To investigate the application of anodization technology on improving the interface performance between epoxy resin and aluminum electrodes, aluminum alloys were electrolyzed for different durations to form anodized films on the substrate surface. The morphology, composition, structure, and electrical properties of the anodized films were characterized, and the effects of anodic oxide films on the adhesion and dielectric properties of the epoxy-aluminum interface were analyzed. The results show that after anodic oxidation, an amorphous anodized film with a nanoporous structure is formed. As the electrolysis time increases, the thickness of the anodized film increases linearly, while the internal defects also increase, which reduces the volume resistivity and electric strength. The film exhibits a high dielectric constant and dielectric loss factor, which remain stable at 25℃-125℃. Benefiting from the nanoporous structure and polar bonds, the adhesive shear strength between the aluminum substrate and epoxy resin increases from 6.76 MPa to 10.89 MPa, and the adhesive tensile strength increases from 6.89 MPa to 9.78 MPa after anodic oxidation. The impact toughness increases from 66.21 kJ/m2 to 76.42 kJ/m2, and the flexural strength increases from 147.65 MPa to 180.50 MPa. The anodized film improves the electric strength of the aluminum-epoxy composite, and the interface polarization makes the dielectric constant and dielectric loss factor of the aluminum-anodized film-epoxy composite structure slightly higher than those of the aluminum-epoxy structure. In HVDC electric fields, space charges mainly accumulate at the interface between the electrode and the dielectric, and the anodized film can inhibit the injection of charges into the dielectric. Therefore, as an effective interface modification method, anodic oxidation can enhance the mechanical and electrical properties of aluminum electrodes and epoxy resin.
To investigate the effects of hydrophobic coatings on charge accumulation characteristics of silicone rubber, this study prepared hydrophobic coatings with hydrophobic fumed silica (SiO2) particles as fillers. The surface charge distribution on silicone rubber surface coated with hydrophobic coatings containing different amounts of SiO2 particles was measured under both positive and negative DC corona using an electrostatic capacitance probe. Additionally, the surface micromorphology, static contact angle, surface resistivity, and DC creepage flashover voltage of silicone rubber surface coated with hydrophobic coatings containing different amounts of SiO2 were characterized. The results show that the static contact angle of silicone rubber surfaces increases with the increase of SiO2 content in the hydrophobic coating. However, applying hydrophobic coatings on silicone rubber will exacerbate the surface charge accumulation. When the mass fractions of SiO2 is 2%, 6%, and 10%, the maximum surface charge density accumulated on silicone rubber surface increases by 5.03%, 20.11%, and 24.06%, respectively, which will also decrease the surface resistivity and DC creepage flashover voltage of silicone rubber. Analysis suggests that the hydrophobic coating surface will generate more gaps and holes, thereby facilitating the capture and adsorption of charges, making it difficult for the charges to dissipate.
The invasion of moisture at the insulation interface of cable accessories is the main cause of electrical breakdown and insulation failure. However, the effect mechanism of moisture on interface discharge and breakdown remained unclear. Therefore, this paper conducted experiments and simulations to analyze and study the causes of breakdown failure at the insulation interface of cable accessories under the influence of moisture. First, the discharge evolution characteristics during the breakdown process at dry and humid interfaces were described through experiments. Subsequently, by combining discharge products with electric field analysis, the effect mechanism of moisture on the breakdown development at the interface was explained. Finally, a field case was presented to confirm the validity of the proposed breakdown mechanism of the insulation interface under the influence of moisture. The results show that the discharge process during the interface breakdown of insulation interface develops in stages, accompanied by gas generation. The bubbles regions formed by the generated gases lead to severe electric field distortion, which reduces the electric strength of the interface. The dynamic motion of the bubbles also increases the randomness of interfacial discharge, causing the interfacial breakdown process to be accompanied by multiple discrete arc discharges along random path.
To investigate the rejuvenation effect and enhancement mechanism of the voltage stabilizer-containing rejuvenation fluid on moisture-affected XLPE/SiR interface, XLPE was sanded by sandpapers with different granularities to prepare XLPE/SiR interface samples. At first, the surface roughness of the samples was measured using a profilometer, and interfacial breakdown tests were conducted. Then, the samples were subjected to moisture tests. After that, the antioxidant 300 and ferrocene were selected as voltage stabilizers, and five rejuvenation fluids with different stabilizer content were prepared to rejuvenate the moisture-affected interfaces. The interface samples before and after rejuvenation were further analyzed by surface profilometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), polarization-depolarization current (PDC), and interface breakdown tests. The results show that the interfacial breakdown voltage decreases with the increase of surface roughness, while the moisture exposure elevates the interfacial DC conductivity and dielectric loss factor and decreases the interfacial breakdown voltage. After the rejuvenation, the interface roughness, DC conductivity, and dielectric loss factor of the samples decrease, and the rejuvenated product can homogenize the electric field distribution between the cavity and the solid dielectrics, and significantly increase the interfacial breakdown voltage. Moreover, the addition of antioxidant 300 and ferrocene can enhance the interfacial breakdown voltage, and ferrocene has a better improvement effect on the insulation performance of the moisture-exposed interface.
