Permittivity in Epoxy based Syntactic Foam Nanocomposites

Abstract

Following previous work, this paper focuses on a new type of epoxy based syntactic foam, a lightweight material which is known to electrical engineering since the seventies, but so far couldn't live up to it's potential in high voltage applications. This is mainly because of the basic structure of syntactic foam, which provides closed cell porosity. The porosity, which gives syntactic foam its weight reduction, unfortunately leads to shortcomings in terms of dielectric strength and PD resistance. However: with recent advances in material science and the dawn of nanotechnology, there is a new take on this unique material, which can be used as insulating material for HV-applications, where weight is of vital importance. Four different types of epoxy based syntactic foam nanocomposites are presented, whose respective dielectric behavior were studied with help of dielectric spectroscopy. The measurement results, with emphasis on the complex permittivity, are presented in this work. Also the advantages and shortcomings of the various composites are discussed, as they are compared with both unmodified syntactic foam, as well as the unmodified base epoxy.