Effect of superhydrophobicity on flashover characteristics of silicone rubber under wet conditions

Superhydrophobic surface has aroused much interest among researchers due to the low adhesion between water and a substrate surface. This study focuses on the influence of the low adhesion of superhydrophobic surface on flashover characteristics under wet conditions. The flashover experiments were conducted under two different wet conditions. One was placing a constant volume droplet on the silicone rubber. The other one was that silicone rubber was wetted by salt fog. It was found that the adhesion between water droplets and a superhydrophobic surface was very low because of the presence of air cushion. Accordingly, water droplets were easy to slide on a superhydrophobic surface under the effect of electric filed. The sliding of droplets could provide a longer insulation path before flashover occurred. Results showed that flashover voltage could be improved greatly on a superhydrophobic silicone rubber surface.