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Silicone rubber
for electrical insulators
Jim Goudie
Dow Corning Corporation
USA
ost electric power transmission The market for composite insulators is growing steadily, both in
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arc resistant additives and dispersed in sol- ‘wettability’ of silicone rubber, a phenome- possible to develop a product that will not
vent. This solution offers longer remedial non associated with the increase in surface only pass the required physical and electrical
relief from contamination and associated oxygen content. After a rest period, the tests, but also help molders optimize process-
problems, but utilities and OEMs contin- material’s water-repellency returns. This ing techniques for their specific equipment.
ued to seek a more permanent solution, hydrophobic recovery is thought to result at
especially for new installations. least in part from the diffusion of low mole-
Testing
This need has led to the continued cular weight PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) Test methods designed for ceramic insula-
development of polymer housings for insu- fluid to the surface, as well as a unique tors have not shown good correlation with
lator and arrester designs. In particular, sil- ability of the silicone surface to reorient actual service experience when applied to
icone rubber seems to be emerging as a after exposure [3, 4]. polymeric materials. Existing standards
material of choice among insulator speci- This free fluid in silicone rubber is also have been designed primarily for testing
fiers. In fact, nearly every major insulator the key to another important surface charac- insulators made from porcelain, a static sur-
manufacturer now offers a design with a teristic of silicone rubber. The microscopic face that has no interaction with contami-
silicone housing. The increased demand for diffusion of fluid serves to encapsulate con- nants; it will readily wet out. To improve the
silicone rubber can be attributed to a gen- taminant particles and prevent moisture performance of insulators made from such
eral upsurge in composite design use, as absorption. Migration of the hydrophobic materials, manufacturers simply increase
well as a growing preference for silicone fluid helps maintain a high surface resis- creepage distances. For this reason, they can
over other elastomers. tance and water-shedding ability. be tested by continuous arc exposure, which
is designed to estimate long-term perfor-
Performance of silicone Compounding mance. Unfortunately, the procedure has lit-
rubber Silicone compounds for high-voltage trans- tle resemblance to actual service conditions
Composite insulators designed with silicone mission line insulators are generally high- with silicone rubber units. Silicone sheds
rubber have been found to reduce the need consistency rubber (HCR) formulations. control leakage currents to help prevent
for maintenance in areas of moderate to high Two types of filler are typically used – silica high-energy dry band arcing from occurring.
contamination. The surface of a silicone is the reinforcement that lends physical Similarly, some tests call for a massive
elastomer has a unique ability to interact strength to the polymer, while alumina tri- build-up of contamination to be applied to
with the contaminant and control leakage hydrate (ATH) improves arc resistance. simulate long service, followed by energized
exposure to moisture and salt fog. Silicone
rubber, however, has low surface energy
and causes water to bead up. Its hydropho-
bic nature helps prevent contaminant build-
up, and also allows a rain storm to help
clean the surface. Applying a large dose of
contamination is an unrealistic condition,
one that silicone formulations are designed
to avoid. Further, the natural encapsulation
of particulates cannot occur if many years’
worth of contaminants are applied all at
once for a short-term test.
Developing new test methods and equip-
ment specifically for polymeric materials is
currently a priority for utilities, universities
and research organizations. In one advance-
ment, the Electric Power Research Institute
(EPRI) High-Voltage Transmission
Research Center in the USA has developed
a fog chamber method that allows testing
with variable contamination levels. A spe-
cific insulator design can be subjected to a
number of stresses that closely resemble the
Figure 2: Airborne contamination is a major problem in high-voltage applications
actual service environment.
Despite the test refinements, much of the
currents, interrupting the normal process Filler treatments, pigments and/or cure industry still relies on procedures developed
that leads to contamination-induced agents may also be part of the formulation. decades ago for porcelain. While some man-
flashover. Improved control of leakage cur- The polymer-filler combination is important ufacturers have adopted specific techniques
rent helps prevent dry band arcing and sub- in formulating silicone compounds for to evaluate polymer compounds, they can
sequent flashover. molding insulators and other components. vary widely from one company to another.
Silicone has demonstrated better Processing, physical properties and elec- Differences in process conditions among
hydrophobicity and lower surface energy trical performance are all affected by the fabricators also complicate the development
than most organic polymers. The surface molecular weight and structure of the poly- of standard compounds for molding HV
properties of silicone are such that the mate- mer, as well as filler type, size, shape, sur- insulators. As a result, some silicone suppli-
rial recovers its hydrophobicity between face treatment and residual catalyst or ers have opted for a custom formulation
contamination and/or corona episodes, while contaminants. The polymer-filler combina- approach.
other materials progressively deteriorate. tion is critical. By custom compounding sili- The industry is rapidly accepting tests
Corona exposure temporarily increases the cone materials for specific criteria, it is that appear to correlate better to field service
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