Plasma fluorination on epoxy resin surface and its effect on flashover properties

Epoxy resin is the main material of spacer in a gas insulated transmission line and other gas-insulated equipment. During long-term operation, the charge accumulates on the surface of the epoxy resin, which will distort the electric field and thus accelerate the failure of the insulation. In this paper, the surface of the epoxy resin was fluorinated by dielectric barrier discharge at different times. The surface physical, chemical, and flashover properties of the samples before and after modification were measured. The results show that the method used in this paper can graft fluorine on the surface of the sample, change the surface roughness, and make the electron trap shallower and the hole trap deeper. The appropriate modification time can reduce the charge accumulation on the surface, hinder the formation of flashover channels, and improve the surface flashover voltage, showing potential for use in the improvement of the insulating performance of insulating materials.