Investigation of MQ Resin Enhanced Material Used for On-Site Insulating Bare Conductors

Abstract

Bare conductors were widely used in the early power distribution system. However, without an insulation layer, it can pose unexpected safety issues. To solve this problem in an effective and economical way, on-site insulating the bare conductors is highly desirable. Unlike the traditional silicone insulating material loaded with high content of inorganic fillers, silicone material reinforced by MQ resin has suitable viscosity to satisfy the requirement of on-site insulating. Benefiting from MQ resin, the formula proposed has excellent mechanical, electrical, and aging properties. It can be observed that the presence of MQ resin is beneficial for mechanical properties because of its core-shell double-layer spherical structure. Furthermore, owing to this special structure, it improves the dispersion of alumina trihydrate (ATH) and enhances the electrical properties of the composites. Although the presence of MQ resin may lead to a slightly negative effect on the thermal property, it can greatly improve flame retardancy by the compounding of a novel Pt catalyst system and ATH. As for the hydrothermal aging performance, the elongation at break of the sample is greatly improved by the addition of MQ resin. Meanwhile, a feasible measure is also proposed to solve the lightning-induced breakage problem of insulated conductors. The results of this paper are helpful for the investigation and application of on-site insulating material for bare conductors.