Performance of Developed Superhydrophobic Coating for Composite Outdoor Insulators Under Different Operating Conditions

Polymeric outdoor insulators are an essential component in transmission and distribution power systems. These insulators encounter complex stresses during operation, which could lead to many consequences and eventually complete breakdown of the insulator, such as hydrophobicity loss, surface pollution, surface charge accumulation, and premature aging and degradation. The study proposes the development of a simple, low-cost, and stable superhydrophobic coating based on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and silica (SiO2) for polymeric insulators. The superhydrophobic surface presents a very high static contact angle (SCA) of 159.2°, superior self-cleaning properties (sliding angle = 6.9°), and high thermal stability. Investigations on the performance of 15 kV insulators are conducted under different operating. The superhydrophobic insulator shows superior performance compared with the ordinary insulator by improving the surface resistance, minimizing leakage current (LC), preventing the initiation of surface discharge, and eventually increasing the flashover voltage. The superhydrophobic coating enhances the performance of polymeric insulators and ensures reliable and stable operation under various adverse operating conditions (wet and polluted conditions).