Characteristics of Silicone Composites for High Voltage Insulations

Abstract Silicone rubber (SiR) composites have been widely used for high voltage (HV) electrical and non-electrical applications for the last three decades. To increase the long-term performance of SiR composites under diverse environmental, mechanical and electrical stresses; detailed characterization and aging analysis is required. This review article presents a comprehensive survey on SiR composites that are used in HV applications. Particular emphasis is on silicon (Si) applications, chemistry, polymerization, silicone rubber properties enhancement by addition of fillers, composite materials, engineering requirements of polymer insulants, overview of high voltage (HV) electrical insulators and their aging. In addition, this review article includes appropriate discussions concerning the influence of fillers (micro/nano-sized) on the physical, thermal, mechanical and electrical properties of base polymer. Tensile strength, elongation at break, hardness, thermal degradation, dielectric strength, surface resistivity, volume resistivity, tracking/erosion resistance, partial discharge and water immersion resistance of SiR composites are analyzed. Finally, it was inferred that in order to diversify the SiR blends with micro/nano fillers and optimize their properties for particular applications further research work must be conducted.