The effect of low-molecular-weight species on space charge andconduction in LDPE

We have investigated the effect of low-molecular mass species on the space charge behavior such as space charge distribution and electrical conduction of LDPE (low density polyethylene). We also attempted to explain the relationship between the space charge distribution and electrical conduction. The heterocharge, conduction current and effective charge mobility decreased when the low-molecular-mass species in LDPE was removed. It was found that the decrease in conduction current was related to the decrease of heterocharge in LDPE     

From LDPE to XLPE: investigating the change of electrical properties. Part I. space charge, conduction and lifetime

This paper discusses the results of space charge, conduction current and electrical lifetime measurements performed on widely-used materials for electrical insulation, that is, low density polyethylene (LDPE) and cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE). Space charge accumulation profiles were compared in LDPE, low density polyethylene plus antioxidant (LDPE+AO) and XLPE, with consideration of thermal treatment effects in LDPE and XLPE. Significant variation (decrease) of accumulated space charge and apparent mobility, as well as slight decrease of conduction current, can be seen going from LDPE to LDPE+AO and XLPE, which may be associated with formation of deeper trap levels (or an increase of their density). On the contrary, electrical life under AC voltage does not show significant differences from LDPE to XLPE. This latter result underlines that life under high AC electrical stress is mostly determined by defects (weak points) rather than material characteristics associated with charge injection and transport.     

Properties of Space Charge Distributions and Conduction Current in XLPE and LDPE under DC High Electric Field

Space charge behavior and conduction current in polyethylene under dc stress were investigated. One of the reasons for the different breakdown property in cross‐linked polyethylene (XLPE) from that in low‐density polyethylene (LDPE) may be based on the existence of cross‐linking by‐products in XLPE. Furthermore, a thermal history in cross‐linking process for XLPE may also cause of the difference. It is generally accepted that the existence of the cross‐linking by‐products increase the conduction current in XLPE under dc stress. It is also said that an anneal treatment in air atmosphere may affect to the electrical properties under dc stress. Therefore, we investigated the effect of the cross‐linking by‐products and the anneal treatment on space charge behavior and conduction current in polyethylene under dc stress. In our research, it is thought that the increasing dissipation power in XLPE is the cause of the breakdown in it under dc stress. Therefore, to calculate the dissipation power in the bulk of test sample, we measured the space charge distribution and the external circuit current simultaneously. Based on the results, we discussed the reason of the difference of the space charge properties in XLPE and LDPE focusing on the cross‐linking by‐products and the oxidation of the test samples.     

纳米氧化锌/聚乙烯复合材料中空间电荷及体积电阻率的研究

以溶融共混法制备了纳米氧化锌(ZnO)/低密度聚乙烯(LDPE)的复合材料,采用电声脉冲法和高阻计法分别测量了不同纳米ZnO含量试样中的空间电荷分布和体积电阻率。实验发现,试样中的空间电荷分布明显不同于纯聚乙烯。当试样中纳米ZnO含量为0.5%时,短路过程中空间电荷衰减很快;当纳米ZnO含量进一步提高时短路过程中空间电荷衰减比纯聚乙烯的缓慢。同时发现加入纳米ZnO后复合材料的体积电阻率上升。讨论了纳米ZnO对试样中空间电荷形成和导电机理的影响。     

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。     

Space charge formation and breakdown in polyethylene influenced by the interface with semiconducting electrodes

This paper deals with the influence of interface between polyethylene and semiconducting electrode on the space charge formation and electrical breakdown. Low‐density polyethylene (LDPE) films attached with different semiconducting electrodes were subjected to the DC breakdown test, and corresponding space charge distribution was measured. A heat treatment to LDPE itself did not bring about a significant change in space charge profile; however, when a semiconducting electrode was hot‐pressed, the impurities would migrate into LDPE at high temperature, leading to the change in space charge profile. Furthermore, it was suggested from the comparison between the results with degassed and as‐received semiconducting electrodes that some carriers relating to impurities in the electrode would move into LDPE under the voltage. In addition, it was shown that the breakdown is not determined by the field at the cathode which can supply sufficient electrons, but by the maximum field across the specimen, suggesting that an increase in conduction current due to the generation and/or injection, rather than the electronic avalanche process, leads to the breakdown. © 2001 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 138(3): 19–25, 2002     

Space charge behavior in low-density polyethylene

The space charge distribution in low-density polyethylene (LDPE) was measured with the pulsed electroacoustic (PEA) method. We used three types of LDPE: LDPE-L and LDPE-H were prepared by the high pressure process, and m-LDPE was polymerized with a metallocene catalyst. Space charge in LDPE strongly depended upon the electrode material. Semiconductive electrodes enhanced carrier injection into LDPE and, as a result, space charge. The density, polymerization process, applied field, temperature and so on also affected the space charge behavior. This space charge behavior was compared with the results of dc current measurements     

