Gel as an insulating material for high-voltage technology

Compared to conventional insulating materials, gels have a number of promising properties that make them interesting for use in medium and high voltage technology. Compared to liquid insulating materials, such as mineral oil, gels are leak-proof and environmentally friendly; compared to conventional potting compounds, gels are more flexible, resistant to ageing and easy to process. The important properties of gels from a high-voltage engineering point of view are, in addition to their high electrical strength, their good thermal stability, a high degree of elasticity and their pronounced inherent tackiness, which promises considerable advantages over other insulating materials, particularly in the area of electrically highly stressed interfaces.

The Department of Systems and High-Voltage Technology has been focusing on this area since 2001. The following fundamental research objectives were pursued:

• Phase 1: 2001-2005 The behavior of silicone gel under high electric field strengths (dissertation G. Finis)
• Phase 2: 2006-2010 Micro hollow sphere filled silicone gel as insulating material in high voltage technology (dissertation O. Belz)
• Phase 3: from 2011 Field-controlling gels with non-linear conductivities
  

This research work was accompanied by application projects that were carried out in collaboration with various industrial companies. This research focus was funded by two EUROSTARS projects, among others. (E!4227 ELTGEL; E!6387 GRADCAB)