STUDY OF PARAMETERS RELATED TO DETERIORATION PHENOMENA DUE TO WATER DROPLETS ON POLYMERIC SURFACES

Michael G. Danikas – Paschalis Rakitzis – Konstantinos Karakoulidis

   In this publication the problems arising from the application of uniform ac electric fields on water droplets, which are on polymer surfaces, are investigated. Polymeric materials such as silicone rubber, PVC, rubber and ethylene propylene rubber (EPR) were used for the experimental work. The deterioration phenomena - due to partial discharges (PD) and localized arcs -were studied in terms of very high water conductivity (extreme pollution), polymer surface roughness, droplet volume and droplet position wrt the electrodes. All four mentioned parameters affect the flashover voltage. A comparison between the aforementioned materials wrt droplet behaviour was made and discussed. Proposals for future research are also put forward.

Keywords: water droplets, polymeric surfaces, uniform field, outdoor insulation, indoor insulation, pollution

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