for 22 months (1861.
IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electncal Insulation Vol. 6 No. 5, October 1999 569
4.7
.
4
3' 1 3 , 1 , , / , t Figure 9. Contact angle on the surfaces of RTV-SIR and polyester FRP
as a functionof water droplet volume. Conductivity of the water droplet,
0 1co 200 xo 4co 5.5 rcS/cm 11861.
Time. Days
RTV ~ i l r o nr i~ b b a r
Figure 0. Percentage of LMW silicone fluid in RTV-SIR as a function of 0 ......- ..._...,___._
time of immersion in water, and exvosure to wind and stationarv air. Con- Y b
diti.m wirer conJu;rii it!: 7J ,,S x i ; wn.l sptzJ, 7 45 k a 11, :\rii parti-
clc ~ 1 7 25, ip n : filler i.ni;cmrarion 71 pph; rcmptramrc 23C [IXb] c
This Speed bllj within thL,range encountered in b g chambers ior i3g i.

T
5
1 F:o ,w , ~ s l e i
e--' ".".
..W. ...0....,,
D
droplct, [Ah, 1411 a w IS a h ionsistcnt \I ith thr lower range o i the av- 9lh
erage spcud of wind found in outdoor service 11921. $ 1
i a la."u)dOrepal. 102.
Fi&urc 8 a l s ~ ;how,
i rhat in arari.)narv air rhc flui.l sontm r e m i n d 2 IO .,"* Cl cm:* 5 ' -
unchanged i r i i 11m m h s 11861. The latter is rekeant IO the mddium
trr m stsragc and shcli life .it SIR insulatxs ocfore insrallation on p w w
system line,
6
I .I1
, , , , , __,
iix.
, , ,, ,,,
iox
sll;rcry > I I>rupl<,\, LS,.rn
, ,
-
,
.car,
18 DETERMINATION OF Figure 10 Contact angle on surfacesof RTV-SIII and polyester FRP as a