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。     

Study of space-charge characteristics in polyethylene for power cable insulation by laser-induced pressure-pulse technique

By utilizing the laser induced pressure-pulse (LIPP) technique, the behavior of space charge in low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) films in contact with metal or carbon-loaded semiconducting layers was studied quantitatively to clarify the space-charge characteristics in power cables. Negative heterospace charge near the anode and positive space charge in the bulk were observed in unoxidized LDPE under the fields above 120 kV/mm. The amount of negative space charge increased with applied field, while positive space charge in the bulk disappeared with increasing applied field. This indicates that electron injection and ionization are enhanced by applied field. Prominent negative homospace charge was formed near the cathode in oxidized LDPE, which indicates that oxidation enhanced electron injection. The depth of charge centroid from the cathode became larger with increasing temperature. This indicates that the effective electron mobility increases with temperature. Negative space charge also was formed in the bulk in XLPE films with metal electrodes, which indicates that crosslinking enhanced electron injection. XLPE films with a carbon-loaded semiconducting layer showed both negative and positive homospace charges near the semiconducting layers, which indicates that both electrons and holes were injected from the semiconducting layer.     

A consideration of potentials of low‐density polyethylene using metallocene catalyst as insulator for power cable

We investigated the high‐field conduction, DC and impulse breakdown strength, space charge distribution, and tree inception voltage for three kinds of new low‐density polyethylene (LDPE) prepared using a metallocene catalyst (mLna, mLao, mLldao), linear LDPE prepared using a Ziegler catalyst (LLao), and LDPE prepared by a high‐pressure process (LDna). The dc and impulse breakdown strengths of LDPEs prepared using a metallocene catalyst were higher than those of LLao and LDna. The high‐field currents of LDPEs prepared using a metallocene catalyst were lower than those of LLao and LDna. A homo‐space charge was accumulated near the cathode in mLna. The tree inception voltage of mLna was higher than that of LDna. From these results, it is concluded that LDPE prepared using a metallocene catalyst has electrical insulating properties superior to the conventional LDPE and that the former has potential as a power cable insulator. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 139(4): 17–25, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.1164     

热老化前后LDPE/SiO2纳米复合材料空间电荷积聚分析

在实际运行中,直流场强和热环境都会对聚乙烯电缆内空间电荷积聚行为产生影响,过量的空间电荷会威胁其绝缘性能,虽然纳米复合材料具备抑制空间电荷的能力,但对于热老化后其空间电荷的积聚特性仍有待进一步研究。采用电声脉冲法对热老化前后不同浓度的低密度聚乙烯(LDPE)/二氧化硅(SiO_2)纳米复合材料内空间电荷的积聚行为进行分析。结果表明,热老化会降低电极注入势垒并产生随机分布的深陷阱和杂质,增加空间电荷积累。纳米SiO_2引入的大量界面区域会产生均匀分布的深陷阱,并形成界面反电场,从而抑制载流子的运输和注入,且纳米粒子可以提高材料稳定性,提升电极注入势垒并延缓热老化进程。相比于纯LDPE,LDPE/SiO_2材料在热老化前后都具有明显的抑制空间电荷的能力。     

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.     

茂金属聚乙烯改性低密度聚乙烯中空间电荷的机理研究

针对高压,超高压直流塑料电缆中存在的空间电荷效应,文中选用与普通低密度聚乙烯(LDPE)化学结构相似的茂金属聚乙烯(MPE)作为成核剂与LDPE共混,用电声脉冲法(PEA)测量了共混物的空间电荷特性,以差示扫描量热法(DSC)研究了共混物的非等温结晶行为,用高阻计测量了共混物的体积电阻率的变化,结合聚合物的结晶和导电理论,讨论了共混物中空间电荷的形成和抑制机理。测试结果表明:1%的MPE与LDPE共混,能有效降低LDPE中空间电荷效应,提高结晶温度,降低体积电阻率。     

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。     

Space charge behavior of acrylic monomer-grafted polyethylene

This report describes space charge behavior of polyethylene (PE) grafted with acrylic monomers such as acrylic acid (AA), methacrylate (MA), ethylacrylate (EA) and n-butyl acrylate (NBA). The specimens were 0.7 mm thick with semicon electrodes, and vacuum degassed. Heterocharge is found in ungrafted control PE. This heterocharge decreases with the increase of AA content when AA is grafted onto the PE chains. This was attributed to an enhanced charge trapping at carbonyl sites provided by AA. When other acrylic monomers are grafted, heterocharge of the control PE increases first at low graft ratios and then decreases at higher graft ratios. This change was attributed to the combined effects of alkoxy groups acting as electron donating species and carbonyls acting as charge trapping sites. It seems that charge trapping at the carbonyls is sacrificed in part by the alkoxy groups at low graft ratios. All grafted polyethylenes are found at low fields below 1×10⁵ V/cm to obey the space-charge limited conduction (SCLC) mechanism. Effective charge mobilities of PE-g-AA and PE-g-NBA decrease with the increase of graft ratio while those of others remain unchanged     

