Numerical and Experimental Investigation On Salt-Fog Aging of Silicone Insulators

XVII International Symposium on High Voltage Engineering, Hannover, Germany, August 22-26, 2011
NUMERICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION ON SALT-FOG

AGING OF SILICONE INSULATORS
1*
S. Gharazi , M. Moghadam , M. Mehdikhani , M.Keramati

1
Niroo Research Institute, Tehran, Iran
*Email: < Salimeh.Gharazi@gmail.com >
Abstract: This paper describes the change in polymer materials of insulators under aging
conditions. In order to examine the factors that are related with deterioration, the salt fog
aging test was conducted on 24 KV insulators for 500 hours. The applied voltage and salt
fog were generated according to recommendations of IEC 61109. After the test, the virgin
and aged samples were analyzed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR)
and contact angle measurements. FTIR results showed that after an initial decrease of
the number of methyl groups, a restoration occurs on the surface of aged sample. It can
be due to the movement of LMW polymer chains (polymer liquid or polymer oil) in the
bulk to the surface due to the difference of densities. Moreover, STRI hydrophobicity test
and contact angle measurements showed that the hydrophobic character of the virgin
sample decreased slightly under stress factors of salt fog chamber.
1
INTRODUCTION
Composite insulators have now been used on

distribution lines for several years[1]. However,
damages such as losing its hydrophobic character
which affects the insulator performance are
produced by aging of insulator weathershed[2,3].
one of the natural pollutants which strongly affects
the electric performance of polymeric composite
insulators is salt contamination[4]. Therefore, it is
of interest to study the chemical and morphological
influence of salt deposits on the surface of
insulators.
Otsubo et. Al. investigated on aging of three
types of polymers under salt fog stress[5]. They
used a saline conductivity of 0.1 mS/cm for the
experiment. They based their hypothesis on the
fact that evaluating the polymer performance in
actual applications is more appropriate when a
lower conductivity saline solution is applied. They
claimed that the designation of their system makes
them able to control the humidity rather than the
conventional saline flow. The results of their
investigations showed that the environmental
humidity and wettable condition of the sample
strongly influence the rate of increase of leakage
current and the aging time. Also, the ability of
silicone rubber sample to hydrophibicity recovery is
more than that of two other polymer materials.
Stanislaw et. Al. investigated on hydrophobic
characteristics of EPDM and Silicon rubber
insulator materials after exposure to saline
pollution[6]. They found out that the aging of
EPDM insulator housing increases the surface
energy and makes it hydrophilic. However, the
polymer of the silicone rubber insulator housing
may recover the chemical degradation. It is due to
the fact that the polymer reorientation and oil and
low molecular immigration may be stimulated by
external energizing factors. Sebo et. Al. conducted
fog chamber aging tests to analyze the cumulative
charge test data, for both low and high salinity fog
conditions [7]. This test was conducted on silicone

rubber and EPDM insulators for 500 hours in both
of the chamber. It was found out that silicone
rubber insulator housing materials show lower
magnitude of cumulative charges in both of the low
and high salinity chambers. Tourreil et. Al. exposed
72KV and 230 KV composite long rod insulators to
salt fog procedure according to IEC 507[8,9]. The
insulators were monitored during the laboratory
aging by measurements of peak currents and by
recording flashovers when they occurred. It was
found out that the position of the insulators
remarkably influence the electrical performance.
Moreover, it was concluded that in order to
determine the long term electrical behaviour of
composite insulators in service in the laboratory,
the salt fog aging procedure, in conjunction with
the rapid flashover clean fog is a diagnostic test
method.
In the present work, chemical and morphological
changes of an energized insulator in the salt fog
chamber were examined. Fourier Transform
Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) was used to
evaluate chemical structure of the insulator before
and after the aging test. Contact angle
measurements
and
STRI
hydrophobicity
classification were used to examine the
hydrophobic property of the insulator before and
after the test.
2
2.1
EXPERIMENTAL
Test Specimens and Procedures
The polymeric 24KV insulator material was

purchased from Taban Niroo Company of Iran.
After the duration of the test, a piece of 2mm
thickness was taken from the upper side of the
insulator sheds. It is due to the fact that the
environmental stresses of the chamber strongly
affect these parts.
Aging of the sample was conducted in a salt fog

