Influence of corundum content on integrity of porcelain after long-term exposure to thermo-mechanical fatigue environments

Ceramic insulators experience thermo-mechanical fatigue and deterioration when exposed to outdoor environments. Therefore, the constituent porcelain materials must have excellent durability. In this study, the effect of the corundum content on the microstructure of porcelain was analyzed, and its thermal and mechanical properties were determined. As the corundum content increased, the coefficient of thermal expansion decreased, which mitigated the thermal stress. In addition, the role of corundum particles in reducing the residual stress and cracks generated during the sintering process was analyzed. Tensile tests on real-field insulators confirmed that excellent integrity was maintained with an increase in the corundum content.