Tracking and erosion failure of silicone rubber in inclined-plane test

The mechanisms of tracking and erosion failure of high temperature vulcanized HTV silicone rubber were studied by means of the inclined-plane test. Test conditions were varied by using different kinds of electrolytic contamination solutions instead of the stipulated NH₄Cl. Arc current I, arc burning, and extinguishing time t_a and t₀ were all recorded. Therefore, both the energy E_a dissipated on the sample surface in each t_a and the average energy E_t dissipated on the sample surface per minute could be calculated. Boiling temperatures T_b of different saturated contamination solutions were also measured. The tracking and erosion test results of silicone rubber showed a good correspondence with E_a and T_b, but a poor correspondence with E_t. The higher the E_a and T_b, the severer the tracking and erosion damage of test samples. This means that the tracking and erosion failure of silicone rubber in the inclined-plane test is mainly caused by the heat absorbed on a simple surface in each arc burning time, and the actions of successively burned arcs are independent