Salt fog aging tests on non-ceramic insulators and fog chamber data acquisition system

Significant improvements in the quality and performance of non-ceramic insulators have been made in the 25 years since their introduction for use in high voltage transmission and distribution systems. However, the industry in general still has questions about the service life of such insulators. A combination of field service experience and laboratory aging tests can help answer these questions. One of the aging tests which is extensively applied to evaluate polymeric weathershed materials of non-ceramic insulators is the salt fog aging test. To obtain more information during the test periods and to have a better understanding of the performance of insulator samples during aging tests, a data acquisition system was developed to record the leakage current of insulators being tested. Salt fog aging tests in accordance with IEC Std. 1109 were performed on silicone rubber and EPDM/silicone alloy insulators. Test and leakage current measurement results are presented.