Water penetration via fibres and the formation of water trees in insulating liquids

Water tree-like structures are formed near the tip of a high voltage pin electrode immersed in a viscous fluid floating above a water layer quite easily if a fibre is placed perpendicular to the interface of the two fluids. The fibre works like a pump in transporting water from the reservoir to the body of the viscous fluid due to electrocapillary action. Once the water reaches the viscous fluid it is attracted to the pin due to dielectrophoretic forces. The nature of the material of the fibre has a definite influence in transporting water from the water reservoir to the fibre tip as the capillary force will be different for different materials. The frequency of the applied voltage has some influence in forming the water tree-like structure, perhaps because the higher frequency somehow hinders the passage of water along the fibre. The amount of water reaching the viscous fluid depends on the area of the fibre exposed to the body of viscous fluid