chamber of dimensions 2m3m.5m constructed
in the Niroo Research Institute of Iran. The applied
voltage and salt fog were generated according to
the recommendations of IEC 61109. The duration
of the test was 500 hours.
2.2
Analysis Techniques
Fourier transform infrared(FT-IR) and attenuated

total reflectance spectroscopy (ATR-IR) techniques
were used for surface characterization. Infrared
spectra were recorded on a Bruker IFS 484
-1
microscope, between 400 and 4000cm .
The contact angles of water were measured by
the extension method with horizontal protractor
eyepiece at room temperature( type: contact angle
measuring system G10 KRUSS). at five different
positions of one sample, water droplets were
placed and the averaged value was adopted as the
contact angle. In order to ensure repeatability, the
size of attached water droplets was kept constant
about 5l while the contact angle was measured
after 1 min of droplet placing. The values of the
polar and dispersive components were obtained by
the Owens and Wu equations [10, 11].
STRI hydrophobicity test was also conducted
according to STRI classification guide [12].
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In order to do chemical analysis, FT-IR result was

used to monitor the chemical changes of the
insulator sample under the stress factors of the salt
fog chamber.
Figure 1a and 1b show the FT-IR spectrum of
the virgin and aged samples. In this figure, the
absorption peak in 1005 cm-1 is attributed to Si-O
bond. Also, the absorption peak at 1259 cm-1 refers
to Si-CH3 bond and 2962 cm-1 to stretching C-H
bond. The Comparison of the FT-IR result of the
virgin and aged sample in figure 1 shows that the
intensity of Si-CH3 bond increased in the aged
sample. In order to have further information about
the chemical changes of the samples, the
absorption peak ratio of Si-CH3 to that by Si-O was
calculated. Table 1 shows the ratio calculated for
these two samples. It can be seen that this ratio in
the aged sample have an increase in comparison
with that of virgin sample.
Figure 1: FT-IR spectrum of the (a) virgin and (b)

aged sample
sample
virgin
aged
Si-CH3/Si_O
0.354038
0.406046
Table 1: The adsorption peak ratio of the virgin

and aged sample
An explanation for this occurrence may be related
to a fact about SIR insulators. It is believed that the
CH3 groups are one of the main factors for surface
hydrophobicity of SIR insulators. Therefore, a
reduction in the absorption peak ratio of Si-CH3 to
that by Si-O is an indicator of chemical degradation
of the insulator under the aging conditions.
However, in the present work, an increase of this
ratio is seen after 500 hours aging in the salt fog
chamber. It can be due to the fact that LMW
polymer chains or polymer oil can immigrate to the
surface of the insulator due to the density
difference.
In order to measure the hydrophobicity, contact
angle measurements were performed. Figures 2a
and 2b show the contact angles of the virgin and
aged samples respectively. It can be seen that the
virgin sample showed a more hydrophobic
character than that of the aged one. This is due to
the reduction of groups of the Si-CH3 of the surface
under the stresses of the salt fog environment of
the chamber. However, this difference is almost
negligible. It can be attributed to the fact that CH3
groups of the Si-CH3 of the surface of along with
those immigrate to the surface let the surface
retain its hydrophobic property.
Figure3: STRI hydrophobicity of (a) virgin and (b)

aged samples
4
Figure 2: Contact angles of the (a) virgin and (b)

aged samples
STRI hydrophobicity test results are displayed in
figures 3a and 3b. It is clear from these figures and
STRI hydrophobicity classification that the sample
did not lose its major hydrophobicity and is
categorized in HC2 classification. Therefore, the
results of STRI test match with that of contact
angle measurements.
It should be noted that the numerical
investigation of salt fog aging is in progress in our
future work.
CONCLUSION
An energized silicone rubber insulator was placed

under aging conditions of salt fog chamber. The
duration of the test was 500 hours. After the test,
the virgin and aged samples were assessed with
different analytical techniques. FT-IR results
showed that the aged sample retains almost the
same amount of CH3 groups as that of the virgin
one. This can be related to the immigration of LMW
polymer chains and polymer oils to the surface.
Therefore, although some of the Si-CH3 bonds
may be lost, the movement of LMW polymer
chains and polymer oils to the surface may help
the sample to cope with it. Contact angle
measurements showed that the hydrophobicity of
the aged sample decreased in comparison with
that of the virgin one. This is attributed to the
reduction of Si-CH3 bonds under the stressful
environment of the chamber. However, the
immigration of LMW polymer chains and polymer
oils to the surface causes the sample to reduce the
severity of the aging effect. The STRI results
matched with those of the contact angle
measurements.
5
REFERENCES
[1] K. Toureeil, J. Kuffel, D. Mintz, J. Vandermaar;

