The effect of acid rain on the tracking deterioration of elastomer

The IEC 587 tracking test was performed on an elastomer which was soaked in artificial acid rain under a constant temperature and humidity in a climate chamber. The scintillation discharge was counted and the average current on the sample surface was measured at the same time. It was observed that the artificial acid rain accelerated the degradation of the elastomer and consequently reduced the tracking resistance of the material as evidenced by the fact that the average ignition time decreased as the aging period increased. The increase of scintillation discharge may be responsible for the decrease of ignition time proportionately as the aging period increases. The generation of scintillation discharge is closely related to the variation of the average current on the sample surface.<
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