Arc-extinguishing composition and articles manufactured therefrom

Abstract

An arc-quenching composition that is suitable for deionizing and extinguishing a high-voltage electrical arc comprises an arc-extinguishing material, such as melamine, and a binder, the binder including a thermoplastic polymer polymerized from a carboxylic acid moiety-containing monomer either as a homopolymer or as a copolymer with another monomer, preferably ethylene acrylic acid. The composition comprises effective amounts by weight of the arc-extinguishing material and the thermoplastic polymer to achieve the desired combination of arc-extinguishing properties and structural characteristics, such as tensile strength, elongation, and environmental resistance to thermal cycling. Additionally, the composition for various application and uses may include additives, fillers or fibrous materials. The composition is achieved by compounding of the powdered constituents using dry blending, roll mill, extrusion and/or other plastic compounding techniques to obtain a molding resin. The molding resin is then molded into articles of the desired shape using well-known plastic processing techniques, such as injection molding, extrusion, and the like. In a preferred composition to form a trailer for an interrupter, an ethylene acrylic acid copolymer is combined with melamine to achieve the desired acr-extinguishing and structural characteristics by virtue of the bonding, reaction and/or miscibility between the melamine and the ethylene acrylic acid.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.