HYDROPHOBICITY function of water droplet conductivity Volume of droplet, 5 pI [186].
The hydrophobicity of the surface of polymer insulators is one of the SIR (20 to lo8 $/cm) 11071 and EPDM (20 to lo3 @/cm [107]; 2.5 to
most critical parameters affecting the long term performance in outdoor lo5 @/cm [195].
service. The contact angle 0 of a droplet of water on the surface of the It is very important to complete the measurements of 0 within a short
polymer gives an indication of the hydrophobicity of the surface [2-4, time after placing the water droplet on the surface in order not to change
139,181,193,194]. 0 depends on the surface energy and therefore the the surface property of the polymer by the presence of water. Goss et al.
wettability of the polymer surface is related to it. The static, advancing, reported that there was a correlation between the contact angle and the
and receding angles of a sessile droplet of water are usually measured concentration of alcohol (C-0-H) and hydroperoxide (C-0-0-H) on the
with a goniometer on a stable surface of the polymer. The static contact surface of EPDM using FTIR measurements [138].
angle is measured on a horizontal surface, and the advancing and re-
ceding angles on a gradually inclining surface until the droplet starts to 19 SURFACE ENERGIES OF SIR,
roll down [4]. EPDM AND THEIR BLENDS
570 Hackam: Outdoor H V Composite Polymeric Insulators
a solid can be expressed as [ 2 4 ] of EPDM. The generation of polar groups during aging, which was re-
78 = T a d Ysh (2) sponsible for the increase in the surface energy, was confirmed by IR and
ESCA measurements [187]. These showed during aging the formation of
and for a liquid
C=OonEPDM,anincreaseintheconcentrationofSionthesurfaceof the
+
71 = Y l d 7 l h (3) blend of EPDM/SIR and a general increase in the 0 concentration on all
where the suffixes d and h denote dispersive (non-polar van der Waals) three polymers (1871.
and non-dispersive (polar van der Waals) forces, respectively; 1 and s for
liquid and solid, respectively ysd and "ish are responsible for the hy- The values of yS, and ~~h were determined for the three poly-
drophobicity and hydrophilicity, respectively of the surface of the polymers of EPDM, SIR and EPDM/SIR blend. For the nn-aged EPDM these
mer. The contact angle 0 is related to the surface tension via Young's were respectively, 23,15.05 and 7.95 mJ/m2. After aging these became
equation (2-4,1991 for a solid 51.22,0.67 and 50.55 mJ/m2. For SIR the un-aged values were, respec-
tively 15.47,13.62and 1.86 mJ/m2, After aging these became 18.96. 2.54
+
7.9 = 7.d 71 cos 0 (4) and 16.4 mJ/m2. For the un-aged blend of EPDM/SIR the values were
and for a liquid respectively, 15.47,6.74 and 8.73 mJ/m2 After aging the values became
71 = 7 l d + 71h (5) 19.3,2.11 and 17.19mJ/mZ11871.
where 7.1 is the surface tension of the solid-liquid interfacial surfaces. During the recovery following aging of the polymer surface the con-
The harmonic-mean approximation is applicable, and the relationship tact angle increases and the solid-water interfacial free energy decreases.
among ~ ~ 7s 1 and
, 7~ can be expressed as [2] This is aided by a time dependent re-orientation of the buried polar
groups, and the methyl groups in the case of HTV-SIR, RTV-SIR and
blends of EPDM/SIR, from the bulk towards the surface [15,91,193,203].
+
(1 cos 0)Yl =
47ad7id
- 4Ysh7Ih
+
(7)
20 EFFECT OF AMOUNT AND
Ysd + Yld Ysh f 7lh TYPE OF FILLER ON
or, by combining Equations (5) and (7), PERFORMANCE
It has long been demonstrated that silicone elastomers (204,205]and
other polymers [Z, 111have low surface energies, are able to maintain
Equation (8) indicates that for a given polymeric material and wet- them and can retain their hydrophobic and water repellency during ad-
ting environment the larger the ~~d and yStL, the smaller would be the verse conditions. During prolonged wetting, initially this prevents the
static contact angle [200]. Therefore, when the surface tension 7sof the
formation of leakage current until the surface hydrophobicity is lost
solid surface is increased, a smaller contact angle will be observed. This
temporarily, and leakage current starts to develop. The leakage current
agrees with the experimental results [200-202].
causes a localized drying of the surface which leads to the initiation of
For avirginpolymericinsulatingmaterial Y a d > Y ~ Iy.~ is. therefore dry band arcing. The incorporation of ATH fillers in the polymer miti-
determined mainly by 7 8 d on un-aged polymeric surface. During aging, gates against severe degradation of the surface of the material.
7sis changing with time due to the interfacial interaction between the Figure 11shows the leakage current after 1 hand 10 h into the test in
polymer and the moisture. Specifically, Td, was reported to have in- salt-fog for 8 cycles (911. The rest time between successive cycles was
creased with time of exposure to salt-fog [4, 2001. Therefore the surface 30 h after which the surface hydrophobicity completely recovered be-
tension of the polymer increases because of the absorption of water and fore the next cycle. During a prolonged test of 10 h (Figure ll, curves B)
its adhesion to the surface. This causes a decrease of the contact angle. the higher filler concentration of ATH decreases the leakage current af-
T~~and can be determined by solving a set of two simultaneous ter several cycles. However, during the beginning of the test (Figure 11,
equations in the form of Equation (7). This is accomplished by measur- curves A), the 200 pph ATH has a higher leakage current with successive
ing the static contact angle 0 using two different liquids. One liquid is test cycles (911. This is due to the generally rougher surface in the virgin
usually distilled water (liquid 1)and the second liquid could be methy- specimens at high filler concenbations of 200 pph because of the diffi-
lene iodide (CHzIz) (liquid 2). For distilled water the literature values culty of dispersing it uniformly in the compound. This was confirmed
to be substituted in Equation (7) of ^ill ~ l l and
d Y l l h are 72.8,ZZ.l and by measurements of the surface roughness using a roughness detector
50.7 mJ/m2, respectively (21. For methylene iodide (liquid 2), 712 T L Z ~and by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).For prolonged dry band
and 7 ~ are ~ 50.8,44.1
1 ~ and 6.7 mJ/m2, respectively [2]. These values arcing activities, there is more erosive damage for low levels of the filler
when combined with the measured Q1 (with water) and 02 (with methy- and the current becomes larger with decreasing filler level [177,206].
lene iodide) on the surface of the polymer render the unknown param- Therefore very large levels of filler are difficult to compound while small
eters 7 s d and y. can then be calculated from Equation (2). amounts do not give sufficient protection against the damage. Typically,
The surface energies of EPDM, SIR and their blend of5050 by weight the industry uses 40 to 60% of ATH in SIR formulations.
were determined during aging by contact angle measurements using Figure 12 shows that the contact angle is constant (98 f 2') on the
water and formamide as the probing liquids [187]. It was found that virgin surface of RTV-SIR for different levels of the ATH filler in the range
the surface energy increased with aging time. Also it was concluded 50 to 150 pph (1861. This is because the ATH is not exposed on the sur-
that blending of EPDM with SIR offered good protection toward aging face which is covered by the SIR [186,190]. Figure 13shows the contact
'II i
I ppn ATH I
Figure 13. Contact angleof adroplet ofwateron RTV-slnduringrecov-

