Partial discharge characteristics of syntactic foam filled with hollow polymer microspheres

Syntactic foam materials, due to their advantages of low densities, low water absorption, and high dielectric strengths, have significant application potential in the cores of post insulators. However, because of a large number of microbubble structures within the syntactic foam, it might decrease the partial discharge inception voltage. It is necessary to investigate the partial discharge characteristics of the foam to assess the feasibility of its internal insulation application. In this study, the syntactic foam samples with four different microsphere contents (0%–2%) were prepared, and the physical structures of the materials were characterised by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and three-dimensional computed tomography. Subsequently, finite element simulations of the electric field were performed to analyse the influence of the microsphere content and distribution on the internal electric field of the syntactic foam. The results suggested that both the microsphere content and distribution affected the partial discharge activity. When the microsphere content was low, the doping of microspheres essentially meant that more air gap defects were present, leading to a decrease in the partial discharge performance. However, when the microsphere content was high, the microspheres were distributed in a dense and orderly manner, improving the field concentration phenomenon and hence inhibiting the partial discharge to a certain extent. In conclusion, the findings of this study provide a data reference and theoretical support for the application of syntactic foam in the cores of composite post insulators.