Influence of tower anticorrosion coating as contaminant on operation characteristics of composite insulator

Anticorrosion coatings are commonly applied to prevent rust‐based corrosion in transmission towers. Unfortunately, anticorrosion coatings may drip onto the surface of composite insulators during the construction process, which is likely to do harm to operation characteristics of composite insulators. This Letter was conducted to determine the influence of anticorrosion coatings on composite insulator performance. The mechanical properties, hydrophobicity, hydrophobic transfer, and flashover voltage of high‐temperature vulcanised (HTV) silicone rubber specimens with and without the coating were investigated in detail. Appropriate solutions for avoiding unwanted effects on insulator performance are proposed accordingly. The influence of coating on the pollution flashover voltage of the composite insulator was also determined by changing the type, area, and shape of coating attached to the insulator surface. Finite element software was also used to analyse the effects of coatings on the electric field distribution of the composite insulator. The coating slightly affects the mechanical properties of HTV silicone rubber, but significantly impacts its hydrophobicity and hydrophobicity transfer. The pollution flashover characteristics of test composite insulators covered with the anticorrosion coating are also worst than those without coating.