Power and Thermal Technology for Air and Space. Delivery Order 0006: Nano-filled Polymers for Electrical Insulation

The objective of this delivery order was to conduct research aimed at developing nano-filled polymers for electrical insulation. Improved polymers could be used in wiring, cabling, potting compounds, and capacitors. Specifically, this effort involved research in areas such as nano-filler dispersion, bulk sample fabrication, and thin film processing. These activities are designed to contribute to the improvement of highly stressed electrical insulation with a goal of improved mean time before failure. This program focused exclusively on the addition of Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane (POSS) nanoparticles into epoxy resin. A procedure was developed to incorporate POSS nanoparticles into a common epoxy/amine resin system at loadings over 5 wt%, where the solubility limit seems to be between 5 and 10 wt%. Dispersion of the particles was excellent in regards to optical clarity. The original document contains color images. All DTIC reproductions will be in black and white.