Abstract
Accelerated thermal ageing test on nanocomposites of polyvinyl chloride (PVC/SiO2) is conducted at constant temperatures of 110 °C and 140 °C. Accordingly, different PVC/SiO2 nanocomposite samples with different silicon dioxide (SiO2) filler loading are prepared. The preparation of the samples was carried out based on the solution casting technique. The loading concentrations of SiO2 in the investigating samples are 0, 1, 2.5, 5 and 7.5 wt%. The breakdown strength of the prepared PVC/SiO2 nanocomposite samples is evaluated before and after the thermal ageing test. The evaluation of breakdown strength is carried out based on American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard. Also, dielectric spectroscopy, which includes dielectric constant (έ) and tangent loss (tan δ) of nanocomposite, is performed before and after the thermal ageing test. Also, the mass losses during thermal ageing of all samples are evaluated. The results show that the breakdown strength, tan δ, and the dielectric constant (έ) of pure PVC and PVC/SiO2 nanocomposites are significantly affected by the thermal ageing test. Adding a small amount of SiO2 nanoparticles to PVC leads to improvement in its dielectric properties before and after the thermal ageing process as compared to the pure PVC. The mass loss of PVC/SiO2 nanocomposite during thermal ageing is less than that of pure PVC and confirms the obtained result from breakdown strength.
Highlights
Electrical cables are an important part in electrical transmission and distribution networks
The evaluation is carried out based on the measurement of breakdown strength and dielectric sprectroscopy
The results show that tan δ remains constant for ageing time up to 15 days
Summary
Electrical cables are an important part in electrical transmission and distribution networks. The effect of a concentration level of SiO2 NPs on the dielectric properties of the PVC polymer during thermal ageing is evaluated.
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