The Flashover Phenomena due to Water Drops on Insulating Surface under DC Electric Field

Abstract

This paper presents the flashover between the electrodes conducted the current by the water drop on insulating surfaces. It causes ageing to the insulator and leads to deterioration when the insulator is used for over years. In the experiments, epoxy resin with the water drop is tested by using direct current until flashover of 70 kV. Besides that, the effect of the water volume, the number of the water drop and the water types - tap and aqua water on flashover are investigated. The flashover of tap water grows faster when increases the volume of water drop. The flashover of aqua water does not depend on the volume of water drop. The deformation and elongate of water drop is in the direction of electric field line. The results lead to protect the damage of insulator caused by the humidity and the loss of their efficiency insulators.