EPRI polymer concrete workshop, Palo Alto, California, March 14--15, 1977. Special report

Technical Report · Fri Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1977

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/7087670· OSTI ID:7087670

The purpose of the workshop described was to exchange information on experiences and knowledge of polymer concretes, their application as an electrical insulating material, identify requirements of electric utilities, and attempt to outline a program for future development of this material. Formulations, manufacturing methods, testing procedures and designs of insulators were discussed. A new material, which has the EPRI trade name of POLYSIL, was described as a replacement for electrical porcelain. Porcelain is presently used for indoor and outdoor applications. POLYSIL was revealed as a low energy intensive material requiring less than one-fourth the processing energy of porcelain, with less than half the finished product cost. It has twice the dielectric strength and one-half the dielectric constant of electrical porcelain. Also, it exceeds the mechanical strength of presently produced electrical porcelain, is castable in simple molds, and can be produced in large cross-sections, as it has a very low exotherm during its curing stage. It was agreed that testing of POLYSIL as an insulating material should address the concerns involving impact strength, weathering degradation, attack by environmental elements (algae growth), and cracking. An external coating to improve surface properties was discussed. Utilities should help decide what types of tests they prefer and aid in field testing the polymer concrete on their systems. Participants also agreed that every effort should be made to keep the basic material development going, as it appears that knowledge has only been developed on a few formulations and their applications. The possibilities for application look much broader for the future.

• Research Organization: Electric Power Research Inst., Palo Alto, Calif. (USA)
• OSTI ID: 7087670
• Report Number(s): EPRI-EL-492-SR
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
360403 -- Materials-- Polymers & Plastics-- Mechanical Properties-- (-1987)
360404* -- Materials-- Polymers & Plastics-- Physical Properties-- (-1987)
AGING
BUILDING MATERIALS
COMPOSITE MATERIALS
CONCRETES
CRACKS
DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES
IMPACT STRENGTH
MATERIALS
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
POLYMERS