Cable Insulation Materials Research Articles

Application Assessment of Electrical Cables during Smoldering and Flaming Combustion

Electrical cables are a potential source of ignition and fire hazards in various types of buildings and industrial installations, as well as in all modes of transportation, including aircraft. Fires in buildings pose the greatest threat to human life and health. The composition of thermal degradation products depends mainly on the type of combustible materials and the type of combustion process—flaming or smoldering. The purpose of this paper was to determine, based on experimental studies, the effects of flaming and smoldering combustion on the response times of fire smoke detectors. In addition, the concentrations of fire gases formed in the process of duct combustion, including CO, SO2, NO2, NO, HCN, HCl, HBr and HF, were measured using an FTIR spectrometer. The results presented confirm the significant effect of the way the cable samples burned on detector tripping time. The highest concentration of smoke (Y) in the test chamber was obtained during flame combustion. It was further found that the characteristics of the cable insulation material used, such as the type of PVC, had a significant effect on the toxicity of the emitted gases. The largest amounts of toxic gases were emitted during the smoldering combustion of a cable with a plasticized PVC sheath.

Microscopic Mechanism of Electrical Aging of PVDF Cable Insulation Material

In this study, the quantum chemical method was used to investigate the microscopic characteristics of α-poly viny difluoride (PVDF) molecules under the influence of an electric field, and the impact of mechanical stress and electric field polarization on the insulation performance of PVDF was analyzed through the material's structural and space charge characteristics. The findings reveal that long-term polarization of an electric field leads to a gradual decline in stability and a reduction in the energy gap of the front orbital, resulting in the improved conductivity of PVDF molecules and a change in the reactive active site of the molecular chain. When the energy gap reaches a certain value, a chemical bond fracture occurs, with the C-H and C-F bonds at the ends of the backbone breaking first to form free radicals. This process is triggered by an electric field of 8.7414 × 109 V/m, which leads to the emergence of a virtual frequency in the infrared spectrogram and the eventual breakdown of the insulation material. These results are of great significance in understanding the aging mechanism of electric branches in PVDF cable insulation and optimizing the modification of PVDF insulation materials.

Influence of Thermal Aging on Dielectric Properties of High Voltage Cable Insulation Layer

Thermal aging is one of the main reasons for the degradation of insulation properties of high voltage cable. Dielectric properties and breakdown strength are important parameters to reflect the insulation performance of the cable insulation materials. In the work, the influence of thermal aging on dielectric and breakdown performance of the cable insulation layer was studied. Firstly, XLPE cable insulation samples were prepared and the thermal aging treatment was carried out. Secondly, the microstructure and molecular structure of XLPE samples under different thermal aging time were analyzed. The dielectric properties and breakdown characteristics of XLPE samples under different thermal aging times were characterized in macro aspect. Finally, the effects of different temperatures on the molecular microstructure of XLPE were studied. The results show that with the extension of thermal aging time, the microstructure of XLPE molecule is destroyed, the macromolecular chain is gradually cleaved, and the carbonyl absorption intensity increases. At power frequency, the breakdown strength decreases from 75.37 kV/mm to 62.18 kV/mm, the relative permittivity increases from 2.44 to 2.51, and the dielectric loss increases from 1.47 × 10−4 to 3.10 × 10−3. The free volume rate of XLPE molecules increases with the increasing temperature, and the mean square displacement gradually increases. The work has good guiding significance for the safe operation and condition assessment of high-voltage cables.

On the pyrolysis characteristic parameters of four flame-retardant classes of PVC sheathless cable insulation materials

Flame retardant cables are widely used today, while the comparison of thermal degradation behavior between PVC cable insulation materials with different flame-retardant levels has not been extensively studied so far. The thermal degradation behaviors of four flame-retardant and one non-flame-retardant PVC cable insulation materials were studied using thermogravimetric (TG) analysis and a combination of TG-Fourier transform infrared analysis. Generally, TG data differ at the first peaks but are similar at the second peaks for various types of insulation materials. This is because the reaction mechanisms of the first pyrolysis stage vary with the change of flame-retardant level, while the second pyrolysis stage is similar regardless of the flame-retardant level. Besides, the flame-retardant performance level cannot solely be evaluated based on the activation energy of these insulation materials. The coupled Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) shows that during the pyrolysis of flame-retardant PVC insulation materials (ZA-BV, ZB-BV, ZC-BV, and ZR-BV), the amount of the seven major released components, arranged in order from most to least, is C-H bending > H2O > C-H stretching > CO2 > C-H aliphatic bending > CH2 deformation > C-Cl stretching. While for the non-flame-retardant PVC insulation material (BV), the series is CO2 > C-H bending > C-H stretching> H2O > C-H aliphatic bending > CH2 deformation > C-Cl stretching. The reported results provide a basis to evaluate the thermal degradation behavior of typical PVC cable insulation materials at present and can also provide essential data for the numerical simulation of an electrical fire.

