Analysis of Surface Tracking of Micro and Nano Size Alumina Filled Silicone Rubber for High Voltage AC Transmission

This paper discusses the experimental results in an effort to understand the tracking and erosion resistance of the micro and nano size Al2O3 filled silicone rubber (SIR) material which has been studied under the AC voltages, with ammonium chloride as a contaminant, as per IEC 60587 test procedures. The characteristic changes in the tracking resistance of the micro and nano size filled specimens were analyzed through leakage current measurement and the eroded masses were used to evaluate the relative erosion and tracking resistance of the composites. The fundamental, third and fifth harmonic of the leakage current during the tracking study were analyzed using moving average current technique. It was observed that the harmonic components of leakage current show good correlation with the tracking and erosion resistance of the material. The thermogravimetry- derivative thermo gravimetric (TG-DTG) studies were performed to understand the thermal degradation of the composites. The physical and chemical studies were carried out by using scanning electron microscope (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) and Fourier Transform Infra-red (FTIR) Spectroscopy. The obtained result indicated that the performance of nano filled SIR was better than the micro filled SIR material when the % wt. of filler increased.