Study of AC Breakdown Strength of Liquid Crystal based Fluids & Improvement Mechanism

As the demand for high-performance insulation materials continues to increase in various industries, understanding the behavior and characteristics of novel dielectric materials is of prime importance. Liquid crystals, with their exceptional anisotropic and dielectric properties, offer promising avenues for enhancing the performance and efficiency of insulation systems. This study delves into the exploration of dispersion stability and AC breakdown strength of mineral oil when augmented with EBBA (N-(4-Ethyloxybenzylidene)-4-butylaniline) liquid crystals, aiming to unravel the potential benefits and applications of these innovative fluids prepared in three different concentrations 0,1 and 3 vol. %. The dispersion stability of EBBA LC based fluids is studied using Polarized Optical Microscopy (POM). AC breakdown voltage of prepared fluids is measured in a nematic temperature range of EBBA LC $\left(45^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\right)$ and the mechanism of improvement in AC BDV is developed. The results show good dispersion stability of EBBA LC in mineral oil with remarkable improvement in AC BDV of mineral oil. The developed mechanism for improvement in AC BDV in EBBA LC based fluids will provide a deeper understanding of dielectric breakdown phenomenon in fluids. Results suggests that LC base fluids are promising alternative for transformer insulation applications.