Eco-Functional Epoxy Composites from Recycled ZnO and Tire Rubber: A Study on Breakdown Voltage Enhancement

Published: 24 November 2025| Version 1 | DOI: 10.17632/4cb6rdm4w9.1
Contributor:
Bystrík Dolník

Description

This study investigates the potential use of waste tire rubber particles and zinc oxide recovered from electric arc furnace dust as environmentally responsible fillers in epoxy resin intended for high-voltage insulation applications. Four material variants were fabricated: pure epoxy, epoxy with 10 wt% ZnO, epoxy with 10 wt% tire rubber, and epoxy with 20 wt% tire rubber. The breakdown voltage of each composite was measured under AC voltage. Results indicate that the incorporation of recycled fillers influences the breakdown voltage depending on both the type and concentration of filler. The 10 wt% ZnO-filled epoxy exhibited a moderate enhancement in breakdown voltage compared to pure epoxy. Conversely, tire rubber fillers introduced localized field distortion and interfacial voids, resulting in a gradual reduction of breakdown voltage. The results demonstrate that ZnO derived from metallurgical waste can serve as a functional additive for dielectric performance improvement, while waste rubber provides an effective pathway for the circular reuse of polymeric materials, albeit with trade-offs in electrical endurance. The proposed approach aligns with circular economy principles, offering a sustainable alternative for future high-voltage insulation materials. The directories contain time records of the applied voltage on the samples until breakdown. The time record is in a text file in CSV format. In the CSV file, the first twelve lines represent the header. The remaining lines contain two columns separated by a comma. The first column represents the time in seconds, and the second column is the voltage value in volts. Directory designation and meaning of abbreviations: Ex700: pure epoxy (reference, thickness = 0.7 mm) Ex700+ZnO10: epoxy + 10 wt% ZnO (EAF dust) Ex900: pure epoxy (reference, thickness = 0.9 mm) Ex900+TR10: epoxy + 10 wt% tire rubber Ex900+TR20: epoxy + 20 wt% tire rubber There are two text files in the Scripts directory: The first file, named ubr_auto_1.1.m, is a script for GNU Octave 7.1 and higher that automatically reads data stored in a CSV file in a cycle and calculates the R.M.S. voltage for each half-period. It then draws two graphs from the loaded data and saves them to two SVG files. The second file, named Vbr_EX_and_R10_and_R20.py, is a Python 3 script used to calculate the Weibull distribution, alpha and beta coefficients, IEC correlation coefficient, and confidence interval for measured AC breakdown voltages.

Files

Steps to reproduce

The data was obtained by measuring the voltage on the high-voltage divider using a four-channel oscilloscope and archiving it to a USB stick. The AC voltage applied to the sample was continuously increased until the moment of electrical breakdown.

Institutions

Technicka univerzita v Kosiciach

Categories

Rubber, Epoxy-Based Composite, ZnO, Electrical Breakdown, Weibull Distribution, Electrical Insulator, Circular Economy

Funders

Licence