How does epoxy resin impart high mechanical strength and excellent flame retardancy to corrugated insulators?
Publish Time: 2025-08-20
In dry-type transformers, the heart of modern power systems, insulators play a crucial role. They serve not only as the "skeleton" supporting live conductors but also as the "guardian" isolating high voltage and ensuring safety. Corrugated pillar insulators, manufactured using DMC/BMC epoxy resin, boast a unique structural design and advanced material technology, creating an insulation barrier for power transmission that balances aesthetics with innovation. Though hidden deep within the equipment, they silently and reliably safeguard the smooth flow of electricity.Their aesthetic is primarily reflected in their precise, regular geometric form, imbued with a sense of industrial design. The overall shape of the corrugated pillar insulators is not a simple cylinder, but rather a series of regularly arranged sheds (waves) stacked axially. These sheds, resembling layers of petals or waves, not only break up monotony but also create a "structural beauty" born from functional requirements. The spacing, diameter, and inclination of the sheds are precisely calculated to optimize creepage distances and electrical clearances. DMC/BMC epoxy resin materials are precision molded to create a smooth, porcelain-like surface with a uniform color (typically light gray, off-white, or black), free of bubbles and impurities, showcasing the "beauty of craftsmanship" born from high-standard production. When multiple insulators are mounted side by side on the transformer bobbin, their uniform arrangement and smooth, undulating contours create a rigorous and orderly industrial landscape, conveying the precision and reliability of the equipment within. This aesthetic embodies the seamless integration of function and form, with every wave contributing to enhanced electrical performance.The core of its "novelty" lies in the perfect integration of material selection and structural design. DMC (bulk molding compound) and BMC (bulk molding compound) are high-performance thermoset composite materials composed of epoxy resin, glass fiber, mineral fillers, and a curing agent. This material endows insulators with novel and exceptional properties: extremely high mechanical strength, reliably supporting the weight of the conductor and short-circuit electrodynamic forces; excellent electrical insulation properties, enabling long-term stable operation at high voltages and preventing breakdown; outstanding heat resistance and flame retardancy, meeting the oil-free and fireproof safety requirements of dry-type transformers; and excellent weather and aging resistance, ensuring long-term operational reliability. Its "corrugated" structure is key to its novelty: the sheds significantly increase the leakage path (creepage distance) along the insulator surface, effectively preventing surface flashover in humid and dirty environments, significantly improving the insulator's safety margin under complex operating conditions. This novel combination of advanced composite materials and a shed design that optimizes electric field distribution is the fruit of modern insulation technology.The novelty also lies in its high degree of customizability. Dry-type transformers are used in diverse applications, with varying voltage levels, current levels, and installation spaces. Therefore, insulators must be customized to meet specific requirements. These include varying heights, outer diameters, number and shape of sheds, mounting hole locations, and electrical parameters (such as rated voltage, power frequency withstand voltage, and impulse withstand voltage). Manufacturers can flexibly adjust DMC/BMC formulations and mold designs based on customer drawings or technical requirements to produce perfectly matched insulators. This innovative, tailor-made service ensures the insulators perfectly fit within the overall transformer design, maximizing their support and insulation performance.From an application perspective, the novelty of corrugated support insulators lies in their comprehensive support for the safe, compact, and efficient operation of dry-type transformers. They replace traditional ceramic insulators with a lighter weight, improved impact resistance, and resistance to shattering. Their superior overall performance enables more compact dry-type transformer designs while maintaining a higher safety rating. They are widely used in high-rise buildings, subways, hospitals, data centers, and other locations with stringent fire safety requirements.In short, dry-type transformer corrugated support insulators, with their aesthetic appeal, embodied by the geometric rhythm of their regular corrugated sheds and the smooth texture of their DMC/BMC materials, and their novelty, embodied by their high-performance composite materials, high strength, high insulation, and high flame retardancy, along with their corrugated structure's optimized creepage distance, have become an indispensable insulating foundation for modern power equipment. Their aesthetic appeal lies in their precise structure and exquisite craftsmanship; their novelty lies in the ultimate in safe insulation, achieved through the ingenuity of materials science and electric field engineering. Although a silent support component, their sturdy construction and reliable performance silently safeguard the safety and stability of the power system with every flow of current.