On The Flame Behavior during Cable Insulation Material Ignited by Fault Arc: A Flame Extracting and Noise Reduction Algorithm

The electric fault arc, particularly the series arc, leads to plenty of electrical fire. The limitations of t previous studies include: (1) most existing research focused on gaseous atmospheres rather than solids materials, which is contrary to the actual demand; and (2) the studied external heat sources were restricted to cone heaters and flames, while the electric arc was seldom studied. To overcome these limitations, we developed an experimental platform to investigate the flame behavior when cable insulation material was ignited by the fault arc. We proposed a flame-extracting and noise-reduction algorithm to process the enormous number of photos shot by the high-speed camera. The main obtained findings were: (1) the appropriate size of the structuring element plays an essential role in filtering the flame region in the photos, too small a size resulted in the wrong recognition of incandescent particles, while too large a size made a jagged distortion; (2) the mean flame area increased as the system load grew; (3) The flame size became more prominent, and the flame appeared more frequently in specific locations when the system load increased. The in-depth understanding of flame behavior provided by this work will help to optimize the design of electric systems and disaster prevention reduction.

Insight into gaseous product distribution of cross-linked polyethylene pyrolysis using ReaxFF MD simulation and TG-MS

Cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) has been widely used as the insulation material of power cables due to the great electrical and thermal properties. However, the material deteriorated when subjected to excessive thermal stress, leading to performance reduction and even failure of the cables. In this paper, we proposed a novel thermal fault detection method in power cables by exploring the gaseous product distribution of XLPE pyrolysis. Firstly, the gas generation characteristics of the XLPE pyrolysis was investigated using large scale ReaxFF molecular dynamics simulation. The simulation results showed that the major gaseous products included H2, CH4, C2H6, C2H4, C2H2, CO. The pyrolysis kinetics as well as the formation mechanism of the gases was illustrated using the real-time trajectory obtained by molecular dynamic calculation. Furthermore, the influence of temperature on the gas product distribution was characterized. Higher temperature increased the yield of H2, C2H4, C2H2, but decreased that of CH4. The yield of C2H6 and CO almost kept constant as temperature changing. The influencing mechanism of temperature was reasonably explained by the proposed gas formation mechanism. On the basis of investigation on XLPE pyrolysis, a three ratios technique was proposed for the detection of thermal faults in power cables. Finally, the chemical composition of the gas product was validated by thermogravimetric and mass spectrometric simultaneous experiment. The experimental results exhibited good agreement with the numeric simulation.

Comparative Analysis of XLPE and Thermoplastic Insulation-Based HVDC Power Cables

The application of cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) cables to voltage sourced converter (VSC)-based high voltage direct current (HVDC) systems has already been technically verified and has become common, and thermoplastic (TP) is attracting attention as an insulation material for next-generation cables due to the recent development of material-related technologies. However, studies related to TP cables are mainly focused on improving material properties, and studies related to cable systems are insufficient. In this paper, XLPE and TP cables were designed for application to VSC-based HVDC systems, and major characteristics such as electric field distribution and thermal stability were compared and analyzed through overvoltage simulation. The insulation design method of HVDC cable was presented, and the design was performed using XLPE and TP insulation materials. The temperature and electric field profiles of the cables were also analyzed through a finite element method simulation. To analyze the performance of the designed cable, it was simulated with the PSCAD/EMTDC program. Based on the simulation results, the major characteristics of XLPE and TP cables were compared and analyzed. Results showed that in the case of TP cables, insulation properties were excellent, but thermal conductivity was relatively low; therefore, countermeasures are needed.

Thermal Aging Properties of 500 kV AC and DC XLPE Cable Insulation Materials.

Despite similar material composition and insulation application, the alternating current (AC) cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) and direct current (DC) XLPE materials cannot replace each other due to different voltage forms. Herein, this work presents a systematical investigation into the effects of thermal aging on the material composition and properties of 500 kV-level commercial AC XLPE and DC XLPE materials. A higher content of antioxidants in the AC XLPE than in the DC XLPE was experimentally demonstrated via thermal analysis technologies, such as oxidation-induced time and oxidation-induced temperature. Retarded thermal oxidation and suppression of space charge effects were observed in thermally aged AC XLPE samples. On the other hand, the carbonyl index of DC XLPE dramatically rose when thermal aging was up to 168 h. The newly generated oxygen-containing groups provided deep trapping sites (~0.95 eV) for space charges and caused severe electric field distortion (120%) under -50 kV/mm at room temperature in the aged DC XLPE samples. For the unaged XLPE materials, the positive space charge packets were attributed to the residue crosslinking byproducts, even after being treated in vacuum at 70 °C for 24 h. Thus, it was reasoned that the DC XLPE material had a lower crosslinking degree to guarantee fewer crosslinking byproducts. This work offers a simple but accurate method for evaluating thermal oxidation resistance and space charge properties crucial for developing high-performance HVDC cable insulation materials.

