Regular Papers
Preparation and Characterization of Polyurethane/Carbon/Organoclay Composite for Coating of Aluminum Conductor Overhead Lines
2020 Volume 18 Pages 62-69
Details
2020 Volume 18 Pages 62-69
Electrical transmission overhead lines use an aluminum conductor in services. However, protection of the aluminum conductor from corrosion has to be considered. Hence, an extensive experimental work was done to prepare the composite coating of the aluminum conductor. Three types of polyurethane composites were fabricated with different fillers (5 wt% carbon and 5 wt% organoclay) and were characterized. The composites were polyurethane/carbon (PC), polyurethane/organoclay (PClay), and polyurethane/carbon/organoclay (PCClay). Thermogravimetry analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were conducted to obtain thermal properties and chemical bonding of the composites. To obtain the corrosion resistance, salt spray tests were applied. To obtain hydrophobicity properties, the contact angle between water and the composites was measured. Measurements of composites relative permittivity was conducted to obtain dielectric properties. A water vapor permeability test was conducted to obtain the rate of water/gas vapor discharge. Finally, an adhesion test was conducted to obtain adhesion performance according to the ASTM D3359 standard. Based on characterization, PCClay had better characters to be used as an overhead aluminum coating material followed by PC and PClay.
