Space Charge Property of Polyethylene/Silica Nanocomposites at Different Elongations

Abstract

This paper prepares polyethylene/silica nanocomposites with concentrations of 3 wt% and 5 wt% by using silicon dioxide (SiO2) nanopowder (nanosilica) with particle sizes of 15 and 50 nm. Samples whose elongations are 3%, 6%, and 10% are prepared. Pulsed electroacoustic technique is applied to evaluate the space charge distribution in samples. Test results show that homocharge near electrodes is generated in the polyethylene/silica nanocomposites. Nanocomposites with a nanoparticle concentration of 3 wt% and particle size of 15 nm suppress the accumulation of space charge effectively. The amount of space charge in the samples increases with the increase in elongation. At an elongation of 10%, packet‐like space charge is generated in polyethylene/silica nanocomposites with the concentration of 5 wt% and particle sizes of 15 and 50 nm. The packet‐like space charge in nanocomposites whose particle size is 50 nm is more obvious than that in nanocomposites whose particle size is 15 nm. The experiment results are explained by applying interface characteristics, dipole model, and induced dipole model.