Electrical behavior of insulating ropes for live working

Insulating ropes are indispensable work equipment for live working. The processes, which after exposure to moisture and the resulting leakage current reduce the electric and mechanic strength of insulating ropes, are of particular interest and insufficiently researched. Firstly, this paper describes the rope as an electric insulating system and presents significant processes at interfaces of ropes stressed by wetness in detail. Investigations on capillaries, which enable definitions of processes based on the waveforms of voltage and current, are explained. These results are compared with time profiles of voltage and current measured on ropes. In conclusion the results of the investigations on capillaries will be used for the classification of the processes in the ropes.