ery as a functionof time after removal from energized salt-fog. ATH filler
level, from 0 to 200 pph were used in the compound [63].
tracking resistance. The erosion of EPDM decreased with increasing CB
from 0 to 1.5pph. This was attributed to improved voltage distribution
in the presence of CB [2@8].Further, the presence of CB in the polymer
0 2 4 6 8 suppresses the uv degradation by selectively absorbing the radiation
CYCLE 12091.
Figure 1 1 . Average leakage current in RTV SIR coatings, at different test More moisture from the atmosphere was absorbed with increasing
cycles of salt-fogshowing the effect of the level of the ATH filler. Current is ATH filler concentration in RTV-SIR (ATH, 18 to 29.2%) and HTV-SIR
shown after (A) 1h and (8) 10 h into each cycle. Conditions: 900 MSIcm; (ATH, 48 to 72%)(1361. HTV-SIR absorbed more water during immersion
0.5kVlcm;durationoftest, 10h;rest timebetweencycles30h;hspecimens (<0.22%)than RTV-SIR (@,l%)due to the presence of larger amount of
of each type were used 1911.
ATH filler in the HTV-SIR [136]. The silane treated quartz powder filler in
cycloaliphaticepoxy and PUR prevented adsorption of water into the in-
terfaceand this resultedina hydrophobic surface [33]. Alumina (A&)
and quartz powder in aromatic epoxy resins improved the hydropho-
bic performance [34]. The filler was silanized for better bonding with
the polymer. The addition of silica filler which has reactive groups that
binds it to the SIR also improves the mechanical strength of the poly-
meric compound [36,37].
Figure 14 shows the FTIR spectra of RTV-SIR after 2 h of test in an
energized salt-fog [177]. Plots A, 8, C and D were obtained in 0, 50,
10@,200pph ATH filled material, respectively. The wave number corre-
sponds to the CH deformation in the SiCH3 groups (1270to 1255 cm-I),
Filler Level. pph the SiOboudinSi-0-Si (1100 to 1000cm-'), theSi(CH& (870 to 85@cm-'),
and the Si(CH3)Z (840 to 790 cm-'). In Figure 14(a)decreased transmit-
Figure 12. Contact angle on the surface of RTV-SlK as a function of ATH tance means an increase in absorption, which indicates that more sili-
filler concentration. Size of particles 13p m 11861.
cone fluid diffused to the surface from the bulk. The diffusion of the
angle of a droplet of water on RTV-SIR coating during recovery and as a fluid decreased with increasing ATH filler level as the amount of sili-
function of time after removal of the specimens from the energized salt- cone fluid decreased with increasing filler level (Figure 14(b)). This is
fog [63]. It will be observed that the contact angle, which is a measure of because at 200 pph of ATH the amount of SIR in the compound is only
the hydrophobicity of the surface, recovered much faster for the higher 33.3% while at 50 pph it is 66.7% of the total material.
filler concentration while for the 0 pph ATH (unfilled)the RTV-SIR did The amount of LMW silicone fluid in RTV-SIR typically decreases from
not fully recover even after 10 days (Figure 13) (631. 4,95%wt at 5@pph,to 2.7% for 150 pph as shown in Figure 15 [186,190].
Different ratios of ATH to CaC03 fillers in SIR were investigated to Since with increasing filler content less SIR is present and therefore less
attain a lower viscosity for easier molding and processing [207]. The silicone fluid would be available in the compound.
combined percentage weight of the filler was 55%. It was concluded that Figure 16 shows the dependence of the LMw fluid content in RTV-SIR
CaC03 was not suitable for use with SIR, because the arc resistance de- on the size of the ATH particle [186]. It was shown analytically that for a
creased, the water absorption increased and the dielectric strength de- fixed weight oftheaddedfiller, thesmaller the particle radius, thelarger
creased with increasing CaC03 [207]. The influence of ATH and carbon would be the total surface area of the ATH filler in contact with the SIR.
black (CB) (SRFN-7741. on the trackine resistance of EPDM (Nordel 1040,
I I .
This led to more LMW components adhering to the surface of the filler
Dupont with oil, wax and dicumyl peroxide)was studied [208]. Increas: and thus a lower amount of it became free to diffuse to the surface and
ing the ATH from 0 to 200 pph while keeping CO at 0 pph improved the be released into the hexane solvent as shown in Figure 16 11861.
Y
I ca
In:, i
I
2.5
25 $0 7% 100 125 150
Filler Levels, pph
Figure 15. Content of LMW silicone fluid by weight in RTV SIR coating
as a function of ATH filler level. Size of ATH particle 13 wrn [186].
1599 1!W as 610 ma

