Long-term AC Electrical Treeing Behaviors of Epoxy/Layered Silicate Nanocomposites Prepared by a 3-Roll Mill

Studies on the effects of layered silicate content on the AC electrical treeing and breakdown behaviors of epoxy/layered silicate nanocomposites were carried out in needle-plate electrode geometry. Wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) analysis and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observation showed that 1 wt% of the multilayered silicate was fully exfoliated into nano-sized monolayers in the epoxy matrix however, over 3 wt% of the silicate was in an intercalated state. When 1 wt% layered silicates were incorporated, an electrical tree was initiated in 439 min and propagated at a speed of 2.3 ${\mu}m$/min after applying 781.4 kV/mm, representing a decreased in starting initiation time by a factor of 11.0 and increase in propagation speed by a factor 8.2 in comparison with neat epoxy resin. These values were in great decline after the layered silicate content was increased to 3wt% which implies that the exfoliated silicate blocked the tree initiation and propagation processes effectively. However the effect was largely decreased in the intercalated state.