Gum Rosin Characteristics as Alternative Coating Material to Improve High Voltage Outdoor Insulator Performance

Gum Rosin Hydrophobicity Surface Resistivity Leakage Current Coating Insulator

Authors

  • Retno Aita Diantari
    33220317@mahasiswa.itb.ac.id
    1) School of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jalan Ganesa 10, Bandung, 40132, Indonesia. 2) School of Vocational, Institut Teknologi PLN, Jalan Lingkar Luar Barat, Jakarta 11750, Indonesia
  • Rachmawati 1) School of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jalan Ganesa 10, Bandung, 40132, Indonesia. 3) Research Center for Nanosciences and Nanotechnology, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jalan Ganesa 10, Bandung, 40132, Indonesia
  • Umar Khayam School of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jalan Ganesa 10, Bandung, 40132, Indonesia
  • Suwarno School of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jalan Ganesa 10, Bandung, 40132, Indonesia
Vol. 9 No. 3 (2025): June
Research Articles

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Numerous attempts have been made to enhance the performance of ceramic insulators, including insulators' design modification, surface coating application, and regular maintenance improvement. Room Temperature Vulcanized (RTV) silicone rubber, frequently employed as a coating for outdoor ceramic insulators, may deteriorate due to continuous exposure to ozone and ultraviolet (UV) light, resulting in a loss of insulating properties and potential surface cracking. This research aims to investigate the characteristics of new materials intended as additional coating materials for high voltage insulators to improve the performance of ceramic insulators. The proposed material, gum rosin (C20H30O2), is derived from the distillation of pine tree sap and possesses excellent hydrophobicity properties, meeting one of the requirements for an insulator. This research was carried out in two stages, which are characteristic tests of gum rosin as an additional coating material on RTV silicone rubber consisting of hydrophobicity, surface resistivity, relative permittivity (er), and tan delta, followed by a leakage current test of gum rosin and RTV silicone rubber-coated ceramic insulators to validate the insulation performance improvement. The results show that the addition of 5 wt.% gum rosin to the RTV silicone rubber can improve the characteristics of insulator coating material indicated by an increased contact angle of 7.85° and reduced leakage current magnitude up to 9.42% at a relative humidity of 70%, 7.1% at a relative humidity of 80%, and 10.02% at a relative humidity of 90%. These results proved that gum rosin can be used in addition to the conventional RTV silicone rubber coating material to improve the insulation characteristics of outdoor ceramic insulators.