Carbon nanotube/polymer nanocomposites: Sensing the thermal aging conditions of electrical insulation components

Carbon nanotube (CNT)/polymer composites with filler loading close to percolation threshold are demonstrated as sensor materials to monitor the thermal aging of insulation components. In order to represent the real aging conditions of the monitored component, the sensor is made of the same polymer material as the one used in the monitored component and placed in close proximity to the component. During thermal aging, the polymer matrix shrinks, leading to a slight increase of volume percentage of CNTs and a substantial decrease in resistivity of the sensors. The sensors are aged at different temperatures and the resistivity change at each temperature is fitted into the modified Arrhenius equation to yield the activation energy of the aging reactions. The activation energy obtained from the sensor signals is similar to those obtained by conventional elongation measurements and the thermal evaluation of the insulation component according to IEEE standard 275. Therefore, the resistivity value of the sensor can be used to accurately predict the remaining life of the monitored parts. These sensors provide many advantages over conventional conditioning monitoring methods, including no damage to the insulation system, real-time monitoring, facile operation, low cost, and much higher sensitivity.