The dynamic behaviour of water drops in an AC field

The behaviour of water drops in an applied electrical AC field is of interest as a basis to understand the phenomena occurring on insulating surfaces of high voltage equipment. In the presented experiments, single water drops of different volumes are electrically stressed on the surface of an epoxy resin specimen. With the help of two digital optical systems, a contact angle measuring system and a high speed camera system, slow and very fast movements of the drops can be recorded and analysed. The performance of the drops is influenced by different parameters, such as the applied frequency of the AC voltage, the electrical field strength and the angle of an inclined insulating surface.