Measuring and analysis of the effect of acid rain in polluted polymer insulators at high altitude

Experimental results and analysis about the behavior of ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) class 15 kV type suspension insulators exposed to an acid environment and an altitude of 2240 masl are reported. An aqueous solution with the principals ions present in the most acid rain registered in the Valley of Mexico was used. The fog clean method developed for non ceramic insulators (IEC-507) was utilized, but with the difference in the manner of applying the pollutant mixture on the surface of insulators. For evaluate the loss of hydrophobicity the technique of contact angle was used. The flashover voltages and the behavior of accumulated charge are analyzed. The results show a strong reduction of the hydrophobicity on insulators previously exposed to acid rain.