Effect of humidity on the high voltage characteristics of epoxy/glass insulation

This paper describes the effect of water on dielectric properties at high field of composite insulation, based on epoxy reinforced by fibre glass and mica flakes. Samples with controlled water content are prepared by immersion. Breakdown measurements under ac voltage show a marked decrease of breakdown field, when large amounts of water (up to 1.5%) are present in the material. High voltage dielectric spectroscopy measurements were carried out from 0.001 Hz to 1 kHz with various water content and applied fields (up to 5 kV/mm). At low frequency, a very large increase of dielectric losses versus water content, due to the increase of material conductivity is reported. At 50 Hz, tan /spl delta/ higher than 1% are recorded with water content above 0.5%.