ac treeing of ethylene-propylene rubber in cryogenic temperature region

The authors have proved that ethylene-propylene rubber (EPR) is suitable for the solid electrical insulating material of superconducting and cryoresistive cables due to its excellent mechanical and good electrical properties. It is imperative to study the treeing resistivity of EPR in view of long-term reliability as a cable insulator. The objectives of this paper are to establish an ac treeing test method of opaque EPR samples with fillers and to examine the treeing resistivity of EPR at both liquid-nitrogen and room temperatures and the effect of fillers on treeing resistivity. It was found that EPR has enough resistance to ac treeing at liquid-nitrogen temperature and that fillers improve ac treeing resistivity slightly. High reliability of EPR insulation is expected during long-term operation at cryogenic temperature.     

XLPE电力电缆中水树枝生长规律的研究

本文参考IECTS61956标准＂评定绝缘材料中水树枝化的试验方法＂设计了一种杯状电极装置,对低密度聚乙烯（LDPE）片状聚合物绝缘材料进行了水树枝生长试验研究,重点研究了LDPE中水树枝的长度与老化时间的关系。实验结果表明,在水树枝产生的初始阶段,其生长速度较快,一段时间后增长速率逐渐减慢。水树枝的长度随老化时间呈幂指数规律增长,这一规律与国外的一些学者提出的水树枝的电致应力引发模型基本相符。     

实际XPLE电缆模型下升压速度对电树枝生长特性的影响

电树枝化是影响交联聚乙烯(XLPE)电力电缆运行安全与寿命的技术瓶颈。笔者采用金属针缺陷模拟电缆中集中的电场应力,研究了在工频交流电压下(50 Hz),不同实验起始升压速度(0.1 kV/s,1 kV/s)对XLPE电缆中电树枝生长特性的影响。结果表明,在高的升压速度下电树枝起始快,同时电树枝形态会由纯枝状变为稠密枝状,分形维变大。     

Barrier effect of treeing in composite insulating materials with heat-adhesive interfaces of different polymers

A polymer/polymer composite system is widely used in high-voltage equipment and power cables. The interface of this composite system plays an important role in the electrical degradation, such as electrical treeing or partial discharge, of the composite system. Therefore, it is important to study the effect of an interface on the electrical treeing of polymer/polymer-composite insulating materials. In this paper, we describe the tree growth and complete breakdown characteristics of specimens with a polymer barrier film layer molded in ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA), in which the interface of EVA and the barrier film is perpendicular to the electric field under an AC voltage. It is found that with a barrier film, the tree growth is retarded on the barrier film, which then punctures the film, or develops along the edge of the film. It is also found that the pressure of decomposing gas in the tree channels plays an important role in tree propagation.     

防水型交联聚乙烯绝缘电力电缆结构分析

交联聚乙烯绝缘电力电缆因其良好的机械、电气性能和便于敷设、免维护等性能在电力系统中得到了广泛的应用。但是在数十年的运行过程中发现,电缆受潮以后性能会大幅下降,特别是容易引发会严重影响电缆使用寿命和可靠性的水树枝。经过各国专业人员努力攻关,近年来已有不少针对电缆受潮的阻水技术问世,有关新型阻水电缆结构的专利不断出现。根据对国内外文献的检索结果,对当前常用的交联聚乙烯电缆阻水技术进行了分析和分类,并针对交联聚乙烯电缆阻水技术的发展提出了自己的观点。     

交联聚乙烯电力电缆绝缘中电树枝的分析方法

研究交联聚乙烯(XLPE)电力电缆绝缘中电树枝产生后对材料形态的改变具有重要的意义。通过对国内外关于XLPE中电树枝的研究方法的深入分析,并结合实验室得到的电树枝试样具体情况,指出了目前电树枝通道分析方法所存在的问题,提出了进一步分析的方法和研究的目标。     

Influence of internal mechanical stress and strain on electricalperformance of polyethylene electrical treeing resistance

Crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) and low-density polyethylene (LDPE) insulations used in HV cables are not only subjected to electrical and thermal stresses, but also exposed to mechanical stresses, whether residual internal stresses created during the cooling process of the fabrication, external forces when cables are bent during installation or thermomechanical stresses caused by differential thermal expansion between the conductor and the polymeric material. In order to investigate the possible influence of mechanical stresses on dielectric properties of polyethylene, measurements were conducted on pin-plane XLPE and LDPE samples with various magnitudes of residual mechanical stresses around the embedded electrode. The time to inception, the growing rate and the shape of the electrical trees under different voltages are reported in this paper. Specimens with the highest values of residual stresses were found to have the shortest inception times and the longest trees after one hour of aging under different voltages. When the mechanical stress was allowed to relax, the treeing resistance was measured to be significantly improved     

The Performance of Strippable and Bonded Screened Medium-Voltage XLPE-Insulated Cables Under Long-Term Accelerated Aging

XLPE high-voltage underground cables are being extensively used in Arabian Gulf countries. Most of these cables are being manufactured locally. Although XLPE has excellent dielectric characteristics, extensive premature failures have been reported by the local power utilities. The main causes of such premature failures are related to manufacturing defects and insulation degradation mainly caused by water treeing phenomena. In this research work, five types of 15-kV, XLPE-insulated cables were subjected to accelerated aging under simultaneous electrical, thermal, and environmental stresses for periods of 60, 120, and 180 days. After each aging period, partial-discharge (PD), mechanical properties, ac dielectric strength and the extent of degradation due to water treeing of these cables were measured. The results show that PD and mechanical properties show just little variations whereas the ac-retained dielectric strength decreases rapidly in the first 60 days after which the rate of its decrease retards. Correlations are established between the retained dielectric strength and the lengths of the longest water trees. Pros and cons of the insulating materials that are used as well as the role of strippable and bonded semiconducting screens are also discussed     

交联聚乙烯电力电缆的电树枝化试验及其局部放电特征

电树枝化是影响交联聚乙烯（cross—linked polyethylene,XLPE）绝缘电力电缆长期安全运行的瓶颈,需要深入研究XLPE电缆绝缘的老化机制,尤其是电树枝化的规律,为XLPE电缆的设计制造和现场的运行管理,特别是在线诊断提供理论支撑。设计了交联聚乙烯电缆样品和相应的试验电极装置,并搭建基于实际XLPE电缆的电树枝化试验平台进行试验。结果表明该试验系统能满足XLPE电缆电树枝化试验研究的要求。以15kV的XLPE电缆作为试验样品,开展常温下工频12～21kV和50～90℃下的电树枝化试验,分析了电压和温度对电树枝形态的影响,得到电树枝局部放电的统计图谱,并将电树枝的生长发展分成4个阶段,分析了电树枝在不同生长阶段局部放电的最大放电量相位和平均放电量相位的分布,提取了其偏斜度等统计特征量,结果表明电压和温度对实际XLPE电缆中电树枝形态的影响与针一板电极得到的结果趋势相同,但是电树枝生长过程存在着一定的差异,同时最大放电量相位分布和平均放电量相位分布的3阶矩随着电树枝的生长发展而减小,可作为诊断电树枝生长发展阶段的参考量。     

High‐field electrical properties of new LDPE films prepared using metallocene catalyst

Now low‐density polyethylene (M‐LDPE) prepared using metallocene catalyst has narrower composition distribution and molecular weight distributions than linear low‐density polyethylene (LLDPE) using Ziegler catalyst. The authors compared the electrical insulating properties of M‐LDPE films and conventional LLDPE films. The high‐field current of M‐LDPE was found to be lower than that of LLDPE. The difference in current increased with the decrease of temperature. The high‐field current was much reduced in M‐LDPE with a low melting point. The impulse breakdown strength of M‐LDPE increased with the decrease of temperature. The insulating properties of M‐LDPE with a low melting point were improved at 30 °C. These results were explained by the fact that M‐LDPE with a low melting point includes more low‐molecular‐weight components. We also discuss the effects of antioxidant on the electrical properties of M‐LDPE. We compared the electrical conduction and breakdown strength of undoped M‐LDPE and antioxidant‐doped M‐LDPE. Differences in their electrical properties were minor. It was found that the excellent properties of M‐LDPE do not depend on the effects of antioxidant. © 1999 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 130(2): 1–9, 2000     

