Numeric description of space charge in polyethylene under ac electric fields

Abstract

Space charge in polyethylene-based insulation materials and its effect on the local electric field under a dc environment have been extensively examined over the last few decades while the behavior of space charge under ac stress has received less attention. Space charge phenomenon under ac electric fields becomes an important issue with increased operating field strength in many applications, such as next generation high voltage cables. In this paper, a bipolar charge transport model has been developed to simulate space charge in polymers under ac electric fields. Obtained simulation results show that there is a small quantity of phase-dependent bipolar charge accumulation in the vicinity of the electrodes that does not move into the bulk under ac stress. This causes a slight distortion of the local field in the bulk. However, at lower frequencies less than 1 Hz, there is increased charge accumulation and penetration. Comparison with available experimental data suggests that the model is capable of describing the underlying physics of charge behavior when a dielectric material is subjected to ac electric fields. Due to the weak charge movement in the bulk, the conduction current density is small and hence the displacement component dominates the total current density and this increases linearly with ac frequency.