IEC TS 62073:2016(E) specifies the measurement of the hydrophobicity of the shed and housing material of composite insulators for overhead lines, substations and equipment or ceramic insulators covered or not covered by a coating. The obtained value represents the hydrophobicity at the time of the measurement. The object of this technical specification is to describe three methods that can be used to determine the hydrophobicity of insulators. The determination of the ability of water to wet the surface of insulators may be useful to evaluate the condition of the surface of insulators in service, or as part of the insulator testing in the laboratory. This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition published in 2003. This edition constitutes a technical revision. This edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the previous edition:
a) Changed wettability to hydrophobicity throughout the document
b) Redefined the criteria for the determination of hydrophobicity class in paragraph 3.4.