Study on radiation degradation of nuclear power cable materials

During the operation of nuclear power plants, it is necessary to monitor and evaluate the aging of cable materials. In this paper, we evaluate the irradiated use status of two types of cable insulation materials used in nuclear power plants-cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) and ethylene propylene diene methylene (EPDM). Firstly, two kinds of cable materials are subjected to accelerated radiation aging with different cumulative doses, and the macro-mechanical properties and microstructure changes of the cable materials after different doses are studied. Analyze and test its hardness value, tensile strength, elongation retention at the break, scanning electron microscope, and oxidation induction temperature. The results show that after γ-ray irradiation, the cable hardness and the retention rate of elongation at break show a downward trend. Under the highest cumulative dose of 500kGy, the retention rate of elongation at break is greater than 50% of the failure index. The tensile strength decreases slightly, the microscopic morphology of the tensile section has holes, and the oxidation induction temperature decreases.

XLPE 절연약화로 인한 케이블 부분방전시 초음파를 이용한 위상 변화 분석

This study compared the phase difference between corona discharge in the presence of XLPE insulator and corona discharge under normal conditions when partial discharge occurred in power cable using PRPD technique. In order to analyze the physical values detected by the sensor as measurable data, it was converted into a CVS (comma-separated values) file through the PRPD method and analyzed through the Excel program. XLPE insulator is the main insulation material for CNCV cables, which is currently the most used. At 22.9㎸, electrical, physical, and chemical defects as well as producer defects can occur. This defect causes partial discharge. If the fault point is identified and taken action at an early stage, it will be helpful in preventing a major power accident. Many accidents are being prevented in the field due to the preventive maintenance technology using the partial discharge diagnosis technology.

Cross-heating-rate prediction of thermogravimetry of PVC and XLPE cable insulation material: a novel artificial neural network framework

Cross-heating-rate prediction of thermogravimetry of PVC and XLPE cable insulation material: a novel artificial neural network framework

Comprehensive Comparisons of Grafting-Modified Different Polypropylene as HVDC Cable Insulation Material

Polypropylene (PP) is considered to be a rather potential material for recyclable HVDC cable insulation. Grafting modification has been proven to be effective to further enhance the dielectric properties of PP. To investigate the grafting effect on the performance of different PPs, homopolymerized PP (PPH), ethylene-propylene copolymer (PEC), and impact PP copolymer (IPC) are, respectively, grafting-modified by styrene, and the comprehensive properties are experimentally studied. The results indicate that all these grafting-modified PPs show enhanced dielectric properties, while the enhancement levels differ. Styrene-grafted PPH presents the best dielectric properties improvement and highest thermostability, but the elastic modulus is also the highest. PEC exhibits moderate dielectric properties enhancement after grafting modification. Grafting-modified IPC shows excellent mechanical properties, but the enhancements on dielectric properties are rather limited. Grafting styrene has no significant influence on the thermal and mechanical properties of PP. In conclusion, PPH is preferred to be the matrix for styrene-grafting to achieve enhanced dielectric properties. However, the mechanical properties still need further modification to meet the demands of cable insulation.

The effects of TiO2 nanoparticles on the temperature-dependent electrical and dielectric properties of polypropylene

Nanoparticles are found to have the capacity to improve the specific properties of polypropylene (PP) for recyclable cable insulation material. However, previous studies have focused on the modification effect at room temperature, and few studies, on the nano-modification effect under high temperature environments. This article aims to study the effects of nanoparticles on the electrical and dielectric properties of PP at different high temperatures. Both TiO2 nanoparticles and PP/TiO2 nanocomposite samples are prepared in the laboratory by the wet chemical method and surface modification. Then, the AC and DC breakdown strength, conductivity, permittivity, and dielectric loss of the PP/TiO2 nanocomposite are measured at different temperatures. The results show that TiO2 nanoparticles introduce a small amount of charge traps into PP to restrain the conductivity and improve the breakdown strength of PP. But due to the additional interfacial polarization between TiO2 nanoparticles and the PP matrix, the permittivity and dielectric loss of the PP/TiO2 nanocomposite are enhanced, especially at low frequency.

