Understanding water treeing mechanisms in the development ofdiagnostic test methods

Recently, several diagnostic methods for measurement of permittivity and dielectric loss have been developed for non-destructive testing of water-tree degraded XLPE cables. Critical degradation is found to be associated with a more than proportional increase of the dielectric properties when increasing the applied test voltage above a certain level. In this paper an explanation for this nonlinearity will be presented, using a mechanical approach to the water treeing phenomenon. The water treed insulation is considered to consist of small water filled voids separated by crazing zones. At relatively low water content and low applied test voltage, several of these crazing zones are likely to be closed and insulating. When increasing the test voltage, Maxwell mechanical stresses will cause water to penetrate into the crazing zones, thus making electric contact between the elongated water droplets. Results from finite element method (FEM) calculations of electric fields and losses show that the effect of this will be to enhance the electric field at the tip of these conductive channels and to increase the dielectric losses of the water treed insulation     

Relative permittivity and conductivity of water‐treed region in XLPE estimated by an equivalent circuit

By dividing a water‐treed XLPE sheet sample of 1 mm thickness into a nondegraded region and a water‐treed one, relative permittivity and AC conductivity σ_AC2 of the water‐treed region have been estimated using an equivalent circuit. The variation of and σ_AC2 with the length r of the water‐treed region has been discussed based on the Sillars model. It was concluded that the volume fraction of water in the water‐treed layer is in the range from 0.5% to 1.5% for the most‐degraded XLPE sheet, which depends on the ratio of axes of spheroids to which water‐filled voids and channels are compared. It was also concluded that the AC conductivity of water in the water‐treed region ranges from 3 × 10^?3 S/m to 2 × 10^?2 S/m. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 148(3): 7–14, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10332     

在绝缘诊断试验技术的发展中了解水树机理

近来 ,有几种测量介电常数和介质损失的诊断方法已被发展为用来对水树枝劣化 XL PE电缆进行非破坏性试验。当所施加的试验电压超过一定值时 ,发现临界劣化不仅仅与介电性能成比例。本文采用一种力学模型来描述水树枝现象的这种非线性。绝缘中的水树枝被认为是由被微裂纹区隔离的一系列充水微孔构成 ,在相对较低的含水量和较低试验电压下 ,有的裂纹区即可能产生自愈合作用并且恢复绝缘状态。当试验电压上升时 ,Maxwell电机械应力将导致水分侵入裂纹区 ,并导致拉长的水滴间出现电接触。对电场和损耗的有限元法数值计算结果表明 ,这种影响将使导电通道端部的电场增强 ,同时导致含水树枝绝缘的介质损耗增加。     

聚乙烯水树枝的非线性特性研究

本文对聚乙烯中水树枝在直流电压下的U－R特性和在工频电压下U－tanδ特性进行了实验研究，研究发现，含水树枝试样不仅具有非线性的绝缘电阻特性和介质损耗因数值随测试电压变化的特性，而且这种特性与电解液的种类和电压种类有关。     

Dielectric characterization and conduction modelling of a water tree degraded LDPE

Distribution of electric energy by extruded polymer insulated cables continues to be a subject of outstanding relevance in modern industrialized countries all over the world. Dielectric characterization, conduction modelling and finally diagnostics of polymeric insulations are necessary steps towards the development of reliable and less expensive robust technologies of electric power distribution. This paper is devoted to a detailed experimental/theoretical study of the conductive properties of LDPE affected by different levels of degradation by water trees. Water tree layers of different lengths were grown in accelerated conditions and were characterized by water tree kinetics, time-dependent permittivity and polarization current. The polarization current was found to obey a Curie-von Schweidler law whose parameters were used to characterize the effect of ageing time. A new conduction model that takes into account dipole interactions and was obtained from a two-wells Debye model is presented which allows us to give an interpretation of the effect of ageing. This laboratory study was intended to improve the characterization of service power cables aged by water trees     