取向度对聚乙烯介电性能的影响

聚合物取向度对电气绝缘性能具有重要的影响。该文研究通过两种方法获得具有不同取向度的聚合物材料。在第一种方法中，通过在聚乙烯中加入5％～10％的乙烯．丙烯共聚物使在相同工艺条件下制备的共混物薄膜比纯聚乙烯薄膜具有更高的取向度。在第二种方法中，采用传统的拉伸方法使聚乙烯薄膜的取向度沿拉伸方向得到提高。研究中，多种方法被用于评价薄膜的取向程度，如热收缩率、偏光显微镜和测量声速法等。文中同时研究了具有不同取向度的聚合物薄膜的电气击穿强度，电流和空间电荷特性。分析了聚合物取向度与其电气性能之间的关系，并对其机理进行了探讨。     

Some factors for the space charge formation in polyethylene

Information on space-charge behavior in thick insulated samples aids in understanding the dc characteristics of polymer-insulated dc cables. The pulsed electroacoustic method is used to investigate several space charge formation factors in 2 mm-thick polyethylene (PE). The following results were obtained. For measurement factors: (1) A polymeric semiconducting electrode provides a more accurate measurement than does a metal electrode as a result of better matching of acoustic impedance with PE. (2) Within a dc electrical stress range of several tens kV/mm, the space charge distributions under and after dc voltage application are almost the same; this is due to a comparatively long time of space-charge decay. (3) The space-charge distribution of a plate sample agrees with that of a cable sample having the same insulation thickness. For insulating material factors: (1) The amount of space charge in crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) is much larger than that in low-density PE (base of XLPE). The space charge of XLPE continues to increase even after dc voltage application (24 h); that of LDPE reaches equilibrium with a few hours. (2) The aforementioned space charge difference between XLPE and LDPE is assumed to be caused by ionic impurities in XLPE, not by the additives themselves (acetophenon and cumylalcohol as byproducts of cross linking and antioxidant).     

变频电机用聚酰亚胺薄膜电老化特性研究

为研究变频电机用耐电晕型聚酰亚胺材料耐局部放电老化机理,采用电导电流法分别测量了普通聚酰亚胺薄膜(100HN)和耐电晕型聚酰亚胺薄膜(100CR)电晕老化前、经10kV/mm、20kV/mm电晕强度8h老化后的电老化阈值。结果表明,2种薄膜的电老化阈值随电老化强度的增加而减小,且耐电晕型薄膜的电老化阈值始终高于普通膜的阈值;在2种薄膜的空间电荷限制电流区内,耐电晕型薄膜的电流增长率较大,说明其中含有更多的浅陷阱,测试结果与其170°C下退极化电流测试结果一致。这些浅陷阱有效调节了聚酰亚胺薄膜中电场的分布,改善其耐电晕性能。     

Space charge behavior in low density polyethylene at pre-breakdown

It has been known that the electrical breakdown of insulating materials is strongly affected by the formation of space charge in the bulk of the materials. Many researchers have attempted to study the relationship between the space charge and the breakdown; however, it has not been clarified yet. Although the pulsed electroacoustic (PEA) method has been widely used to observe space charge profiles, previous works have not shown clear evidence of the influence of the space charge on the breakdown. Therefore, we have developed a new PEA system with an interval of 0.5 ms to observe the space charge distribution continuously under the ultra-high electric field. Using this system, we observed the space charge dynamics in the low-density polyethylene (LDPE) at and around the breakdown. We also investigated the dependence of the applied electric field on space charge behavior. From the results, it is found that the injected charge packet moved faster and deeper under a relatively lower electric field rather than that under a higher electric field. Furthermore, we found that the maximum electric field in each specimen was almost the same when the breakdown happened in a specimen.     

Space charge characterization in aged LDPE amalgamated insulationregions from underwater telecommunication systems

The requirement of insertion of optical amplifier units and joints, into long-distance submarine telecommunication systems, results in regions of the polymeric insulation which have to be reinstated, using injection molding techniques. These techniques introduce internal amalgamated interfaces, which subsequently can be the sites of possible electrical insulation failure in the system. This paper reports on space charge measurements, (using the pulsed electroacoustic (PEA) technique), from microtomed thin film samples taken from the interface region of typical system joints which have undergone accelerated aging tests under a dc voltage at room temperature. The space charge distributions obtained for the samples are discussed with reference to the underlying mechanisms of both the bulk low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and the surface (LDPE/electrode interface). The effect of varying the electrode material (i.e. Au and Al) is discussed with reference to previously published data. Finally the effects of long-term aging on space charge accumulation within LDPE are considered briefly