Natural rubber electrical conduction mechanism in high and low electric fields

Abstract

The services in energized lines become more and more indispensable and its efficiency depends on the electrical worker who is involved in such activity. The efficiency of such work highly depends on the worker's safety, which is protected by tools such as gloves, sleeves, blankets and flexible coverings among other manufactured natural-rubber goods. Use, storage and maintenance of these tools guarantee the quality and durability of the material. However, it might be observed that good tools made of such material are disapproved of when received from manufacturers or when they are removed from the warehouse for replacement. This work shows the experimental results obtained from ageing at a temperature of 100 /spl deg/C for 48, 70 and 312 h, although the application of AC electrical tension in samples and the measuring of current leakage are presented. The measurements in samples were carried out with samples prepared from the deformulated commercial materials and respectively reformulated into thin films. The obtained results showed the mechanisms of conduction of samples in low and high electric fields. It was also identified an electric tension transition showing that in low fields it prevails the Ohm's law conduction, and in high electric fields it prevails the conduction of space charge limited current (SCLC). These results can support the natural rubber formulation process having as their main objective the reducing of the mechanisms that occur under high conduction current in high electric fields, which leads the material to a dielectric breakdown. Raw Natural rubber in Brazil is extracted from rubber trees (Hevea brasiliensis) in farms in Sao Paulo State by using some new plantation technology in smaller spaces, with trees placed a few meters from each other. In the Amazon rain forest the rubber trees are found naturally and their spacing may be of hundreds of meters or even kilometers between them. It is necessary to research this raw material from different internationally standard clones to characterize dielectric and electric properties for industrial applications. Moreover, this natural material has a low commercial price when compared to the synthetic ones.