Degradation Characteristics of RTV Silicone Rubber by environmental Factors

환경 인자에 의한 RTV 실리콘 고무의 열화 특성

Room temperature vulcanizing(RTV)silicone rubber has been widely used to coat porcelain insulators to render water repellency to prevent formation of water filming on the surface and thus to suppress the leakage current and consequent flashover. However, the electrical property and its hydrophobicity of RTV silicone rubber coating under outdoor conditions may be influenced by many environmental factors. In this study various treatments, such as salt-fog, salt water immerging and UV irradiation were applied to samples for investigation the change of the electrical property and hydrophobicity. As a result the leakage current increased and contact angle decreased as the degradation time longer. But the degraded RTV silicone rubber has recovered its hydrophobicity during the drying time in ambient condition because LMW(Low Molecular Weight)silicone fluid diffused from the bulk to the surface.