Glass Fiber‐Reinforced Polymer Composites for Power Equipment

Fiber‐reinforced composites have been successfully used in a wide range of technological applications for decades. Fiber strength and modulus, chemical stability, and the interface bonding between the fiber and matrix are all factors that influence the mechanical performance of a fiber‐reinforced composite. Glass fiber‐reinforced polymeric composites (GFRP) were designed to be as strong as steel, stiffer than aluminum, and have a specific gravity of one‐fourth that of steel, thanks to its fiber composition and orientation. Glass fiber is a type of fiber‐reinforced plastic in which the reinforcing material is made of glass fiber. The load‐bearing insulator tubes are made of epoxy resin reinforced with electrical grade fiberglass using a wet filament‐winding technique. The compression insulators, the assembly's two primary structural elements, possess a unique non‐cylindrical form that offers them superior mechanical characteristics to typical overhead line insulators. The chapter introduces the application of GFRP in the power equipment at substation, power transmission, and distribution network.