Surface properties of polyesters blended with borax mineral

Abstract

In this study the effect of borax existence on tracking and erosion resistance of polyesters has beeninvestigated by means of defining contact angle and performing SEM analysis. Samples with differentborax concentrations were tested under 4 kV AC voltage in an inclined plane tracking test apparatusprepared according to ASTM D2303 standard. The results and SEM analysis indicate that addition ofborax mineral to test specimens prevents the formation of free carbon over the surface of thecomposite samples and hence the specimens are mostly damaged by the erosion of the surface. Alsoby increasing the borax ratio in polyester samples, the contact angle increases and these results alsosupports the change in surface behavior for erosion rather than tracking.