Abstract
The effect of the mixing ratio of spherical silica on the electrical insulation breakdown strength in an epoxy/silica composite was studied. Spherical silicas with two average particle sizes of $5{\mu}m$ and $20{\mu}m$ were mixed in different mixing ratios, and their total filling content was fixed at 60 wt%. In order to observe the dispersion of the silicas and the interfacial morphology between silica and epoxy matrix, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used. The electrical insulation breakdown strength was estimated in sphere-sphere electrodes with different insulation thicknesses of 1, 2, and 3 mm. Electrical insulation breakdown strength decreased with increasing mixing ratio of $5/20{\mu}m$ and the thickness dependence of the breakdown strength was also observed.
