News from Japan

The role of power facilities in delivering electricity, which supports our modern society, from power plants to consumers is becoming increasingly important. There are many different types of electric power equipment. Among them, switchgear receives high-voltage electricity and converts it into a voltage suitable for distribution to various systems. As a result, switchgear is used in many harsh environments, including in factories that handle corrosive gases and in facilities located in areas prone to salt damage. As shown in Figure 1, switchgear is composed of many pieces of equipment, such as transformers, circuit breakers, instrument transformers, and circuit conductors. Polymeric insulating materials such as polyester resin and epoxy resin are used in many components [1].