ANASTASIA aims to replace the current insulator tapes for high power applications. The current tapes are thick, semi-rigid and show poor thermal conductivity and mechanical stability. The goal is to replace this system with a thinner flexible structure, incorporating nanofillers and/or mica flakes. The objective is to increase the field strength from 2.5-3 to 4 kV/mm, to increase the thermal conductivity from 0.3 to 0.5 W/m.°C, and to increase the thermal class from F 155°C to H 180°C.
The objective is to develop radically innovative electrical insulating tapes and process to improve the energy conversion efficiency of electrotechnical systems. It mainly addresses the electric power generation issue. Today, the energy conversion efficiency of generators is restricted by (i) thermal and (ii) electrical strength limitations due to the electrical insulator tapes themselves. The concepts of these multifunctional tapes are far behind the electrical insulating state of the art. The project aims to develop a new process chain leading to a drastic improvement of insulating tape structure homogeneity. The today’s limitations of tape come from its heterogeneous multilayer structure bringing together very different materials like glass fibre fabric, mica flakes and polymers. Enabling this homogenisation requires higher performance materials, which will be obtained by adjunct of inorganic nanofillers according to two proposed approaches: nanodielectric polymers or inorganic polymers (sol-gel). This will lead to a more robust process chain with a better productivity (+50%) and an insulating tape with enhanced performances like a higher field strength (+40%), a better thermal conduction (+60%). At the end, a much thinner tape (-30%) enabling the design of more compact generators is expected. This project can strongly impact the energy production field. It will also affect other very large markets like the industrial motor field using similar insulation tapes. The consortium of the ANASTASIA project is equally composed of industrials and research laboratories, namely two manufacturers (tape and power generator manufacturers, Von Roll and Alstom), two generator end-users (Laborelec and IREQ), four academic laboratories (University of Southhampton, University of Nottingham Trent, University of Montpellier, and Politecnico di Torino) and the CEA research institute as the coordinator.
The improvements expected for the tape are the following:
- With mica nanostructuration, a reduction of potential leakage current paths (see figure 2) and partial discharge risks leading to higher field strengths (improvement: up to +40%)
- Better thermal conduction (up to +60%) in line with a reduced tape thickness (-30%). This will facilitate the design of more compact generators.
- A new class of dielectric material of high thermal resistance fitting with Class H requirements (180 °C working temperature)