Influence of Kiln Atmospheres on Electrical Porcelain Firing

Electrical porcelain insulators are always fired under a reducing atmosphere in production in China. The influence of the oxidizing and reducing atmospheres on electrical porcelain firing is studied in this paper. The compositions of the electrical porcelain samples were the same as those of conventional production batches. The samples were fired under different atmospheres, and then their mechanical and dielectric properties were measured and compared. The effect of raising the oxidizing atmosphere firing temperature (about 10–20°C) on the properties of the samples is also discussed in this paper. The results showed that the mechanical and electrical properties of the samples can be improved by raising the oxidizing atmosphere firing temperature to a certain extent. It is feasible that electrical porcelain with the conventional batches can be fired under the oxidizing atmosphere.