Computation of Dielectric Constant of Cross-linked Epoxy resin through Molecular Dynamics

Cross-linked epoxy resins are widely used in various industrial applications. In high voltage power apparatus, reliability of the system is predicted from the health of its electrical insulation material, which can be estimated through electrical properties like dielectric constant. An understanding on the manner in which the dielectric constant of a material changes with various parameters like ageing, or incorporation of fillers, would help in life prediction or estimation of composite properties. To this end, the current work is a first step towards estimation of the dielectric constant of neat unaged epoxy through molecular-level simulations. Molecular Dynamic (MD) simulations provide insight into the study of materialistic properties at the nanoscale. An unaged sample of neat epoxy is prepared in this study through MD simulations. Physical epoxy resin samples are also prepared in the authors’ laboratory. The computed density of this MD sample, for both cured and uncured conditions, is validated with the experimental measurements. Further, the cross-linked equilibrated MD sample of neat unaged epoxy is used to compute the dielectric constant. The computed dielectric constant is validated with experimental measurement performed in the authors’ laboratory.