DC conduction and electrical breakdown of MgO/LDPE nanocomposite

To understand basic electric properties of nano-sized magnesium oxide (MgO) / low-density polyethylene (LDPE) nanocomposite under DC voltage application, the volume resistivity, the space charge distribution and the breakdown strength were investigated. By the addition of nano-sized MgO filler, both the DC breakdown strength and the volume resistivity of LDPE increased. At the average DC electric field of about 85 kV/mm and more, a positive packet space charge was observed in LDPE without MgO nano-filler, whereas a little homogeneous space charge was observed in MgO/LDPE nanocomposite material at the front of electrode. From these results, it is confirmed that the addition of MgO nano-filler leads to the improvement of DC electrical insulating properties of LDPE.     

Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging of electrical trees in PE

Test samples of LDPE (low-density polyethylene) were electrically aged until PD (partial discharge) and electrical treeing occurred. Investigations on the spatial distribution of microscopic domain sizes in the lamellar morphology of the samples were carried out applying a novel method of proton NMR imaging which probes magnetization transfer by spin diffusion. Spatial changes of LDPE morphology are detected due to the appearance of PD     

交联聚乙烯电缆绝缘电树枝化后热分析研究

为了研究交联聚乙烯电缆绝缘电劣化引发电树枝后对材料聚集态的影响,通过差示扫描量热法技术对劣化前试样、松枝状电树枝、稠密枝状电树枝、稀疏丛状电树枝及丛林状电树枝试样的电树区域与非电树区域进行了研究.结果表明,经过电劣化后材料的熔融峰温均低于劣化前试样;各种类型电树枝电树区域的熔融热焓均高于非电树区域,而各类电树枝电树区域...     

空间电荷对低密度聚乙烯电气击穿特性的影响

为解决聚乙烯用作电线电缆绝缘材料时所受空间电荷问题的困扰,采用在低密度聚乙烯(low density po-lyethylene,LDPE)试品上施加直流预电压使其中积聚一定量的空间电荷,然后测量试品击穿强度的方法,研究了空间电荷对LDPE击穿特性的影响。结果表明,与未经过预电压处理的LDPE的击穿强度相比,在经过较低场强(50 kV/mm)预电压处理后,预电压与击穿电压极性相同时击穿强度提高了约9%,极性相异时击穿强度降低约14%;而经过较高场强(150 kV/mm)预电压处理后,预电压时LDPE中出现空间电荷包现象,预电压后同极性击穿强度提高约19%,而异极性击穿强度反而上升约16%。分析认为空间电荷包在LDPE中的运动导致了部分空间电荷的中和,使得空间电荷积聚量减少,同时LDPE中可能的缺陷得到了一定程度的老炼而使介质得到了均匀化,从而使LDPE的击穿强度得到了提高。     

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     

MgO/LDPE纳米复合材料抑制空间电荷及电树枝化特性

应用经硅烷偶联处理后的纳米氧化镁(MgO)粉末与低密度聚乙烯(low density polyethylene,LDPE)共混,制得MgO/LDPE复合介质。高成分衬度扫描电镜(scanningelectron microscope,SEM)中图像表明,粒径为100 nm左右的MgO纳米粒子均匀的分散于介质中。通过电声脉冲法(pulsed electro-acoustic,PEA)测试发现,当纳米MgO填料的质量分数为4%时,可以有效抑制空间电荷的注入,伏安特性的实验结果表明,复合介质拥有更高的空间电荷注入阈值场强。通过电树枝实验,发现复合介质可以抑制电树枝的引发和生长。最后,对实验结果进行了分析,探讨了纳米复合介质抑制空间电荷和树枝化生长的机制。纳米颗粒与基体材料界面电荷行为可能是复合介质电学性能改善的原因。     

