Acta Mechanica Slovaca 2021, 25(2):20-28 | DOI: 10.21496/ams.2021.017

Optimizing Performance of Porcelain Insulators: How does Particle Size Influence Dielectric and Mechanical Strengths?

Temitope Ologunwa¹, Tolulope Akinbogun¹, Robert Frischer², Isah Kashim¹, Kamil Kuca², Ondrej Krejcar^{2, *}, Oluwaseun Fadeyi^{2, 3}

¹ Industrial Design Department, Federal University of Technology, P.M.B 704, Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria

² Center for Basic and Applied Research, Faculty of Informatics and Management, University of Hradec Kralove, Rokitanskeho 62, Hradec Kralove, 500 03, Czech Republic

³ Department of Geology, Faculty of Geography and Geoscience, University of Trier, Universitätsring 15, 54296 Trier, Germany

Porcelain insulators are mostly created from the combination of the particles of Clay, Silica, Kaolin, and Feldspar. This implies that different particle sizes contribute to the insulating properties of the materials. In this paper, we attempt to create a set of model porcelain materials by critically analysing the particle sizes that are most likely to yield the best insulator results. Materials sourced from Edo State, Nigeria were processed to produce Porcelain insulator samples. For each of the component minerals, a 65g mass was compacted and pressed at 500 Psi (3.4 KN) into a steel cylindrical mould via hydraulic press, this was closely followed by firing at 1200°C. Porosity, bulk density, insulation volume resistivity, as well as dielectric strength, and their relationship with particle sizes were evaluated. Results obtained showed that porosity of the Porcelain materials shared a direct relation with particle sizes, while the bulk density showed an inverse relationship. It was also observed that the 150 µm particles yielded the most effective insulators, given higher insulation volume resistivity and dielectric strength. Altering particle size from 150 µm tends to lower the insulation volume resistivity and dielectric strength.

Keywords: Particle Size, Porcelain Insulator, Porosity, Bulk Density, Dielectric Strength

Received: March 29, 2021; Accepted: April 19, 2021; Published: June 25, 2021  Show citation