To endow strain sensors with superhydrophobicity may be a promising approach to improve the infrastructure safety in harsh environments.

An investigation of the relationship between the microstructure parameters and thermomechanical properties of epoxy resin can provide a scientific basis for the optimization of epoxy systems. In this paper, the thermomechanical properties of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA)/methyl tetrahydrophthalic anhydride (MTHPA) and DGEBA/nadic anhydride (NA) were calculated and tested by the method of molecular dynamics (MD) simulation combined with experimental verification. The effects of anhydride curing agents on the thermomechanical properties of epoxy resin were investigated. The results of the simulation and experiment showed that the thermomechanical parameters (glass transition temperature (T_g) and Young’s modulus) of the DGEBA/NA system were higher than those of the DGEBA/MTHPA system. The simulation results had a good agreement with the experimental data, which verified the accuracy of the crosslinking model of epoxy resin cured with anhydride curing agents. The microstructure parameters of the anhydride-epoxy system were analyzed by MD simulation, including bond-length distribution, synergy rotational energy barrier, cohesive energy density (CED) and fraction free volume (FFV). The results indicated that the bond-length distribution of the MTHPA and NA was the same except for C–C bonds. Compared with the DGEBA/MTHPA system, the DGEBA/NA system had a higher synergy rotational energy barrier and CED, and lower FFV. It can be seen that the slight change of curing agent structure has a significant effect on the synergy rotational energy barrier, CED and FFV, thus affecting the T_g and modulus of the system.

Filled high thermal conductivity epoxy composite solves the problem of the low thermal conductivity of the epoxy resin itself, but the addition of the thermal conductive filler reduces the mechanical properties of the composite, which limits its application in the field of high voltage insulation. In this work, carboxyl-terminated butadiene nitrile liquid rubber (CTBN) was used to toughen the boron nitride-epoxy hybrid system, and the effects of different contents of CTBN on the mechanical properties, thermal conductivity, glass transition temperature, thermal stability, and dielectric properties of the composites were investigated. The results showed that when the content of CTBN was 5–15 wt.%, the CTBN formed a dispersed island structure in the epoxy resin matrix. The toughness of the composite increased by about 32%, the breakdown strength was improved, and the thermal conductivity was about 160% higher than that of pure epoxy resin. As the CTBN content increased, the glass transition temperature and thermal stability of the composite decreased and the dielectric constant and the dielectric loss increased. When the CTBN content is 10–15 wt.%, a toughened epoxy composite material with better comprehensive properties is obtained.

Partial discharge (PD) detection and analysis plays a crucial role for acceptance testing and condition monitoring of power cables. Various aspects are related to PD in power cables from theory to practice. This paper first summarizes the PD mechanism and models used for PD analysis in power cables. Afterwards, PD detection is addressed in the aspects of off-line test, on-line test, and sensors. PD analysis is discussed in detail. Specifically, related quantities and algorithms for PD analysis are outlined. PD characteristics with affecting factors, e.g., dielectric type, load, and applied voltage are discussed. Experience on PD development trend with measurements in field is analyzed. Based on the comprehensive review, challenges of PD detection and analysis along a power cable are proposed.

Investigating the relationship between microstructure and macroscopic properties of epoxy resin (EP) materials for high-voltage insulation at the molecular level can provide theoretical guidance for the synthetic design of EP. Here, using diglycidyl ether (DGEBA) as the resin matrix and methyl tetrahydrophthalic anhydride (MTHPA) as the curing agent, a set of crosslinked EP molecular models at different curing stages were constructed based on the proposed crosslinking method. We studied the influences of crosslinking density on micro-parameters and macro-properties employing molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The results indicate that crosslinking of DGEBA/MTHPA is a contraction and exothermic process. The structural parameters and macroscopic properties are closely related to the degree of crosslinking. With the increase of crosslinking density, the mean square displacement (MSD) of the system decreases, and the segment motion in the models is weakened gradually, while, the fractional free volume (FFV) first decreases and then increases. In addition, the thermal and mechanical properties of DGEBA/MTHPA have a significant dependence on the crosslinking density. Increasing crosslinking density can improve the glass transition temperature (T_g), reduce the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), and enhances the static mechanical properties of DGEBA/MTHPA system. Furthermore, the relationship between microparameters and properties has been fully investigated. Free volume is an important factor that causes thermal expansion of DGEBA/MTHPA. Moreover, there is a negative correlation between MSD and mechanical moduli. By elevating temperature, the decline in mechanical moduli may be due to the exacerbated thermal motion of the molecules and the increasing MSD values.