The Investigation of the Hydrophobicity and Flashover Strength of Silicon Rubber with Coal Fly Ash (CFA) Micro-Filler

Hydrophobicity and flashover strength are important properties of outdoor insulators, especially in the tropic region, which have high pollution and high intensity of rainfall. This study examines the impact coal fly ash as a micro filler on static hydrophobicity and DC dry flashover strength of the silicon rubber. The used material is XLR silicon rubber, and coal fly ash (CFA) micro filler. Samples were grouped according CFA filler loading, which consists of six groups CFA filler loading. The result shows that the addition of CFA micro filler affects surface resistivity, the hydrophobicity, and flashover strength of silicon rubber. The hydrophobicity which is presented by contact angle increases with the increasing of filler loading. However, in high filler loading, the hydrophobicity tends to decrease. The similar trend occurs on flashover strength and surface resistivity.