Reinforcement of Porcelain by Mullite Fiber for Power Applications

摘要

Porcelain insulator has a long history of being used in power transmission and distribution due to the good strength, chemical resistance capacity and mature manufacturing technology. However, there are some disadvantages of porcelain materials which could be the barrier for the development of porcelain insulators such as brittleness, which could lead to severe hurt to personnel and power station after a burst failure. In this paper, mullite fibers are used in order to improve the mechanical properties of porcelain material and further enhance the anti-burst behavior of porcelain insulators. The samples were prepared by traditional wet method for ceramic materials and several material characterization methods including XRD, SEM were employed to evaluate the reinforcement effect. The test result showed that with the addition of mullite fibers both the bending strength and the fracture toughness of porcelain materials have been largely improved. The investigation provided a meaningful pathway for further development not only for porcelain insulators but also for the power industry.