(h) WAVE NUMBER -an" 2 r I I l l , , , , ,I1
1 io 100
Figure 14. IR spectra showing silicone fluid on the surfaceof RTV SIR af- Size of ATH Particles, urn
ter testinenergizedsalt-fog (within20min)andafterrecovery inair (180h).
Conditions: 0.5 kVlcm for 2 hat 2000 pS/cm salt-fog. (a) 20 min after salt- Figure 16. Dependence of the percentage of LMW fluid on the particle
fog, (b) 180 h rest after salt-fog; levels of ATH in pph A 0; B 50; C 100 and size of ATH in RTV-SIR. Conditions: ATH filler level 90 pph [186].
D 200 [177].
21 OTHER ADDITIVES IN
In EPDM the leakage current decreased and the time to failure in-
creased with increasing either ATH (30 to 250 pph) or silica (30 to
POLYMER BASE MATERIALS
250 pph) filler levels when testing using ac energized (0.6 kV/cm) at IOW In addition to the widely used extending fillers such as ATH or silica
conductivity of salt-fog of 250 pS/cm [16]. HTV-SIR also showed longer powder, other additives also are incorporated into the base compounds
lifetime with increasing ATH concentrations (5 to 250 pph) in tests at of SIR and EPDM. These may include plasticizers, catalysts, antioxi-
high conductivity of salt-fog [16]. Generally, similar results were ob- dants, pigments, cure agents, uv stabilizers, flame retardants, crosslink-
tained when HTV-SIR was tested under dc stress in energized salt-fog ing agents, and processing aids. These are added in order to render spe-
Wl. cific properties of the finished compound of the polymeric insulation
It was found that ATH in BPDM imparts better resistance to track- [22,27,37,48,210].
ing and erosion than did alumina (A1203) or silica (SiO,) as determined Coupling agents such as silanes are added to polymeric materials to
by longer time to failure in high conductivity salt-fog (1 mS/cm) while improve the chemical bonding between the fillers and the elastomers
it rendered similar lifetimes at low conductivity (250 pS/cm) [16]. In [211,212]. Coupling agents greatly improve the electrical properties,
HTV-SIR and low conductivity of the salt-fog (250 pS/cm) the type of modulus and tensile strengths of the polymer compound [22]. Using
filler (ATH and silica) and its level (30 to 200 pph) produced similar coupling agents of silane to treat the alumina filler in epoxy resins im-
leakage currents, cumulative charges and pulse current count above proved the mechanical strength with increasing the concentration of the
15mA [16]. Theweight loss of EPR during test inenergized salt-fog (0.25 silane from 0 to 0.4% [213]. However, the wettability also increased.
to 0.6 kV/cm, 1600 ucm) decreased steadily with increasing ATH filler The titanate coupline. " agent
" I
for treating the alumina filler decreased
(from 0 to 250 pph) and increased with increasing electric siress [109]. the viscosity and increased the mecha&al properties of impact and
10
bending strengths [213]. This is because the surface of the treated filer
would form a mono-molecular layer of titanate which links with the @ E120A
resin through chemical reactions and curling and twisting of large car-
bon chains of the fatty groups [212].
Using release agents which contains silanes improved the perfor-
mance of cycloaliphatic epoxy resins and PUR resins filled with silane
treated quartz powder [33]. A small quantity of antioxidant additive is
also used in polymeric compounds [22].
22 ROLE OF ATH AND OTHER
HYDRATED FILLERS
As it has already been stated ATH is very widely used and forms be-
tween 40 to 60 %wt of the total compound of the polymeric materials 0
employed to fabricate the weathersheds in composite insulators. One
of the main advantages of using ATH as a filler in polymer insulators is
that it decomposes above 220°C into alumina and water [lll, 211,2141, Figure 17. Dependence of percentage weight lossof HTV-smandEPDM
on fog conductivity. Conditions: conductivity of water forming the salt-
During dry band arcing, surface temperatures in the range 260 to fog 1.6 mSlcm; electric stress 0.6 kVlcm; 30 cycles of 16 h of fog on and
400°C were observed experimentallyusing temperature indicating paints 8 h of rest in air; E EPDM; S HTV-SIR; the numbers represent the ATH filler
(Omega Engineering Inc.) on HTV-SIR in salt-fog at high conductiv- concentrationinpph [la].
ity (1 mS/cm) and on EPDM from 200 to 300°C at low conductivity
than for SIR and these losses increased with increasing conductivity of
(250 pS/cm) [16,109].Subsequently these high temperatures were also
the saline solution forming the fog (Figure 17) [16].
theoretically predicted during dry band arcing in RTV-SIR [215,216].
The endothermic reaction is A1203.3H20 + A1203 t 3H20.The wa-
ter of hydration is released as a vapor [16,109,111]which then cools the
surface [49,217] thus limiting the thermal degradation. In hydrocarbon
materials such as EPR and epoxy resins in which free carbon is formed,
the released water vapor at the surface prevents the formation of a con-
tinuous track [49]. When temperatures of 607°C and higher are reached
1215,2161, the water vapor dissociates into hydrogen and oxygen [79]
and the free carbon produced duriig the breakdown of the bonds com-
bines with oxygen and is released as CO and/or CO2 [49].
Increasing the filler concentrationimproves the thermal conductivity
of the compound [49,215] thereby improving the heat dissipation [49]. ~lhirIh,
In the compound containing polymer and filler the combined thermal

conductivity K is given by [218] .. Figure 18. Percentage weight loss of HTV-SIR as a functionof test time
~~
in energized salt-fog and ATH concentration. Conditions: conductivity
KiKz 1.6 mSlcm; electric stress 0.4 kVIcm; ATH filler concentration in pph SA
K=
+
KiX2 KaXi
where K1 and KZ are the thermal conductivities of the base polymer
(9)
30; SB 60;.SC 80; SD 105; and SE 130 1491.
and the filler, respectively. X1 is the fractional volume of the polymer The weight loss of HTV-SIR, EPR and epoxy resin during exposure to
and XZ= 1-XI that ofthe filler. Thevalues of the thermal conductiv- energized salt-fogis shown inFigures 18 to 20, respectively for different
ities of SIR, EPDM, ATH and silica are 1 . 9 ~ 1 0 - ~1 ,. 9 ~ 1 0 - ~0,2135
, and ATH filler levels [49]. The HTV-SIR rod specimens which failed, experi-
- ~ "C, respectively [86]. It will be seen that ATH hasa very enced a large weight loss of 20 to 30% and this occurred within -5 h
1 . 5 ~ 1 0 W/m
high thermal conductivity and thus renders a mare effective dissipation before failure (Figure 18) [49]. In all cases the percentage weight loss
ofheat. decreased with increasing ATH concentration (Figures 18 to 20) [49].
Increasing the amount of the filler also reduces the number of organic Figure 21 shows the impact on the weight loss of ATH filled EPDM
material exposed to the heat of the dry band arcing [49] and thus de- rods during exposure to salt-fog, for various concentrations of ATH, and
creases the weight loss of the compound subsequent to aging in salt-fog for ac, tdc and -dc [86]. It will be observed from Figure 21 that the
(Figure 17) [16]. The progression and the severity of the surface agmg weight loss decreased with increasing ATH level and with negative dc
was indicated by the weight loss of the material while being tested in larger losses were experienced because of the larger leakage currents
energized salt-fog (0.6 kV/cm). It will be observed from Figure 17 that, (Figure 21) [86]. The dependence of the percentage weight loss on the
at a fixed Conductivity of the salt-fog, the weight loss of the material de- electrical stress level during testing in energized salt-fog in EPR and
creased with increasing concentration of the ATH filler for both SIR and HTV-SIR and for different ATH concentration is shown in Fieure 22 11091.
EPDM. Further at a fixed filler level the weieht
" loss for EPDM was hieher t6
It can be seen that the filler level has a marked effect on weigh; loss
TlUElh,
Figure 19. Weight loss of EPICfilled with ATH as a function of test time
in energized salt-fog. Conditions: ATH concentrations, EA 30; EB 60; EC 80;
ED 105; and EE 130 pph; salinity and electric stress are as in Figure 18 [as].
Figure 21. Weight loss in ATH filled EPDM rods during exposure to en-
ergized salt-fog showing the differencesbetween ac (60 Hz), tdc and -dc
TI*18I”l
as well as the effect of the filler concentrations. Conditions: conductivity
Figure 20. Weight loss of epoxy resin filled with ATH as a function of 1mS/cm; 0.6 kVlcm; the numbers in the Figure indicate the ATH level in
test time in energized salt-fog. Conditions: ATH concentrations, E l 69; E2 pph B61.
78 pph; salinity and electric stress are as in Figure 18 [49].
in EPR [109]. The largest weight loss occurred in specimens devoid of

