Space Charge Characterization of multi-stressed microcomposite nano-filled epoxy for Electrotechnical Applications

Many electrotechnical applications require the emergence of nanocomposite materials. However, these Lt new Gt materials must exhibit more performance than existing dielectrics. In this work, the study will concern dielectric properties of a composite material consisting of a quartz charge at the microscopic scale and nanoclay at the nanometric scale. Characterization will focus on the space-charge phenomenology at values of the electric field preceding breakdown. To do so, the original method developed at Montpellier university in the 80s, which uses a thermal step across the insulating material, will be utilized. The thermal step method (TSM) allows the space charge to be quantified and localized across the material. A comparative approach will be implemented. The properties measured for the nanostructured epoxy microcomposite will be compared to those observed for the base microcomposite. This will allow to evidence the benefit or no of the presence of the nanoclay in the role of space-charge accumulation. Preliminary results indicate that despite non-optimized materials conditions, electrical stresses could be pushed relatively high, e.g. some tens of kV/mm (about 30 kV/mm).