Electrical Tracking and Erosion of Silicone Rubber Filled with Alumina Tri-Hydrate

摘要

This paper investigates the electrical tracking and erosion of silicone rubber samples using the standard Inclined-Plane Test (IPT). This test shall be performed on the insulating material before using it in the production of insulators. The silicone rubber is loaded with 45 wt% Alumina Tri-Hydrate (ATH) and was provided by two different suppliers. Samples were subjected to test voltages of 4.5 and 6 kV with the liquid contaminant flowing at rates of 0.6 and 0.9 ml/min, respectively, for 6 hours as per the IEC 60587. The voltage and flow conditions are chosen such that the two testing protocols are equivalent and lead to similar results. However, the experimental results show that the material manufactured by one supplier did not pass the 6 kV test whereas the other one did; both materials passed the 4.5 kV test. This comparative analysis indicates that the resistance of housing materials to tracking and erosion is dependent upon the applied test voltage; it is therefore suggested that testing them at a variety of test voltages may develop a better understanding to the passing criterion.