Understanding the Liquid Permeation Properties ot RTV Silicone Rubber Nanocomposites Subjected to Strong Electrolytic Solutions

Room temperature vulcanized (RTV) silicone rubber (SiR) has been demonstrated to be the most effective hydrophobic coating material for augmenting the pollution performance of outdoor high voltage (HV) ceramic insulators. However, water/liquid ingress severely degrades the material properties of SiR. Therefore, the proposed work investigates the liquid immersion/permeation resistance of Silica (SiO2) and Titania (TiO2) doped RTV SiR nanocomposites through weight-gain experiments performed at room temperature of 27°C. The test was performed with the SiR nanocomposites exposed to deionized water (DI) and strong electrolytic sodium chloride (NaCl) and nitric acid (HNO3) solution. The diffusion rate for each test configuration was numerically investigated using the Fickian diffusion model. Investigation results propose that the permeation resistance of SiR amalgamates depend upon the solution and the nanofiller type. Further, depending upon the test observations, RTV SiR nanocomposite with higher degradation resistance against strong electrolytic solutions is identified and reported.