Effects of BN particles on surface charge of magnet wire insulation for wind power generation

In the future development of smart grid, wind power generation will be widely used as clean energy. Addition of nanoparticles into epoxy can improve the insulating properties compared with undoped material. However, due to the change of the material structure, trap characteristics and charge behaviors are altered as a consequence. This may cause electric field distortion and partial discharge which would lead to insulation breakdown. In this paper, the effect of nano-filler content on surface charge accumulation and decay behaviors of epoxy nanocomposites with BN particles is studied. Samples were prepared by dispersing nano-scale BN into epoxy by mixing with shear force. Corona charging tests were performed at room temperature with a relative humidity of ~ 40%. The charge distribution was measured by means of an electrostatic voltmeter. Obtained results show that the concentration of BN has a great effect on charge accumulation and decay. The charge polarity, charging time and charging voltage also play an important role on charge behaviors.