Development of self-cleaning/ice phobic insulators

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In cold climate countries, ice accumulation on insulators causes numerous serious problems for power systems, as has been witnessed in many regions including southern Quebec and Ontario, Newfoundland, as well as some northern US states. Flashover on ice-covered insulators is a phenomenon that has been frequently observed in these regions. Another main cause of flashover is pollution. An alternative means of preventing the accretion of ice and pollution on the surface of high voltage insulators would be to produce superhydrophobic insulators having properties that reduce ice and pollution adhesion. This project aims to improve the performance of high voltage outdoor insulators in cold climates and/or in polluted regions in Canada and around the world. The main objective of this project is to use an effective approach to fabricate a self-cleaning outdoor insulator through two strategies:1) Use of multiple methods such as chemical etching, anodization, plasma, and laser treatment on the surface of the insulator mold in order to create various micro- and nano-patterned templates. These templates will then be used within the direct replication process in which the surface morphology of silicone rubber will be replicated during the injection process. 2) Incorporation of micro- and nanoparticles into the silicone rubber matrix in order to create the appropriate micro-and nano-texture. The type, size, and abundance of these particles as well as the injection process parameters will be optimized in order to achieve a truly superhydrophobic insulator. Simulation study will be carried out to investigate the replication capability and flow behaviour of polymeric melt inside the micro- and nano-scale features. Thereafter, the developed superhydrophobic insulators will be assessed in terms of their ice phobicity and their self-cleaning properties when placed in icing as well as elevated pollution conditions.