Here at Geartech BR we work with some electrical insulators that are mainly used in electric motors, but other products can also be used. And speaking of that, we will cover in this article what are insulating materials. Keep reading to find out more.
Insulating materials are materials that inhibit the transmission of heat, electrical current or noise.
All insulating materials have a negative temperature resistance coefficient and as such the resistivity is reduced with increasing temperature.
The function of the insulator is of paramount importance, because without it no electrical machine can work, most of the breakdowns in the field of electrical engineering are due to the failure of the insulation.
The importance of insulators is increasing in everyday life, as there are a multitude of types of insulators available on the market.
Selecting the right type of insulating material is very important because the life of the equipment depends on the type of material used.
Electrical insulators are used to obstruct the flow of current.
They form ionic bonds and the low conductivity and high resistivity materials are available in solid, liquid, gas form like plastic used for plugs, insulating oil used in transformer, etc.
These materials have very high resistance, so the flow of electric current requires an extremely high voltage like kilo or megavolts to send a few milliamps of current through them.
Insulators are mainly used for storage and also in all domestic and commercial electrical equipment to insulate the conductor from earth.
What are insulating materials: basics
Electrical insulators are materials that have valence electrons of eight or closer to eight.
When valence electrons are eight, obviously the atom is in a stable condition and they offer very high resistance as there are no free electrons, also the forbidden gap between conduction and valence band is larger.
Atoms such as oxygen, which have only six electrons in a valence electron, can also be classified as insulators, but the insulating properties of oxygen are less than those of fluorine and neon.
Atoms with eight electrons and seven electrons in an outermost orbit behave as a good insulator compared to atoms with six valence electrons.
All insulators, when used, must not only behave as insulators over a wide electrical voltage range, but must be mechanically resistant.
They must be unaffected by heat, atmosphere, chemical effects and must be free from deformation due to aging.
Therefore, before selecting an insulating material, it is absolutely essential to know the various properties and their effects on insulation.
The various properties of insulating materials are electrical properties, visual properties, mechanical, thermal and chemical properties.
We share here just some information with you about what insulating materials are. We know that much of the information is technical and may generate some doubts.
If you need some electrical insulating material but don’t know exactly which one is right for you, please contact us. We will indicate the ideal material for your type of need!
