Flashover Characteristics Of Epoxy Resin With He/CF4 Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jet Treatment

• Main Authors: Chen, Si-Le, Xu, Gui-Min, Yao, Cong-Wei, Chang, Zheng-Shi, Zhang, Guan-Jun
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2576-7208
• DOI: 10.1109/PLASMA.2017.8496157

Polymeric materials such as Epoxy resin (EP) are widely used as insulating materials in the field of electrical and electronic engineering. For enhancing the surface electric withstanding strength of EP, the samples are treated by atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) with different time interval. Helium and tetrafluoromethane mixtures are used as working gas to produce active species. The flashover characteristics of modified EP samples in vacuum, air and SF 6 are investigated. The flashover voltages have different degrees of improvement in the three atmospheres under appropriate treatment conditions. The emission spectrum of He/CF 4 APPJ indicates that fluorine species are produced during plasma process, but the specific kinds of species can not be diagnosed from the emission spectrum. The XPS spectrum shows that fluorine groups are grafted into the surface of modified EP samples. Fluorine groups in modified EP surface like -CF 2 /-CF 3 with electronegativity are regarded as one of the reasons for flashover voltages improvement. In addition, surface roughness of EP samples is increased after plasma treatment. It is also an important reason for enhanced flashover characteristics. In conclusion, APPJ treatment is considered as a promising method to enhance the flashover strength of insulating materials like EP. It has an important significance to improve the reliability and reduce the size of an insulation system.