Electrical Performance of a New RTV Coating with the Addition of Antimicrobial Agents

In recent years, the phenomenon of biological contamination on composite insulators of high voltage lines in warm and humid regions has gradually caught the attention of researchers. Studies have indicated that the growth of algae on silicone rubber insulators has an obvious effect on the hydrophobicity and pollution flashover voltage of insulator surfaces. This paper aimed to suggest a method to inhibit the growth of algae by adding an antimicrobial agent to RTV (Room temperature vulcanization) coatings that does not damage the electrical performance or other performances.First, RTV silicone test pieces with and without antimicrobial agents were implanted with algae and then cultured. During and after the culturing period, the anti-biocontamination (indicated by photosynthetic intensity), hydrophobicity (indicated by static hydrophobic angle), surface conductivity, volume conductivity and tensile mechanical properties (indicated by tensile strength) of the pieces were measured to evaluate their performance. An ATR-FTIR test was also applied to all of the pieces to observe their physical properties.The results demonstrated that adding an antimicrobial agent to RTV coatings is a feasible method to inhibit the growth of algae. The new coating had verified electrical and mechanical performance, but more field experiments are needed in the future.