SOLAR UV IN LABORATORY AGING OF
th
COMPOSITE
INSULATORS,
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International Symposium on High Voltage
Engineering, Canada, Montreal, August 25-29,
1997.
[2] M. Amin, et al.: "HYDROPHOBICITY OF
SILICONE RUBBER USED FOR OUTDOOR
INSULATION (AN OVERVIEW)", Rev. Adv.
Mater. Sci, vol. 16, pp. 10-26, 2007
[3] M. Amin; Aging INVESTIGATIONS OF
POLYMERIC INSULATORS, 03-PHD-EE-15,
University of Engineering and Technology,
Pakistan, Taxila, May, 2007.
[4] H. Buchner, F. Schmuck, A.Zanetti, A. Zingg;
DESCRIPTION OF A COMPLEX TEST
PROGRAMME FOR THE EVALUATION OF
OUTDOOR AGING-RELEVANT PROPERTIES
th
OF SILICONE RUBBER, 7 International
Conference
on
Dielectric
Materials,
Measurements and Applications, 1996.
[5] M. Otsubo, Y. Shimino, T. Hikami, C. Honda;
INFLUENCE OF THE HUMIDITY ON
LEAKAGE
CURRENT
UNDER
ACCELERATED AGING OF POLYMER
INSULATING MATERIALS, IEEE International
Symposium on Electrical Insulation, Canada,
Montreal, June 16-19, 1996.
[6] S. Gubanski, A. Vlastos; WETTABILITY OF

NATURALLY AGED SILICONE AND EPDM
COMPOSITE
INSULATORS,
IEEE
Transaction on Power Delivery, Vol. 5, No, 3,
July 1990.
[7] S Sebo, J. Sakich, T. Zhao; EVALUATION OF
CUMULATIVE CHARGE DATA OF POLYMER
INSULATOR
AGING
TESTS,
IEEE
International Symposium on Conduction and
Breakdown in Solid Dielectrics, Sweden,
Vasteras, June 22-25, 1998.
[8] C. Toureil, P. Lambeth; AGING OF
COMPOSITE INSULATORS: SIMULATION BY
ELECTRICAL TESTS, IEEE Transaction on
Power Delivery, Vol. 5, No, 3, July 1990.
[9] C. Toureil,; ACCELERATED AGING TESTS
FOR
COMPOSITE
INSULATOR
WEATHERSHEDS, Testing, 66-71,1999.
[10] S. Wu, Polymer Interface and Adhesion,
Marcel Dekker, New York, 1982.
[11] D.K. Owens, R.C. Wendt, J. Appl. Polym. Sci.
13 (1996) (1741).
[12] Hydrophobicity Classification Guide, Guide 1,
92/1.

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XVII International Symposium on High Voltage Engineering, Hannover, Germany, August 22-26, 2011

NUMERICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION ON SALT-FOG

S. Gharazi , M. Moghadam , M. Mehdikhani , M.Keramati

Composite insulators have now been used on

conditions [7]. This test was conducted on silicone

The polymeric 24KV insulator material was

Aging of the sample was conducted in a salt fog

Fourier transform infrared(FT-IR) and attenuated

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

In order to do chemical analysis, FT-IR result was

Figure 1: FT-IR spectrum of the (a) virgin and (b)

Table 1: The adsorption peak ratio of the virgin

Figure3: STRI hydrophobicity of (a) virgin and (b)

Figure 2: Contact angles of the (a) virgin and (b)

An energized silicone rubber insulator was placed

[1] K. Toureeil, J. Kuffel, D. Mintz, J. Vandermaar;

[6] S. Gubanski, A. Vlastos; WETTABILITY OF

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