Electrical discharge resistant characteristics of nanodielectrics

The design of electrical insulation system for electrical devices has to take comprehensive view of all factors which are detrimental to the health of the insulation. In the long-term, electrical discharges can cause degradation essentially due to electrical arcing, tracking, materials erosion. In the present study, Epoxy-based nanocomposites with 2, 5, and 7 wt.% of organically modified montmorillonite (oMMT) were prepared using high shear mixing technique. The Epoxy-oMMT nanocomposites show 12% and 13% improvement in arcing, tracking resistance, thermal stability and hydrophobic characteristics at 5 wt.% oMMT loading. It indicates their ability to resist surface degradation under arcing and tracking.