Experimental Study of Compatibility between the Eco-friendly Insulation Mixed Gas CFSOF/N and EPDM and CR Materials.

As a greenhouse gas with strong global warming potential, the use of SF needs to be reduced as much as possible. Researching environmentally friendly insulation (EFI) gases to replace SF in power electrical equipment is an effective way to reduce its usage. CFSOF/N, as a newly proposed EFI gas, has certain potential to replace SF. Compatibility of CFSOF/N gas with rubber sealing materials commonly used in electrical equipment is still unknown. In this article, the compatibility of CFSOF/N with the ethylene-propylene-diene monomer (EPDM) and chloroprene rubber (CR) was investigated experimentally. It was found that CFSOF/N would slightly decompose under the influence of EPDM and CR rubber under certain conditions. The surface morphology of EPDM changed slightly under the influence of CFSOF/N, and it was similar to the influence of SF. While the surface morphology of CR deteriorated significantly with obvious defects. The mechanical properties of EPDM were not significantly affected by CFSOF, which is similar to the influence of SF. But CR was affected greatly by CFSOF gas. Permanent deformation compression and surface morphology are two effective indicators for characterizing the compatibility between gas and rubber sealing materials. This research provides a reference for the application of CFSOF/N as a new EFI gas in power equipment.