Basic Investigation of the Tracking and Erosion Resistance of Silicone Syntactic Foam

The application of composite insulators with silicones as coating and shed materials is state of the art for outdoor insulation. Nevertheless, these insulators can still be improved concerning weight and costs by adding cost efficient, low-density filling materials. The materials examined in this work are hollow microspheres (HMS) which are mixed with a polymeric matrix to form syntactic foam. Among the high requirements for outdoor insulation materials, based on in-field experience tracking and erosion resistance is one of the key requirements. Therefore silicone based syntactic foam has to be examined for its tracking and erosion resistance to qualify for outdoor applications. Both liquid silicone rubber and high-temperature vulcanized silicone are examined and filled with ceramic and…