Investigation of Electrical Properties of TiO2 Nanocomposite Based Polymer

Past research has reported the challenges regarding on degradation and aging due to high localization of electric field at triple point areas of polymeric insulator. The different materials and designs of polymeric insulator have initiated the partial discharge and arching activities which eventually lead to the insulation failures. The compounding of nanomaterials in the polymer shows a promising result to overcome this problem by redistributing the uniformity of electrical field lines on the insulator. In the present work, ethylene-propylene-diene rubber (EPDM) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) is introduced as nano composites that been embedded into insulator’s housing made of 1) silicone rubber (SiR) and 2) Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) Rubber. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a semiconductor material that can be formed in different sizes either micron or nano-sized filler and has high relative permittivity that be able to reduce the high electrical stresses on high voltage equipment. Meanwhile EPDM shows good mechanical profile, excellent resistance properties and low cost. Therefore, it brings to the new opportunity to fabricate the nanocomposite based on both materials which exhibits an improved electrical properties and good distribution of electric field on polymeric outdoor insulators. In depth investigation was carried out to analyze the effect of different nano-filler loading in the compound and behavior of nanocomposites at different polymer base. An 11kV polymeric insulator is modelled to be simulated by using COMSOL Multiphysics software under dry-clean surface conditions to investigate the electric field distribution at terminal ends and along the insulator creepage path. The Electrostatics interface from the AC/DC Module is used in the evaluation of electric field distribution of insulator model correspondingly with the variations in filler percentage in the host matrix.