filler (curve EO, Figure 22) [109].
t
EPR with hydrated silica filler (Si02,HzO)having the same concentra-
tion of ATH (220 and 350 pph) showed similar times to failure, weight
losses of the material and failure mechanism by tracking [109]. The
mechanism by which the ATH filler imparts resistance to erosion and
tracking (hydration) was reported to be also valid for the hydrated sil-
ica filler in EPR [109].
23 DISPERSION OF THE FILLER

IN THE POLYMER
The concentration and dispersion of the filler is important in mitigat- ELECTRIC STRESS lVrm8lrnnll
ing against excessive erosion of polymeric materials, because the filler
improves the thermal conductivity and the heat dissipation, thus pre- Figure 22. Percentage weight loss as a function of electric stress in EPR
venting the development of excessive hot spots (1091. andHTv-slnrodsduri6exp;ure to energized salt-fogshowing the differ-
ences between materials and the effect of the ATH filler level. Conditions:
A SEM combined with an EDX attachment was used to study the ratio 1.6mSlcm; duration of test500h; Materialsand ATH filler levelinpph, EPR:
of Al/(AI t Si) from the bulk and from the surface of HTV-SIR specimens EC 80; ED 105; EE 130; EF 250; HTV-SIR: SE 130; EO 0 [109].
with different ATH concentrations and is shown in Figure 23 11091. In
HTV-SIR the ATH was more uniformly distributed ‘,h ;e with highly non-uniform. This was attributed to the formation of dry band
increasing filler concentration from 30 to 130 pph (Figure 23). The ATH arcing across areas which had been devoid of the filler [1091.
was also uniformly distributed in the bulk. In RTV-SIR the dispersion of the filler particles was determined using
In epoxy resins the dispersion of the ATH filler (220 and 350 pph) EDX in specimens containing 220 pph of ATH after testing in salt-fog and
was non-uniform (not shown but was similar to curve SA in Figure 23). were also found to be uniformly distributed in the bulk of the material
In failed HTV-SIR specimens, the distribution of the filler particles was [ M I .
IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Elect&al Insulation Vol. 6 No. 5, October 1999 575
"'"I I
CunrnlP.A4:3ldlmA
a
I-
' t
0 'lW xu y4 Jm
nME (h)
S"R**CE LCC*TtDN
Figure 24. Current pulsecountperhouri n n ~ v - s ~a~functionof
as time
in energized salt-fogshowing the effect of particle size of ATH. Conditions:
Figure 23. Relative concentrationsof AII(A1 t Si) indicating the distri- conductivity of saline water 1000 &cm; voltage stress 0.5 kVIcm; ATH
bution of ATH filler particles on 15 locations on the surface of HTV-SIR for filler concentration 90 pph; water flawrate 1.6 llmin; air pressure 0.65 MPa
two iiller concentrations [109]. 12191.
24 OPTIMUM SIZE OF
PARTICLES OF ATH FILLER
As has been shown that ATH is added to polymeric materials to im-
part resistance to tracking and erosion [16,63,91,177,] and thus it be-
comes the key to the lifetime of the insulting material, particularly under
wet and polluted conditions. Usually insulators fail in service during se-
vere conditions of pollution and heavy rain, dew or fog. The role of the
size of the ATH particle filler as it influences the electrical performance
has recently been examined in RTV-SIR [219,220]. Figure 24 shows typi-
cal current pulse rate in the range 31 to 61 mA in RTV-SIR with different
size particles in the range 1 to 75 pm during test in energized salt-fog A,
1.0 4 m s c F13P m a I
*7l U R L E I I . ? 75
[219]. The current pulses developed more rapidly, and at a given time
into the test, a higher number of current pulse count was found for all
Figure 25. Time to failure of RTv-SIR coatings as a function of the size
particle sizes compared to 4.5 pm. This indicates that the hydrophobic- of ATH particles. Conditions are as in Figure 24 12191.
ity of the surface of the polymer was lost quicker and anearlier initiation
of water filming developed on the surface for all compounds other than ure 26 shows that smaller amounts of silicone fluid were present on the
that with 4.5 pm particle size [219]. This resulted in earlier dry band surfacewith1.0, 17and75pmparticlesizescomparedto4.5and13pmm.
discharges and initiation of erosion and subsequent failure of the RTV-
SIR. Since more silicone fluid diffused to the surface with 4.5 and 13 pm
The accumulated damage from the heat of discharges determines the sizes of ATH particles than with the other particles (Figure 26), this re-
lifetime of the compound. The lifetime to failure of RTV-SIR due to ero- sulted in quicker recovery of water repellency on the surface and thus
sion, with various sizes of ATH particles and subsequent tracking on the lead to a longer time to failure (Figure 25). In the presence of dry band
FRP is shown in Figure 25 [219]. The bars indicate the variations within arcing, the heat transfer from the surface into the bulk of the SIR and then
each size of particle of 3 specimens. It canbe seen that the particle size on to the FRP rod is inversely proportional to the radius of the particle
aflects the time to failure and that the 4.5 pm gives the longest time of [219]. This leads to a higher temperature on the surface with a larger
failure. The surface of the RTV-SIR is rougher with larger size of ATH par- size of ATH particle, larger damage and a shorter lifetime. The coating
ticle and this leads to higher leakage current, rapid loss of hydrophobic- with 1.0 pm size of particles gives a shorter lifetime than for 4.5 p m be-
ity, more damage to the surface by intense discharges and shorter lile- cause of the non-uniform dispersion of these filler particles leading to
time. The mechanism of failure with 1.0 pm particle size is due to the aggregation and hot spots on the surface.
ATH particles flowing together to form a large aggregates of discrete lo-
cations on the surface. The localized highly non-uniform surface was In EPDM the tracking, erosion resistance, permittivity and tensile
observed with a surface roughness detector, giving 9.2 p m in certain strength decreased with increasing particle size of the ATH filler in the
locations of the virgin specimen with 1 pm particle size compared to range 0.7 to 20 pm [221]. The leakage current increased with increasing
1.2 pm roughness with 4.5 pm particles [219]. particle size. More water was absorbed at 9 0 T with decreasing particle
The amount of silicone fluid diflusing from the bulk to the surface to size. t a n 6changed little in air but it increased with decreasing particle
maintain the hydrophobicity therein depends on the particle size. Fig- size after immersion in water at 90°C [221].
~
576 Hackam: Outdoor HV CompositePolymeric Insulators
n
0 0.4 0.8
l
1.2
Figure26. nabsorptionbysmonthesurfaceof RTV-SIRasafunctionof ThidmerudCoa6ng,rrm
size of ATH particles after 14 h of energized salt-fogtest and 72 h rest time
in air. Other conditions are as in Figure 24 [219]. Figure 28. Time to failure of RTV-SIR as a function of coating thickness.
Conditions are as in Figure 27 [222].
25 OPTIMIZATION OF
THICKNESS OF RTV-SIR ON temperature on the surface and more damage to the RTV-SIR. This in
FRP RODS turn reduced the water repellency, increased surface roughness, leadmg
to further growthof dry band discharges in the thicker coating as shown
The FRP rods in composite polymer insulators, which are used to pro- in Figure 27 (2221. A thinner layer conducts the heat from the discharges
vide thenecessary mechanical strength, is covered with the polymer ma- faster to the substrate and therefore a lower temperature results on the
terial between the weathersheds. In the presence of electrical discharge surface and less damage. This in turn slows the leakage current. On
activities and when the surface is polluted and wet, the heat generated the other hand a thin coating has less material to erode and this exposes
on the surface gradually is transferred to the bulk and into the FRP rod, the substrate quicker. This causes the specimen to fail in a shorter time
which forms a substrate to the polymer. The more effective is the heat (Figure 28) [222]. A thicker coating conducts the heat from the surface
transfer from the surface to the bulk and into the substrate, the cooler slowly to the substrate and therefore a higher temperature and a larger
would be the surface and the lesser would be the erosive damage. damage results to the surface. This causes a higher leakage current (Fig-
ure 27) and more damage in turn. This also leads to shorter time to fail-
ure (Figure 28). Hence there is an optimum coating thickness to give
the longest lifetime. This optimum thickness depends on the formula-
tion of the uolvmer
L , ,.
material as well as on the tvue of the substrate. Ad-
ditionally, sufficient material should be provided for extended lifetime.
Typically 3 to 6 mm thickness is used on FRP rods in outdoor insulators
26 SUBSTRATE ROD MATERIAL

