Polymer concrete: a versatile, low-cost material for Asian electrical infrastructure systems

This paper deals with polymer concrete, a highly-filled, low-cost composite material developed originally at Westinghouse R&D in the USA to be a versatile alternative to porcelain insulation, for a wide variety of applications. In over 20 years of field experience, polymer concrete has proven itself in a wide variety of environments all over the world. Besides insulation applications, polymer concrete is also finding extensive use in electric power sector structural applications, especially underground, where its intrinsic corrosion resistance and high mechanical strength facilitate simpler, sleeker and easily handled designs. Coupled to its versatility are its low cost and relatively easy manufacturability anywhere, using essentially local raw materials. With electric power systems in Asia poised for dramatic growth in the new millennium, polymer concrete material systems stand poised to play a major role in ensuring that those systems can be technically viable at the lowest possible cost, using indigenous raw materials.