地表相对介电常数对雷暴云定位影响分析与研究

地表并非均匀介质的理想导体,传统的一维大气电场分量无法准确的对雷暴云进行定位,而利用大气电场三维场强分 量进行雷暴云定位时,电场的场强、雷暴云的高度角测量往往会受到地表及空气介电常数的影响,产生定位误差。 为解决雷暴 云定位精度低的问题,分析了三维大气电场对于地表相对介电常数的敏感特性,结合镜像法,利用空中电荷电场分布、雷暴云电 荷结构等原理,建立了雷暴云定位模型,分析得到大气电场场强、高度角与环境相对介电常数的关系。 实验结果表明,地表相对 介电常数越大,所测得的电场水平分量与雷暴云高度角越大,地表相对介电常数与大气电场水平分量的相关系数为-9. 5,呈负 相关,相关性强,因此要获得准确的雷暴云高度及方位,还须实时的地表相对介电常数进行修正。     

Electrostrictive forces on vesicles with compartmentalized permittivity and conductivity conditions

Electrostrictive forces on the plasma membrane of a lipid bilayer vesicle that result as a consequence of an applied electric field and differential dielectric material properties can be calculated via the Maxwell stress tensor. In this situation, the plasma membrane is proposed as a barrier that separates compartments of a system with different conductivity and relative permittivity values. A numerical model of this case is presented. Model force calculations compare with analytical equation results and were used to validate published experimental work. The model also was used to study electrostatic forces in a simple vesicle system contrasting such forces to frequency dependent deformations. Model results for vesicles in variable conductivity and relative permittivity environments are analyzed to build a framework with the potential to become a tool to study more complex problems with multiple compartments such as cells and tissues. Impedance spectroscopy is also explored as a potential experimental method to predict cell and tissue system behavior in the presence of electric fields.     

A water treeing model

A new model for water treeing is introduced. It assumes that when the field-induced stress applied on nano cavities filled with a liquid is larger than the yield strength of the polymer, bonds will be broken and the nano cavity will expand. The growth of the water trees is enhanced by the fatigue induced by the alternating electric field. The diffusion of the liquid is also a parameter affecting the water tree length. A simple equation relating the water tree length with field, time, frequency, and the nature of the solution is presented. A very good agreement between theory and experiments for a wide variety of results obtained with low density polyethylene (LDPE) tested under various fields, frequencies and ionic solutions is observed. This model also predicts the growth of water trees under DC fields after very long times or after many polarity reversals. Some aspects of this model requiring further refinements or experimental data are also pointed out.     

Dielectric spectroscopy for diagnosis of water tree deteriorationin XLPE cables

An HV dielectric spectroscopy system has been developed for diagnostics of water tree deteriorated extruded medium voltage cables. The technique is based on the measurement of nonlinear dielectric response in the frequency domain. Today's commercially available systems are capable of resolving low loss and small variations of permittivity as a function of frequency and voltage. Experience from more than 200 field measurements was combined with laboratory investigations. Small samples were used in an accelerated aging test to elucidate the correlation between water tree growth and dielectric response. Furthermore, field aged cables were investigated in the laboratory. It has been shown that the dielectric response of water tree deteriorated crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) cables can be recognized and classified into different types of responses related to the aging status and breakdown strength. The influence of termination and artifacts such as surface currents was investigated. The measurement method enables us to separate the response of the cable from the influence of accessories. Finally, two different field studies of the implementation of the diagnostic method are presented. The field studies show that the fault rate decreased significantly when replacement strategy was based on the diagnostic criteria formulated     

聚乙烯中水树枝-电树枝的相互转化

通过合适的手段模拟水树枝存在情况下材料中的电场强度分布,对理解水树枝向电树枝的转化和评估水树枝的危害程度有重要的实用价值。在总结水树枝-电树枝相互转化已有研究成果的基础上,用有限元方法模拟了不同半径水树枝存在情况下材料中的电场分布。模拟结果表明:水树枝存在的情况下,材料中的最大电场强度出现在水树枝尖端;在外施电压一定的情况下,材料中的最大电场强度随水树枝半径的增大先减小后增加;较短的水树枝弱化了材料中的局部电场强度。     