AND THE PERFORMANCE OF
RTV-SIR
Usually the rod supporting the metal end fittings and the weather-
sheds is fabricated of FRP. It is primarily selected to satisfy the speci-
fied mechanical strength. The thermal conductivity and the specific heat
Figure 27. Dependence of current pulse rate in RTV-SIR as a function properties of the FRP are important for dissipating the heat generated on
of test time in high conductivity salt-fog for coating thickness from 0.15 the surface of the polymer by the occasional electrical discharges which
to 1.4 mm. Conditions: 1000 pS/cm; 0.5 kV/cm; saline water flow rate
1.6llmin; compressed air pressure 0.54 MPa; ATH filler level 90pph; size is then transferred to the substrate by conduction.
of ATH particle 13pm; substrate polyester PAP. 3 specimens were used for Figure 29 shows the current pulse rate as a function of test time in
each thickness [222]. salt-fog for coated substrates on epoxy FRP, polyester FRP and glass
The heat transfer from the surface into the FRP rod for a fixed for- with RTV-SIR [222]. The thickness of the RTV-SIR is about the same for
mulation of the polymer depends on the thickness of the polymer. Fig- the three substrates (0.37 2c 0.05 mm). The pulse current rate (Fig-
ure 27 shows typical current pulse rates for thicknesses of RTV-SIR coat- ure 29) developed earlier and the average leakage current was larger
ings from 0.15 to 1.4mm, on FRP rods in energized salt-fog test [222].In in the epoxy FRP [222]. The current discharge activities began to erode
the coating thickness of 0.15 mm dry band discharges developed earlier the RTV SIR partially, and expose the substrate to salt-fog resulting in
than for 0.38 and 0.57 mm and for larger thickness the currents increased more intense discharge current developing on the hydrophilic epoxy
further and also develoued earlier (Figure 27). This resulted in a higher
Y I
FRP. This resulted i u a rapid failure b; tracking" on h e sGbstrate in a
Figure 29. Dependence of current pulse rate in RTV-SIR as a function of

