Electrical and Mechanical Characterizations of Nanocomposite Insulation for HTS Systems

As HTS wire technology continues to advance, a critical need has emerged for dielectric materials that can be used in superconducting components such as terminations, fault current limiters, transformers, and motors. To address this need, CTD is developing nanocomposite insulations based on epoxy and benzoxazine chemistries. Depending on part geometry, some processing methods are more efficient than others. For this reason, CTD is investigating both fiber-reinforced and filled resin systems for use in these applications. A thorough set of electrical testing including AC breakdown, breakdown as a function of thickness, and flashover shows promising performance characteristics. In addition, mechanical testing (short beam shear and compression) indicate that these new materials to have as good or better performance than G10.