Water invasion induced aging and degradation of the unidirectional glass fiber reinforced epoxy resin (UGFRE) rod is inferred as the primary reason for the decay-like fracture of the composite insulator. In this paper, the moisture diffusion processes in the UGFRE from different directions at various test humidities and temperatures are studied. The moisture diffusion of the UGFRE sample obeys the Langmuir diffusion law under the humidity conditions of 53%, 82% and 100% at 40 °C. In deionized water, the moisture diffusion of the UGFRE sample also obeys the Langmuir diffusion law when the invading direction is vertical to the glass fiber. However, when the water invades the UGFRE sample, parallel with the glass fiber, the weight loss caused by composite degradation should not be neglected. A modified Langmuir model, taking Arrhenius Theory and the nonlinear aging characteristic of the composite into consideration, is proposed and can successfully describe the moisture diffusion process. Both the glass fibers and epoxy resin will degrade in the deionized water. The glass fibers show better resistance to degradation than the epoxy resin. The epoxy resin degrades from the glass fiber/epoxy resin interface and become fragments. For composite insulators, the water invasion through the ends should be avoided as far as possible, or the degradation of the UGFRE rod will result in decay-like fracture.
Keywords: composite degradation; modified Langmuir model; moisture diffusion; unidirectional glass fiber reinforced epoxy resin (UGFRE).