Insulating materials.

To avoid any electrical activity between parts at different potentials, insulation is

used. An ideal insulating material should possess the following properties.
1) Should have high dielectric strength.
2) Should with stand high temperature.
3) Should have good thermal conductivity
4) Should not undergo thermal oxidation
5) Should not deteriorate due to higher temperature and repeated heat cycle
6) Should have high value of resistivity ( like 1018 Ωcm)
7) Should not consume any power or should have a low dielectric loss angle δ
8) Should withstand stresses due to centrifugal forces ( as in rotating machines),
electro dynamic or mechanical forces ( as in transformers)
9) Should withstand vibration, abrasion, bending
10) Should not absorb moisture
11) Should be flexible and cheap
12) Liquid insulators should not evaporate or volatilize
Insulating materials can be classified as:

Solid,
Liquid
and Gas, and vacuum.
Solid: Used with field, armature, and transformer windings etc. The examples are:
1) Fibrous or inorganic animal or plant origin, natural or synthetic paper, wood, card
board, cotton, jute, silk etc.,
2) Plastic or resins. Natural resins-lac, amber, shellac etc., Synthetic resins-phenol
formaldehyde, melamine, polyesters, epoxy, silicon resins, bakelite, Teflon, PVC etc
3) Rubber : natural rubber, synthetic rubber-butadiene, silicone rubber, hypalon, etc.,
4) Mineral : mica, marble, slate, talc chloride etc.,
5) Ceramic : porcelain, steatite, alumina etc.,
6) Glass : soda lime glass, silica glass, lead glass, borosilicate glass
7) Non-resinous : mineral waxes, asphalt, bitumen, chlorinated naphthalene, enamel etc
Liquid: Used in transformers, circuit breakers, reactors,
rheostats, cables, capacitors etc., & for impregnation. The
examples are:
1) Mineral oil (petroleum by product)
2) Synthetic oil askarels, pyranols etc.,
3) Varnish, French polish, lacquer epoxy resin etc.,
 Gaseous: The examples are:
1) Air used in switches, air condensers, transmission and distribution lines etc.,
2) Nitrogen use in capacitors, HV gas pressure cables etc.,
3) Hydrogen though not used as a dielectric, generally used as a coolant
4) Inert gases neon, argon, mercury and sodium vapors generally used for neon sign lam
5) Halogens like fluorine, used under high pressure in cables

No insulating material in practice satisfies all the desirable

properties. Therefore a material which satisfies most of
he desirable properties must be selected.
Insulating Material Features
Asbestos • Mechanically weak, even when combined with cotton fibres
• When combined with synthetic resin, it has good mechanical strength and
thermal resistivity
• Have been manufactured in the form of wires and strip coverings,
providing high resilience and abrasion resistance
Askarels • It is non-flammable synthetic liquid, gets converted into nonexplosive
gas on decomposing with an electric arc
• Typical type used is hexachlorodiphenyl trichlorovenzine (60/40
mixture), having good viscosity, thermal stability and low pour
point
Black tape (friction • It is formed when cotton tape is applied in either one or both sides
tape) with bituminous compound, which is adhesive and insulating
• Typical usage is in replacement of protective braid of cables and as
finishing tape over rubber
Composite materials • It is formed by mixing or overlapping one or more insulating
materials, to overcome the lack in any of physical/thermal/
electrical characteristics
• Examples include polyesterin resin, asbestos paper, asbestos
polyethylene fibre
Insulating Features
Material
Cotton • It is woven from acetylates cotton, which has high resistance to heat
fibre/tape and are less hygroscopic in nature than regular cotton
• It is fibrous, absorbing moisture, which requires careful
impregnation
• It is used in wrapping of armature and field coils
Epoxide • Used in laminations as adhesive and in varnishing
thermoset • Used in encapsulating of small transformers
ting resins • Used in casting and potting of laminations
Fibrous • It has a good space factor, with high resistivity, thermal
glass tape conductivity and tensile strength, generally used as class B
insulation
• It is susceptible to abrasive damage
• It is used in windings of induction machines and field coils of DC
machines
Mica • It has high resistance to heat, dielectric strength
• It is brittle to be used alone, and hence used with varnish, shellac,
bitumen, silicon, resin or with polyester or synthetic bending
• Silicon blended with mica is used in class B insulation, whereas
silicon bonded with mica is used in class H insulation
Insulating Features
Material
Micanite • It consists of wrapped mica splitting, dried in air along with paper/
sheet cloth/glass for support and bonding
(Micafoliu • Air is removed by moulding into conductors, rolling, compressing
m) between heating the plates, solidifying the mica
• It is used in armature slots and coils of DC machines
Nylon and • They possess considerably high tensile strength and enhanced
Terylene dielectric properties – with a breakdown voltage of 80 kV/mm for
varnished paper
Petroleum • It has good dielectric strength, when they are not contaminated and
based devoid of moisture
mineral • It has good chemical stability, viscosity, expansion coefficient and is
oils resistant to sludging caused by oxidation
Polyamide • It has high mechanical strength, space factor
s (nylon • It has high resistance to temperature
tapes) • It has good abrasive resistance, could withstand wear and tear
Insulating Features
Material
Paper/Pre • It is made of cellulose based materials compressed in high pressure
ss boards to form piles
• It is used in winding, cables, slots of rotating machines and in
transformers
• It is also used as dielectric material besides mica in capacitor
PVC tape • After it is plasticized, it can be employed for insulation
• It is flexible and is used in cables and wires
Rubber • It is made of unvulcanized rubber, which is vulcanized with rubber
tape insulation by applying pressure forming a solid sheath
• It is water resistant and when covered with a tape is resistant
against abrasion, wear and tear
• It is used in cables
Silicones • Semi-inorganic materials with alternate Si and O atoms
• Highly heat resistant, water-repellent and anti-corrosive class H
insulators with good heat dissipation
• Used in dry (oil-less) transformers, traction motors, mill motors and
miniature aircraft machines
Insulating Features
Material
Silk tape • It has high tensile strength, but cost is very high
• It is used after impregnation with varnish/insulating oil
Synthetic resin • The synthetic material used is made up of nylon, vinyl acetate
enamel • It is used in windings of machines
Wood • It is used along with impregnation of synthetic resin in laminations
• It is used as coil support, spacers, packing blocks