test time in salt-fogfor different coated substrates. Thickness of coating, Figure 30. Dependence of current pulse rate in RTv-siI1 coated on
*
0.37 0.05 mm.Other conditions are as in Figure 9 [222]. polyester FRP rods as a function of test time in salt-fogwithout (0%) and
with additions of silicone fluid to the formulation. Thickness of coatine
Table 3. Time to failureof RTV-SIRondifferent substratematerials. Con- 0.28 i 0.4 mm;viscosity of the fluid 1000 cl? Other conditions are as i i
ditions are as in figure 29 [222]. Figure 27 [222].
shorter time. The time to failure in salt-fog for the RTV-SIR coating on
epoxy FRP, polyester ERP and PyrexTMglass is given in Table 3 [222].
The glass can withstand substantial heat without serious damage due
to its high melting temperature of 1252°C [223] and larger specific heat
0.837 kJ/kg K [224], while the epoxy FRP and polyester FRP have a low
thermal stability and were readily damaged by the intense heat gener-
ated on the surface by the dry band arcing thus leading to shorter life-
time (Table 3). Tesl Tim (h)
27 EFFECT OF ADDING Figure 31. Dependence of curent pulse rate in RTV-SIR coated on FRP
SILICONE FLUID polyester rods as a function of time of test in low conductivity salt-fog
without (0) and with (10%)addition of silicone fluid (1000 cl'). Conditions:
The presence of LMW silicone fluid in the SIR is one of the factors re- 250 ps/cm; 0.5 kV/cm; 90 pph of ATH; size of particles 13 pm;[186].
sponsible for the maintenance of hydrophobicity as manifested by water
repellency on the surface of RTV-SIR, HTV-SIR [16,88,97,103,107,177, 0.145W/mK[227] thanthatoftheRTV-slRof0.57W/mK[97]. Thelatter
179,219,2251 and the alloy of EPDM and SIR [9,188]. The silicone fluid value takes into account the presence of the ATH filler of 90pph (Equa-
is a LMW PDMS which is inherently present on SIR and often is added to tion (9)) [218]. The lower thermal conductivity of the more abundant
silicone fluid on the surface (1 and 10%) than inside the normal com-
EPDM during compounding and/or processing. An addition of silicone
fluid of 1000 cl' to the formulation of RTV-SIR was made in an attempt pound (1%)retarded the conduction of heat generated by the discharges
to explore the possibility of extending the lifetime [186,222,226]. Speci- from the surface to the bulk and then on to the substrate. This caused a
mens of RTV-SIR formulation without addition (0%) and with additions higher temperature resulting in decomposition of the silicone fluid into
of silicone fluid of 1and 10%wtwere tested in an energized salt-fog. The hydrophilic products. Therefore larger current developed with increas-
surface conditions before the salt-fog test as indicated by the contact an- ing test time as shown in Figure 30 for high conductivity fog (1mS/cm)
gle (98.8 z t 2.3'), the average surface roughness (2.51 & 0.38 km) [222] and in Figure 31 for low conductivity fog (250 pS/cm) [186]. The
and the maximum roughness (22.88 i3.21 mm) were very close for time to failure was also shorter for the specimens with added silicone
the three types of specimens with and without the additions of silicone fluid as can be seen from Figure 32 [222].
fluid. 28 LOSS AND REGENERATION
Figure 30 shows the current pulse rate in RTV-SIR coated on polyester OF LMW FLUID IN RTV-SIR,
FRP rods as a function of test time in salt-fog without (0%) and with ad-
EPDM AND SIR
ditions of 1 and 10%wt silicone fluid [222]. It will be observed that the
specimens with added fluid developed currents sooner, and at any given Figure 33 shows the percentage content of LMW silicone fluid by
time into the test had larger currents (Figure 30). The specimen with weight as a function of the thickness of specimens of RTV-SIR [Ill, 2283.
10%added silicone fluid was reported to be visibly covered by a thm Specimens also were tested in low conductivity salt-fog which produced
layer of the fluid. This fluid has much lower thermal conductivity of average leakage currents <5 mA. The amount of LMW fluid depended
Sl
w
8 U
g 4- <
2
2 1 ' 0
VI
2511 I
trnpsracum, c
0.1 1 10 700
Figure 36. Percentage weightof~MWRuidregeneratedinEroMalloyed Time. h
with SIII. Duration of heating (60 Hz) 1 h. Fluid was first completely re-
moved from the specimen by immersion in hexane for 96 h [25]. Figure 37. SurfaceresistanceofHTv-smasafunctionofexposuretoun-
energized salt-fog. l3me off between cycles 24 h; conductivity 1mSIcm;
29 SURFACE RESISTANCE OF lield to measure resistance 20 Vlcm; filler ATH 140 pph; rod length 50 mm;
AGING POLYMER diameter 23.5 mm; electrodes graphite disks 31.8 mm in diameter [235].
INSULATORS
Although the measurement of the contact angle has been shown to
give an indication of the hydrophobic property of the surface of poly-
mer insulators [36,91,179-1811 it is not a practical proposition for it to be
measured on live insulators in the field or even during maintenance of
the lines. The measurement of the surface resistance of composite poly-
mer insulators can be made in situ and has been used to give an indica-
tion of the severity of the surface contamination [69,115,124,232-2371. ...-
"
This method has not yet been fully explored. Its wide application to mi . . . ..... . , ....... , ,
determine the surface property and the chemical and physical changes 0.1 1 10 100
Ma.h
which may occur during the lifetime of the insulator can only be made
after a thorough understanding of the dependence of the surface resis-
tance on all parameters affecting it. These may include amongst others,
thegeometryoftheinsulator (diameter,lengthandshape), themetalend
fittings (size and shape), the voltage level, the type of voltage (ac or dc),
the type of contaminants (conductingor non-conducting),the amounts
of and the conductivity of the fog, dew or rain wetting the insulator, as
well as the duration that it takes to conduct the measurements. This is
because the current may cause a rapid localized drying of the surface
and thus affects the measured surface resistance.
Some recent results on polymer materials will be summarized briefly
here. It was shown that a comparison between a bare porcelain and a
porcelain coated with RTV-SIR was made in cold fog (-5 to 10°C) by
measuring the surface resistance using 5 kVd, [124]. The silicone coated
porcelain had muchlarger surface resistanceof lOOMQ (at -4°C) rising 14 , . . ....., . . . ...... . , . ..-
0.1 10 1w
to 100 GQ at 0°C which was maintained up to 10°C. The porcelain had M , h
a corresponding surface resistance of 100 Mf?at -4°C and decreased
Figure 39. Surfaceresistance of HTV-SIR during recovery in air afterex-
steadily to -2 MO (with increasing temperature to 10°C [124]. Mea- posure to salt-log. Conditions are as in Figure 37 12351.
surements of the surface resistance on a HVDC wall bushing made of
porcelain coated with RTV-SIR indicated that it could give an indication The surface resistance in salt-fog of SIR was higher than that of EPDM
of the potential of materials to prevent flashover in non-uniform rain and porcelain over a wide range of salinity while EPDM and porcelain
[232]. The surface resistance of the coated porcelain with RTV-SIR was had almost similar values [234]. The surface resistance increased with
the highest and that of the porcelain was the lowest in the presence of increasing insulator length in the presence of salt-fog [233]. Figure 37
rain [232]. shows the surfaceresistanceof HTV-Smasafunctionof timeof exposure
The degree of uniformity of the contaminant layer was closely related to salt-fog for different test cycles [235] and Figure 38 the corresponding
to the surface resistance characteristics [115]. There was also a close cor- contact angle [235]. The surface resistance of the HTV-SIR when the salt-
relation between the time to flashover of a contaminated insulator with fog was turned off is shown in Figure 39 and the corresponding contact
Tonoko and kaolin and the time variation of the surface resistance [115]. angle in Figure 40 12351. It will be seen that the measurements of the
110, 30 CONCLUSIONS
A review has been presented on the recent performance experience

