The thermal stability of nano RTV compared to RTV coatings in porcelain ceramic insulators has high thermal stability and its characteristics determine the lifespan of porcelain coated insulators in transmission power lines, especially in harsh environmental conditions.
Additionally, room temperature vulcanized (RTV) silicone rubber coating is a reliable maintenance approach to improve performance and longevity of porcelain insulators. On the other hand, the thermal decomposition behavior of polymer materials significantly affects their aging process and there are many studies on increasing the characteristics of nanocomposites by adding different types of nanoparticles.
In this article, two different types of silicone rubber RTV nanocomposites with the content of modified nano ZnO and nano SiO2 particles and pure RTV were compared in terms of thermal behavior. Modification of nanoparticles and preparation of coatings were carried out and the products were subjected to various experimental tests. Also, the activation energy was calculated from the TGA thermal gravimetric analysis test as an important factor in the thermal aging of nanocomposites.
The results of this study showed that the activation energy in ZnO and ZnO/SiO2 nanocomposites has increased compared to pure RTV. This can confirm the increased thermal aging of nano RTV compared to pure RTV and can be useful in estimating the expected lifetime of coatings, which is valuable in estimating the reliability of porcelain insulators.
