World's First at Cigre 2012: Wacker Presents Solvent-Free Silicone Coating for Insulators
Munich - WACKER, the Munich-based chemical group, will, for the first time, showcase a solvent-free silicone coating for electrical insulators at CIGRE 2012. The one-component emulsion called POWERSIL® 570 PLUS is applied by spraying and then cures to form a water-repellent silicone coating. The coating considerably increases the reliability and fail-safe characteristics of insulators for overhead T&D power lines. This year's International Council on Large Electric Systems (CIGRE) exhibition takes place in Paris from August 27 through 31.
Porcelain and glass insulators are often used to insulate overhead power lines. However, these kinds of insulators can quickly get dirty in coastal areas and industrial regions with high air pollution, which may have serious consequences in terms of safety. Moist dirt, dust or salt deposits can impair the insulating capacity of such materials, due to electrical discharges or even so-called pollution flashovers. To avoid this scenario, glass and porcelain insulators must be cleaned regularly, which is complex and expensive.
That is why WACKER's POWERSIL® product range for applications in the transmission and distribution (T&D) industry has, for many years, included specialty silicone coatings for glass and porcelain insulators. Silicones are not just excellent insulators, they are also highly hydrophobic (water-repellent). For insulators, this water-repellent effect plays a key role. It enables silicone coatings to reliably prevent the formation of wet pollution layers. Thus, the typical flashover scenario - wet film layer with an increased leakage current, dry band arcing, bridging of individual insulator sheds and finally the electrical flashover - is impossible.
With POWERSIL® 570 PLUS, WACKER is launching the world's first insulator coating based on a patented silicone-in-water emulsion technology onto the market. The ready-to-use product is solvent-free and does not contain tin components. Its viscosity displays a strong dependence on its shear rate, which leads to perfect spray behavior. The emulsion coating can be applied in a single spray cycle in the desired final layer thickness.
POWERSIL® 570 PLUS adheres to ceramic and glass substrates without adhesion promoters and displays excellent hydrophobic properties. Insulators coated with POWERSIL® 570 PLUS pass the 1,000-hour salt-fog test as per IEC 62217. This test is considered the most important criterion for the safe outdoor use of electrical insulating materials in the T&D sector.
Visit WACKER at CIGRE 2012, Booth 268.
Insulators coated with POWERSIL® 570 PLUS during a salt-fog test. WACKER's solvent-free silicone coating is permanently erosion-resistant and thus suitable for outdoor use in the T&D sector. (Photo: Wacker Chemie AG)
For further information, please contact:
Wacker Chemie AG
Media Relations & Information
Florian Degenhart
Tel. +49 89 6279-1601
Fax: +49 89 6279-2877
florian.degenhart@wacker.com
The company in brief:
WACKER is a globally active chemical company with some 17,200 employees and annual sales of around Euros4.91 billion (2011).
WACKER has a global network of 24 production sites, 19 technical competence centers and 53 sales offices.
WACKER SILICONES
Silicone fluids, emulsions, rubber and resins; silanes; pyrogenic silicas; thermoplastic silicone elastomers
WACKER POLYMERS
Polyvinyl acetate and vinyl acetate copolymers in the form of dispersible polymer powders, dispersions, solid resins and solutions used as binders for construction chemicals, paints and coatings, adhesives, plasters, textiles and nonwovens, as well as for polymeric materials based on renewable resources
WACKER BIOSOLUTIONS
Biotech products such as cyclodextrins, cysteine and biologics, as well as fine chemicals and PVAc solid resins
WACKER POLYSILICON
Polysilicon for the semiconductor and photovoltaic industries
Siltronic Hyperpure silicon wafers and monocrystals for semiconductor components
Wacker Chemie AG
Hanns-Seidel-Platz 4
81737 München, Germany
www.wacker.com
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