Magnetic field dual responsive blueberry-like microsphere achieving targeted, multiple-cyclic, long-term self-healing against electrical damage in insulating materials

Abstract

Polymer insulation materials are subjected to a combination of electromagnetic fields, mechanical stresses, long-term light exposure, ambient temperature and other operating conditions that produce mechanical and electrical tree damage which lead to insulation failure. Self-healing technology is a fundamental solution to this problem. However, effective long-term self-healing of mechanical and electrical tree damage to insulating materials is extremely challenging. To address this issue, this work reports a magnetic field dual responsive blueberry-like microsphere (MFDR-BLMS) that makes a breakthrough in the long-term self-healing of mechanical and electrical damage. The microspheres are attracted to the vulnerable area of the insulating material by the directional magnetic field. When the damage come into contact with the microspheres, the high thermal conductivity microspheres as a whole rapidly melt and fill the damage channels under the action of electromagnetic induction heating. This method achieves a magnetically dual-action, non-contact, long-term effective self-healing of mechanical and electrical tree damage after photothermal aging of insulation materials. This is expected to eliminate the requirement for human contact during the repair process under live conditions and provides a new technological idea for the industrial application of self-healing materials for electrical insulation.