Artificial contamination withstand voltage characteristics of polymer insulators

Excellent withstand voltage characteristics of silicone rubber insulators under contaminated conditions are fundamentally attributed to the migration of low molecular silicone from the bulk of silicone rubber even to the contaminants on the insulator surface. In this paper the effect of time lapse on hydrophobicity after contamination of specimen insulators was investigated in terms of receding contact angle and contamination withstand voltage.