Can water cause brittle fracture failures of composite non-ceramic insulators in the absence of electric fields?
It was postulated in [1], based on experimental evidence, that brittle fracture failures of composite (non-ceramic) HV insulators could be caused by water and mechanical stresses. It was also claimed therein that the brittle fracture process was more likely to happen with water than acids. This postulation could be of major importance as its ramifications might affect the entire composite insulato
