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News / Innovations
Silicones in the focus of the Wacker conference
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New materials and production methods in the field of silicones were two of the main topics of the "Conference for Energy Transmission & Distribution". On March 17, 2010 the company Wacker Chemie had invited to deal with this topic from different perspectives. DESMA was also given the opportunity to hold an inspiring lecture - and to make the developments in elastomer technology more accessible to the large and interested audience.
Goal of this conference was to present new developments in the world of silicones and to discuss them. The audience comprised partners from the energy industry, manufacturers of power installations and energy components as well as university representatives. All in all, 50 guests coming from industry and science could be welcomed in addition to the organizers and guest speakers.
Silicone elastomers in the high-voltage and medium-voltage area
Following the welcome address of the organizers, Dr. Hans-Jörg Winter, the Technical Manager in the sector industrial solutions of Wacker Chemie, opened the conference with his lecture. Here he emphasized the big advantages of silicone elastomers for insulators and coatings. Especially in comparison to other customary materials for the high-voltage and medium-voltage area, these are remarkable in terms of air diffusion of the material and its hydrophobic properties. Furthermore, Dr. Winter went into details concerning the polymer structure of silicone elastomers, the various available types and their respective properties and thus surveyed the material silicone and its applications.
 Production of insulators at DESMA
The lecture of Hans Nies presenting the production of insulators at DESMA contributed to the conference's success, too: the engineer showed the one-stage and multiple-stage production process and explained the production of surge arresters. Hans Nies depicted also the process to produce cable connecters with 2 and 3 components. By means of a lot of drawings, diagrams and films that dealt with the production of the corresponding articles, the audience was given a good insight into the world of elastomer technology at DESMA.
Silicone gels, testing and certification of cable connectors made of silicone
The lecture of Professor Albert Claudi of the Kassel University presented silicone gels and their application. Silicone gels are mouldable 2-component silicones which vulcanize at room temperature to soft jelly-like moulded parts. Since they have excellent electrical and thermal properties, they are frequently used for energy transmission and distribution. The jelly silicones can primarily substitute resinous substances and silicone oils in the industrial application.
In his lecture Dr. Lambrecht of Wacker Chemie elaborated on the specific requirements and properties of cable connectors made of silicone. Their testing and certification have already been the topic of a preceding lecture, so that the focus was now set on the use of the material silicone in practice. This lecture presented the excellent mechanical and electrical properties especially as against other materials and elucidated the service life of such silicone articles and the experiences made to date.
The lectures from the various fields where silicones play a role invited the audience to discuss these issues subsequently. Many questions of the attendees were debated during the breaks and after this event. DESMA was glad about this lively interest and is looking forward to the new contacts and the next conference.
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