Epoxy-glass-mica Layered Composites with Nanoparticle Fillers Incorporated by Air-brush Technique

Abstract

Three-component electrical insulating composites (epoxy-glass-mica systems) represent key electrical insulating materials for high-voltage applications, which are produced in a very wide range of variants and still represent materials suitable for further innovations and improvements. The improvement of these composites can be achieved by incorporating different types of nanofillers as a fourth component of the composite, as is the subject of presented research. As well as the selection of a suitable nanofiller and its level of filling, the proper dispersion of nanoparticles in the volume of the polymer is crucial in terms of the resulting composite properties. For this reason, this paper discusses the usage of the air-brush technique for a uniform deposition of nanoparticles. Epoxy-glass-mica prepregs and fillers based on boron nitride, aluminium oxide, and halloysite nanotubes were used for preparation of the layered composites. Comparison of the dielectric analyses results for the reference composite and the composites with fillers incorporated by the air-brush technique revealed that certain differences in volume resistivity, dissipation factor, and parameters related to the occurrence of partial discharges have been achieved.