Silicone Rubber Insulators and Composite Material Performance
Summary
Silicone rubber insulators have become the predominant choice for high-voltage transmission systems owing to their excellent hydrophobicity, lightweight construction and resistance to environmental ageing. At their core, these devices employ a polymeric elastomeric sheath—most commonly high-temperature vulcanised (HTV) silicone—bonded to a fibreglass or epoxy rod. The composite formulation is tailored through the incorporation of inorganic fillers and coupling agents to enhance thermal conductivity, mechanical strength, dielectric performance and resistance to tracking, erosion and corona discharge. Under field conditions, the retention of surface hydrophobicity minimises wetting and pollution flashover, while robust filler–matrix interactions mitigate chain scission and surface degradation under thermal, ultraviolet and hydrothermal stresses. The global significance of these insulators extends from coastal regions exposed to salt fog to arid deserts and cold climates, where service reliability and extended lifespan are critical. Advances in material science now focus on nanoscale additives, novel coupling chemistries and accelerated ageing protocols to further optimise performance and predict long-term behaviour.
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Silicone Rubber Insulators and Composite Material Performance publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in silicone rubber insulators and composite material performance across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Composite insulator: A high-voltage insulator comprising an elastomeric polymeric sheath bonded to a rigid core, designed to resist electrical breakdown and environmental degradation.
Hydrophobicity: The property of a material surface to repel water, crucial for preventing continuous wetting and reducing the risk of pollution flashover.
Breakdown strength: The maximum electric field a dielectric material can withstand without undergoing electrical failure, typically expressed in kilovolts per millimetre (kV mm⁻¹).
Dielectric loss: The energy dissipated as heat in a dielectric material when subjected to an alternating electric field; lower dielectric loss improves insulation efficiency.
Filler–matrix interaction: The interfacial bonding and compatibility between inorganic filler particles and the polymer matrix that governs composite mechanical, thermal and electrical properties.
References
- Review of the Performance of High-Voltage Composite Insulators. Polymers (2022).
- Performance of silicone rubber composites using boron nitride to replace alumina tri‐hydrate. High Voltage (2020).
- Research on the long‐time operation performance of composite insulator shed hydrophobicity under hydrothermal conditions. High Voltage (2018).
- Electrical Strength and Physicochemical Performances of HTV Silicone Rubber under Salt-Fog Environment with DC Energized. Polymers (2020).
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