用有限元法分析水树尺寸对电场分布的影响

鉴于水树是交联聚乙烯(XLPE)绝缘电缆的主要劣化现象之一,而正确的评价电场分布对理解水树的生长机理及水树引起的介质击穿非常重要,利用有限元方法研究了水树枝初步生长阶段其几何参数(宽度和长度)对水树内部电场的影响。有限元分析结果显示:在相同宽度和相同介电常数的条件下,发散型水树越长,水树尖端的电场增强越明显;而在相同水树长度的条件下,水树枝宽度对水树尖端最大电场强度的影响很小;水树枝长度对电场分布的影响随内部介电常数的大小而变化,水树内部介电常数越大,水树长度对电场分布的影响越小。     

配网电缆接头内部缺陷电场特征研究及电树发展分析

配网交联聚乙烯(cross linked polyethylene,XLPE)电缆的严重击穿故障大多发生在电缆接头处,主要由电缆接头在制造和安装过程中的工艺缺陷引起。文中采用模拟电荷法研究电缆接头4种典型缺陷,即气隙、水膜、金属碎屑和金属外破附近的电场分布特征;然后采用电场计算与随机漫步理论相结合的方法,分析缺陷引发的电树枝的分布规律。同时,测量带缺陷配网XLPE电缆接头样本周围的实际电场分布,并比较测量结果与计算结果。结果表明,采用电场测量的方法可以直接有效地识别电缆接头内部缺陷类型,相比气隙、水膜缺陷,导电缺陷造成的电场畸变更为显著。缺陷引发的电场畸变大于临界电场值时会引起电树发展,电树发展的轨迹长度与场强大小呈正相关,导电缺陷引发的电树枝有较大概率向缆芯方向发展,更易引起XLPE绝缘击穿。     

Space charge behavior under ac voltage in water-treed PE observedby the PEA method

The pulsed electroacoustic method (PEA) has been applied to observe space charge formation under ac application (7 kV_pk, 50, 0.1 and 0.001 Hz) in water-treed polyethylene samples in order to understand the degradation mechanism of water trees. A system with phase-resolving capability has been developed to measure the space charge distribution at any phase angle of the applied ac voltage. By comparing the observed charge distributions with theoretically predicted ones, it has been shown that the interfacial polarization due to the difference in conductivity between the treed and the regions without trees dominate the space charge behavior. It has become clear that the PEA method can be a powerful nondestructive method for evaluating water tree length     

在线注入有机硅修复液对交联聚乙烯电缆中水树生长的影响

提出了水树老化电缆的在线修复方法,讨论了在交变电场下修复液对水树的抑制作用及其绝缘修复机理。采用高频高压水针电极法对新样本、预修复样本和在线修复样本进行加速水树老化。老化一个月后,使用显微镜观察样本中水树形态并测量其水树长度。通过差示扫描量热法分析样本绝缘层的劣化程度,同时利用扫描电镜和能谱分析仪对比水树区域的微观形貌及化学结构变化。研究表明,在线注入有机硅修复液能有效地抑制水树的生长。在电场的作用下,修复液分子和水分子同时向强电场区域(如微孔、水树区域等)进行扩散并发生反应,消耗水分并且生成凝胶颗粒填充微孔,一定程度上缓解了绝缘的劣化。     

汽轮机内湿蒸汽两相流介电性质研究

将电介质的复介电常数与其静介电参数、交变电场频率的关系引入Maxwell-Wagner非均质电介质理论,建立湿蒸汽等效复介电常数模型,得到饱和水、干饱和蒸汽和湿蒸汽的复介电常数随波长和温度的变化。饱和水复介电常数的实部随波长增加、温度降低而变大,当波长较大时,实部趋于静介电常数,当波长较小时,实部趋于常数,与温度无关;其虚部随波长增加先变大后减小,随温度降低而变大,当波长较小或较大时,虚部趋于0。干饱和蒸汽复介电常数的实部随波长增加、温度升高而变大,当波长较小或温度较低时,实部趋于1;其虚部随波长增加先变大后减小,随温度升高而变大,当波长较小或较大或温度较低时,虚部趋于0。湿蒸汽的复介电常数和干饱和蒸汽规律相近,当湿度增加时,实部和虚部均变大,而且温度越高,数值越大。     

电容器介质直流、交流击穿电压值的对比研究

与交流电场不同,在直流电场下,除介质中的空间电荷效应增强之外,电场强度在串联介质中的分配主要由体积电阻率的比值决定.电力电容器常用的液体介质、固体介质由于其相对电容率和体积电阻率存在明显的区别,这给它们复合后在直流电场和交流50 Hz电场的使用上不可避免地带来影响.通过对电容器用液体介质、固体介质以及由他们组成的复合介...     

