Study on the Ageing Characteristics of Silicone Rubber for Composite Insulators under Multi-Factor Coupling Effects

Due to long-term exposure to high electrical field strength, heavy loads, and the complex climatic conditions in tropical coastal areas of China, widespread abnormal heating phenomena often occur in the operation of composite insulators in power transmission lines, posing a threat to the safe and stable operation of the power system. To study the ageing process of the silicone rubber sheath of composite insulators in the high-field, high-humidity, high-temperature, and high-salt-density environments along the coastal regions, this paper establishes a humidity–heat–electricity–salt spray accelerated ageing test platform and conducts ageing tests on silicone rubber materials for composite insulators under the coupled effect of multiple factors. The ageing characteristics of silicone rubber materials are analyzed using scanning electron microscopy, Fourier infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and other methods. The results show that the coupled ageing factors have an impact on the surface morphology of silicone rubber. The continuous depolymerization of PDMS molecular chains leads to a decrease in the content of groups related to the hydrophobicity of the material, resulting in a deterioration of its hydrophobicity. Moreover, the degradation of silicone rubber materials and the enhanced moisture absorption capacity lead to an increase in the dielectric loss tangent of the saturated moisture-absorbing medium, thereby causing abnormal heating of the sheath at the end of the composite insulator. The research findings of this study are of significant reference value for revealing the degradation mechanism of composite insulator silicone rubber sheaths in tropical island environments and improving the service life of composite insulators.