of composite polymer insulators in outdoor service and in ongo-
ing research. Because of limitation of space, the choice of the reviewed
material is necessarily selective. It is expected that the market share of
polymer insulators will continue to grow worldwide. The expected life-
timeofpolymer insulatorsstillpresents anunknownquantity and there-
8 706 ' fore is of concern to some power utilities, particularly for applications
.m
0.1 1 10 100 in heavily polluted and wet conditions. Substantial improvements can
Tbna. h still bemade to theformulations, thedesignsoftheweathersheds,stress
Figure 40. Contact angle on HTV-SIR during recovery after exposure to relief rings and to the metal end fittings. These will undoubtedly bring
salt-fog. Conditions are as in Figure 37 [235]. about further improvements in the electrical performance of composite
contact angle (Figure 39) are also consistent with the surface resistance polymer insulators, leading to their acceptance worldwide and a further
(Figure39) during the recovery of the hydrophobicity A similar behav- reduction in their cost.
ior was observed with other polymeric materials [ZOO, 2361. The surface Additional information on the life expectancy, long-term reliability,
resistance of HTV-SIR was found to decrease with increasing the speed and methods to detect faulty insulators would be valued by the power
of the droplets of salt-fogand the flow rate of water forming the fog, due utilities and other users. Developments of standards for evaluation and
to loss of hydrophobicity [237]. testing of the performance of polymeric insulators would spur further
growth in their use.
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IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electdcal Insulation Vol. 6 No. 5, October 1999 585
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IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Vol. 6 No.

5, October 1999 557

Outdoor HV Composite Polymeric Insulators

1070-98781991 $3.00 0 1999 IEEE

1 INTRODUCTION Quebec in Canada installed on a 16 km section of 735 kV,,, transmis-

In the compoundingof the weathersheds, fillers are added to enhance

6 EFFECT OF VOLTAGE 7 PROPERTIES OF POLLUTION

This Speed bllj within thL,range encountered in b g chambers ior i3g i.

18 DETERMINATION OF Figure 10 Contact angle on surfacesof RTV-SIII and polyester FRP as a

Figure 13. Contact angleof adroplet ofwateron RTV-slnduringrecov-

1599 1!W as 610 ma

In the compound containing polymer and filler the combined thermal

in EPR [109]. The largest weight loss occurred in specimens devoid of

23 DISPERSION OF THE FILLER

576 Hackam: Outdoor HV CompositePolymeric Insulators

26 SUBSTRATE ROD MATERIAL

Figure 29. Dependence of current pulse rate in RTV-SIR as a function of

A review has been presented on the recent performance experience

P. D. Blackmore, D. Birhvhisle,G. A. CnshandC. A. George,"Candition Asscssment

Exhibition, Chicago, 1994.

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