The influence of defects on the short-term breakdowncharacteristics and long-term dc performance of LDPE insulation

Extruded polyethylene is used as the bulk insulation for ac HV cables because of its high electric resistivity and breakdown strength. Although the material at present has limited use in dc power cables, it is used extensively in submarine optical communication cable systems. This paper reports on the study of the short-term characteristics and long-term performance of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) insulation under dc electric stress. The results are presented in which controlled defects as found in practical systems (voids, metallic and non-metallic particles) were introduced into well-characterized polymer material so that their influence on electrical strength and breakdown mechanisms could be determined. Samples were compression-molded under laboratory conditions and subjected to ramp-to-failure and electrical aging tests at various stresses. Weibull statistics are used to analyze the results. Examination of electrically aged samples indicates an oxidation degradation around the defects due to stress enhancement. From the failed samples a value of n in the inverse power model was estimated. The residual life of aged samples was also examined     

形态对聚乙烯中空间电荷包运动特性的影响

空间电荷相关研究是直流电介质材料特性研究的重要领域,聚乙烯则是主要的内绝缘材料之一。为了对高压直流条件下聚乙烯中的空间电荷现象进行深入研究,应用电声脉冲法空间电荷测量系统对高场强下低密度聚乙烯中的空间电荷现象进行测量,观察到了空间电荷包现象。研究结合不同热处理方法得到了不同微观形态的聚乙烯试品,并在不同场强下结合微观形态的变化对低密度聚乙烯的空间电荷包运动速率进行了分析。结果表明,聚乙烯的微观形态对空间电荷包特性有显著的影响,也对空间电荷包运动速率有明显的影响,结晶度越高,空间电荷包运动速率越小。     

Electrical Breakdown Properties and Space Charge Formation in High Temperature Region in Ultraviolet Ray Irradiated PVC

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is the most popular insulating material for electric wiring instruments. However, an exothermic reaction above 150 °C may cause deterioration of the insulating properties of PVC. Therefore, it is important to clarify the heat degradation in PVC, not only to investigate the ignition of electrical wiring products but also to use electrical products safely. It is known that ultraviolet (UV) irradiation causes chemical deterioration of PVC and an increase in its conductivity. Generally, it has been thought that the electrical breakdown properties, electrical conduction, and insulating performance are affected by space charge accumulation in an insulating material. A high temperature pulsed electroacoustic (PEA) system usable up to 250 °C has been developed, and the PEA system can measure the space charge distribution and conduction current in the high temperature range simultaneously. In this investigation, the space charge distribution and conduction current were measured up to electrical breakdown in a non‐UV irradiated sample (normal PVC) and in 353 nm and 253 nm UV‐irradiated PVC samples in the range from room temperature to 200 °C in a DC electric field. In the short wavelength UV irradiated PVC sample (253 nm, 300 h), a deterioration of breakdown strength at 90 °C to 150 °C and negative packet‐like charges were observed at 60 °C and 100 °C, a positive charge accumulated in front of both the anode and cathode above 90 °C, and a higher electric field near the cathode side because the positive charge of the cathode side was greater.     

固体绝缘中空间电荷测量装置的研制和应用

介绍了电声脉冲法空间电荷分布测量装置的测量原理和性能，并利用此装置测量了试样中的空间电荷密度分布，运用有限元法计算空间电荷对试样内部电场的畸变。为了研制超高压直流塑料电缆料，以少量的极性聚合物混炼到低密度聚乙烯中，降低了交联聚乙的空间电荷效应，大幅度提高了５０％直流预压短路树枝的起始电压。