Electrical Discharge Resistant Characteristics of Epoxy Nanocomposites

This paper reports the electrical discharge resistant characteristics of epoxy nanocomposite systems with SiO
₂
and Al
₂
O
₃
nano-fillers. A comparative study is performed between unfilled epoxy systems, nanoparticle filled epoxy systems and a bimodal system containing both micrometer and nanometer sized fillers of the same material. The samples are exposed to surface discharges and the levels of surface degradation are analyzed through SEM and surface roughness measurements. Significant variations were observed in the electrical discharge resistant characteristics between the different composite systems and it is seen that the introduction of nano-fillers to epoxy is advantageous in improving the electrical discharge resistance of epoxy.