The chemical composition of water trees in EPR cable insulation

The earlier observation of carboxylate ions in vented water trees in service-aged XLPE cable insulation is extended to bow-tie trees in lab-aged XLPE cable insulation, and to bow-tie and vented trees in EPR cable and slab specimens. Carboxylate anions were the major carbonyl-containing functionality in the treed regions, except for cases where ester functionalities (from antioxidants or shield materials) or aromatic carbonyl species (curative residues) had accumulated. Ketonic oxidation products were detected, but at a lower level than carboxylates. The experimental difficulty of detecting carboxylate ions in the presence of interfering absorptions from methylene blue dye and clay filler was circumvented by the use of a derivatization technique involving sulfur tetrafluoride and with hydrogen chloride, which converted carboxylate ions to acid fluorides and carboxylic acids respectively. Some examples of initiation sites for water tree formation in EPR are provided. When a particulate initiation site of bow-tie trees in EPR could be identified, a common feature was the presence of transition metal ions     

直流陡脉冲复合电场用于变压器油净化时其脉冲波形选择

为了探索电场净化变压器油的新方法,寻求一种净油效果更好的脉冲波形,首先对油中胶体杂质在电场作用下的受力情况进行了理论计算,然后采用超宽频时域介电与阻抗谱仪对现场不同老化程度变压器油的介电常数进行了实测,最后对方波脉冲和指数衰减脉冲等时变电场的频谱进行了理论分析。分析和实验发现,时变电场可以作用于溶油胶体使之和油分子更容易实现微观上的分离,并且只有宽频带的时变电场才可以广泛作用于不同胶体杂质而提高净油效果;指数衰减脉冲的幅频特性衰减缓慢,并且上升沿陡、脉宽较宽的指数衰减脉冲的低频、高频分量都很丰富,具有更宽的频带。通过以上理论分析和实测,确定了上升沿陡、脉宽较宽的双极性指数衰减脉冲是较理想的脉冲源波形,有望显著提高电场净化变压器油的效果。     

Computation of the Electric Field in Cable Insulation in the Presence of Water Trees and Space Charge

The presence of space charge changes locally the electric field distribution in power cable insulation and may play an important role in tree development, thus accelerating the dielectric breakdown. This paper is concerned with the computation of the electric field in polyethylene-insulated power cables affected by water trees which grow from the following: 1) the inner semiconducting layer; 2) the outer semiconducting layer; and 3) the inner and outer semiconducting layers, taking into account the space charge corresponding to the ions present in the treeing area. Space charge in plane samples where trees have been developed in an accelerated manner was estimated using the thermal step method. Average charge values given by space charge measurements were then used for the electric field computation in cable insulation with continuous or/and individual water trees. For the calculation of the electric field, an analytical and a numerical method have been used. This paper shows that the space charge changes the electric field distribution inside and outside the trees (the field increases in some areas and decreases in others) and that the field variations depend on the magnitude and on the polarity of the space charge, as well as on the dimensions of the water trees developed in the cable insulation. The obtained results show that, in the presence of water trees and space charge, the initiation of electric trees is more probable in the case of individual water trees than in the case of continuous water trees.     

Entropy production and the temperature equation in electrohydrodynamics

The equation for the temperature in moving dielectric fluids is obtained in most texts and papers dealing with electrothermohydrodynamics by simply adding the Joule heating, and more exceptionally by adding also the dielectric heating. Here we derive this equation rigorously from first principles. First, we derive the entropy production, and then we show that additional terms depending on the electric field are present in the equation for the temperature. Among them we have terms of thermoelectric origin, and terms depending on the variation of permittivity with temperature, in addition to Joule and dielectric heating. The different terms in this equation are discussed in detail, and are given a clear physical interpretation.