Improved electric field distribution within bushing insulation by EP/GO nanocomposites with reduced temperature coefficient of conductivity

Abstract

Field grading within the dry-type bushing insulation presents a major challenge for DC applications due to the highly temperature-dependent conductivity of the epoxy resin insulation. An electric field regulation method based on the epoxy/graphene oxide (EP/GO) nanocomposites with the reduced temperature coefficient of conductivity is proposed and investigated in this paper. DC conductivity of EP/GO nanocomposites with different loadings of 0, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.5 wt% at various temperature are investigated. Trap level distributions are characterized by the isothermal discharge current (IDC) method to clarify the conduction mechanism. Obtained results show that more shallower traps are introduced and the thermal activation energies of the nanocomposites are reduced by the GO nanoparticles, indicating that the temperature coefficient of conductivity of the nanocomposites is reduced. The improvement of electric field distribution within the bushing insulation under operating voltage is verified when the EP/GO nanocomposite with an appropriate content is employed, based on an established ±800 kV valve-side bushing for a converter transformer. However, more defects will be introduced by the GO fillers with excessive content (0.5 wt%), resulting in an obvious reduction of the DC breakdown strength.