Surface hydrophobicity of polymers used for outdoor insulation

Ravi S. Gorur, James W. Chang, O. Glynn Amburgey

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

87 Scopus citations

Abstract

The paper presents the results of a study on silicone rubber and ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) polymers done to (1) understand the mechanisms involved in the loss of and subsequent recovery of surface hydrophobicity due to dry band arcing, and (2) investigate various experimental techniques which could be used for characterizing surface hydrophobicity. The materials were subjected to dry band arcing in a fog chamber. Several techniques such as measurement of contact angle, surface composition using Electron Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis (ESCA), and Cross Over Voltage (COV) using a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), have been examined. The experimental results along with theoretical calculations demonstrate that the mobile species in the polymer are responsible for the surface hydrophobicity. In terms of repeatability and simplicity of measurement, the COV determination appears to be the most suitable technique for hydrophobicity studies.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1923-1933
Number of pages11
JournalIEEE Transactions on Power Delivery
Volume5
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 1990

Keywords

  • Silicone Rubber. EPDM. hydrophobicity
  • hydrophillic dry band arcing

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Energy Engineering and Power Technology
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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