In the development of gas insulated switchgear (GIS) and gas insulated transmission lines (GIL) towards higher voltage and larger capacity, the insulation performance at the internal insulator's gas-solid interface is recognized as a critical factor affecting the operational safety of GIS/GIL equipment. To ensure the insulation safety of GIS/GIL equipment in engineering applications, it is imperative to elucidate the insulation failure mechanisms at the gas-solid interface and explore methods to enhance its insulation performance. In this paper, first, the research progress in the field of gas-solid interface insulation was reviewed, the mechanisms of dynamic charge behavior at the gas-solid interface and its influencing factors were analyzed, and methods for charge regulation at the gas-solid interface were introduced. Subsequently, the mechanism of insulation failure influenced by metal particles at the interface was discussed, and the motion characteristics of metal particles and their mitigation measures were summarized. Following this, the insulation characteristics at the gas-solid interface in environmental-friendly insulating gases were described, and the methods for electric field regulation and flashover voltage enhancement at the interface were summarized. Finally, the research directions for gas-solid interface insulation of insulator in GIS/GIL were outlined.
Mastering the distribution pattern of surface charges during DC pre-flashover is essential for clarifying the intrinsic mechanism of charge-induced flashover. This paper investigated the surface charge distribution characteristics of epoxy resin at DC pre-flashover moment and their influences on flashover voltage magnitude based on a plate-type insulation structure. Under two testing conditions—with and without pre-deposited charges on specimen surfaces—the dynamic distribution of surface charges was captured during the process of applied voltage escalation leading to flashover. By introducing SiC-epoxy composite coatings to modify specimen surface states, the dominant charge accumulation patterns during flashover triggering and the charge accumulation modes preceding flashover occurrence were comparatively analyzed. The results show that homopolar charge accumulation predominates on specimen surfaces during voltage escalation toward flashover. The charge accumulation mode exhibites a transition phenomenon shifting from the micro-charge zone to the charge surge zone during flashover triggering. Immediately before flashover, homopolar charges nearly coveres the entire specimen surface, while the pre-deposited charges primarily influence the flashover voltage magnitude by altering the homopolar charge accumulation quantity at the pre-flashover moment.
In this paper, different types of polyurethane potting materials were developed successfully by taking propylene epoxide-tetrahydrofuran polyether or polytetrahydrofurane glycol as polymer polyols, toluene diisocyanate (TDI), diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI), and 3,3′-dimethyl-4,4′-biphenyl diisocyanate (TODI) as curing agents, and adding an appropriate amount of silica aerogel. The mechanical property, proccessability, low temperature resisitance, high temperature resistance, resistance to high and low temperature shock, and insulting property of the polyurethane potting materials were analyzed systematically. The results show that the polyurethane potting material formulated with propylene oxide-tetrahydrofuran copolymer and TODI as primary components, supplemented with silica aerogel with the mass fraction of 0.5%, exhibits outstanding processability, mechanical strength, and electrical insulation. It also demonstrates exceptional tolerance to extreme temperature fluctuations. This material achieves a glass transition temperature as low as -69.3°C and maintains a compression cold resistance coefficient of 0.54 at -60°C. Its 5% weight loss temperature reaches 302.3°C. After enduring 20 cycles of thermal shock between -65°C and 125°C, the material retains 93.5% of its tensile strength with a dimensional change rate of merely -0.6%, while preserving excellent insulation properties: volume resistivity of 4.2×1012 Ω·cm and dielectric strength of 25 kV/mm.
Thick-film heating has become a key thermal-management solution for new-energy vehicles. To meet the relevant application demands, it is necessary to develop dielectric slurries for aluminum-based thick-film heating elements. This study utilized the built-in machine learning model of the Inorganic Glass Engineer System for property prediction to assist in the development of dielectric insulating glass formulations for aluminum-based thick-film heating elements, and conducted experimental verification. The results show that the insulating glass prepared by the optimal formula can be sintered at 580℃, with a thermal expansion coefficient of 18.8×10-⁶℃-1. When the dielectric-layer thickness exceeds 110 μm, it has a breakdown voltage over 1.29 kV and a leakage current less than 0.21 mA, which can meet the usage requirements of the medium layer of aluminum-based thick-film heating elements.
To study the fiber characteristics of insulating wood pulp during the beating process and their impact on the properties of electrolytic capacitor separator, fibers with different beating degree were prepared using a Valley beater to prepare electrolytic capacitor separators, and their mechanical properties and electrical properties were tested. The results show that with the increase of beating time, the beating degree of the insulating wood pulp increase, leading to the decrease of fiber length and the increase of brooming degree. With the increase of beating degree, the surface pore structure of the prepared separators significantly decreases, while the density, tensile strength, and electric strength of the separators increase. In addition, with the increase of beating degree, the liquid absorption performance of the separators decreases, and the equivalent series resistance (ESR) per unit thickness increases.
Using styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) as the resin matrix and SiO2 as the filler, SiO2/hydrocarbon high frequency hydrocarbon copper clad laminate with low dielectric loss were prepared by hot-pressing method using a double-roll open mill and a flat vulcanizing machine. The resin film forming method and the influence of different contents and morphologies of SiO2 under the open mill film on the dielectric performance, peel strength, thermal conductivity, tensile performance, and water absorption rate of high frequency hydrocarbon copper clad laminate were explored. The results show that compared with the traditional solvent-based resin film method, the solvent-free film production using an open mill has obvious advantages in the molding of composite resins and material properties. With the increase of SiO2 content, the dielectric constant and dielectric loss of the high frequency hydrocarbon copper clad laminate increase, while the peel strength and water absorption rate decrease. Under the same particle size and filling content of SiO2, the dielectric constant, dielectric loss factor, and water absorption rate of spherical SiO2/hydrocarbon high frequency hydrocarbon copper clad laminate are lower than those of angular SiO2/hydrocarbon high frequency hydrocarbon copper clad laminate. When the mass fraction of spherical SiO2 is 75%, the comprehensive performance of the carbon-hydrogen high-frequency board is relatively superior, with a dielectric constant lower than 3.3, a dielectric loss factor of 0.002 2, and a water absorption rate lower than 0.040%.