A Study of Leakage Current Characteristic of Silicone Rubber Surface after Subjected to Ultraviolet Light

An insulator is one of the most important equipment in an electric power system. It serves to separate the live conductors from the tower body. Leakage current often occurs in an insulator, especially when there are contaminants flowing on its surface, so it is necessary to look for an insulator material that has a low leakage current. One of them is silicone rubber (SiR) polymer material. In this study, a silicone rubber insulating material was tested without filler and with 5% and 10% TiO2 (Titanium Dioxide) as filler. The test was carried out using the Incline-Planed Tracking (IPT) measurement method according to the IEC standard 587:1984. The parameters analyzed were the average leakage current in various filler materials and the leakage current before and after exposure to ultraviolet. The test results show that the duration of ultraviolet irradiation affects the average leakage current. It was concluded that the test sample which has a high average leakage current is a sample of silicone rubber with filler 5% TiO2 before exposed by UV of 0.099 mA, and sample which has a high average leakage current after exposed by UV for 48 hours was 1.558 mA.