Comparative analysis of atructure and properties of different modified polypropylene cable insulation materials

Comparative analysis of atructure and properties of different modified polypropylene cable insulation materials

Condition assessment of cable insulation materials in advanced reactor environments

While existing cable insulation materials are sufficient for use in the current reactor fleet, environmental conditions inside some advanced reactors, such as small modular reactors, will be substantially harsher. The work herein was conducted to assess the performance and overall survivability of several high-temperature, radiation resistant insulation polymers in a simulated small modular reactor environment. The materials evaluated under this research include polyether ether ketone, polyimide, and silicone rubber. These polymers were subjected to 1000 h of environmental stress exposure under two different conditions: 1) high temperature (i.e., 250 °C) in atmospheric pressure and 2) high temperature in a low-pressure vacuum (i.e., less than 2 psia). During the environmental exposure process, each insulation was periodically tested using several materials characterization techniques including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, oxidation induction time, and oxidation induction temperature. The objective of this testing was to assess and monitor changes that occurred in the thermal and chemical properties of the materials during the environmental exposures. The overall survivability of each insulation was assessed based on these property changes. The results of this research revealed that the polyimide and polyether ether ketone insulations had significantly better thermal and chemical stability than the silicone rubber during both the high-temperature atmospheric and vacuum exposures. Both polyimide and polyether ether ketone experienced minimal reductions in their chemical and thermal properties over the course of 1000 h in the simulated environments. Based on this research, polyimide and polyether ether ketone show promise as potential base materials for small modular reactor cable insulation.

Analysis of the Effect of Air Gaps on the Electric Field in the Insulation Material of High Voltage Transmission Cables

High voltage (HV) cables are widely used in the transmission and distribution of electrical energy. The design and manufacture of these cables with great precision are of great importance for power systems. Mistakes made during the manufacturing phase and defects that may occur in the structure of the cable material can cause premature aging and continuous malfunctions in the cables. Factors such as air gaps, foreign substances, and moisture in the insulating material may cause punctures and insulation problems in high voltage cables. In this study, the effects of air gaps left as manufacturing defects on the electric field distribution in the insulation of high voltage cables used in power systems were investigated. The effects of 154 kV high voltage cable, the air gap in different coordinates, and diameters in the insulating layer on the electric field distribution in the cable have been investigated. For this analysis, the Finite Element Method (FEM) and ANSYS@Workbench program which realizes a solution based on this method were used. It has been found that the diameter and location of the air gap significantly affect the electric field distribution of the high voltage cable.

Effects of electrical aging on the structural and physicochemical properties of crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) cable insulation material

The aim of this work is to highlight the evolution of physico-chemical properties of peroxide crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) insulation material exposed to electrical aging. Specific analysis and characterization studies were carried out to determine the effect of electrical aging on different samples at micro and macro levels. Based on the analytical investigations, it was shown that electrical aging yielded significant changes in the chemical and thermal characteristics of XLPE. It was also showed that property loss increased with the aging time.

Crosslinking-modulated direct-current conductivity of XLPE-PS composite via charge trap characteristics

Low direct-current (DC) conductivity is one of the most desired characteristics for crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) as a high-voltage DC cable insulation material. In this Letter, a correlation between the DC conductivity and cross-linking characteristics of XLPE-polystyrene (PS) composites at 50 °C was studied. Experimental results show that by adjusting the cross-linking structure, different trap distribution characteristics for XLPE-PS composites were realized. With the increase in the cross-linking agent content, DC conductivities of XLPE-PS composites tend to decrease, and the introduced average trap depth increases correspondingly. An increase of 0.07 eV for average charge trap depth in XLPE-PS composites could be acquired in the test range. It is considered that the increase in the average trap depth reduces the carrier mobility, contributing to the reduction of DC conductivity for XLPE-PS composites. Thus, the DC conductivity and average trap depth of XLPE composites show a strong relevance. The results suggest that the interaction between PS particles and the matrix introduced by cross-linking plays a dominant role in determining the charge conduction for XLPE-PS composites.

Technology Topic Identification and Trend Prediction of New Energy Vehicle Using LDA Modeling

As new energy vehicle (NEV) is the future of automobile development, it is of great significance to dig deeper into the technical topics and development trends of new energy vehicles for accurately understanding the technical trends of the new energy vehicle industry, grasping development opportunities, and scientifically formulating strategic plans. This paper takes the patent texts in the field of new energy vehicles from 2000 to 2020 in the patent database of CNKI as the data source, identifies 25 technical topics implied in the patent texts by using the LDA (Latent Dirichlet Allocation) topic model, analyzes the evolution trend of the 25 technical topics in terms of importance and popularity, and predicts the popularity and development trend of each technical topic in new energy vehicles from 2021 to 2025 by constructing the ARIMA model. The popularity and development trend of each technology topic of new energy vehicles in China from 2021 to 2025 are predicted by constructing ARIMA model. Drawing on quantitative evidence, the study found that there are top five technical topics in terms of importance in this field, namely, Topic 8 (Installation and Fixation), Topic 5 (Heat Dissipation), Topic 14 (Vehicle Data Monitoring), Topic 9 (Charging Pile), and Topic 15 (Damping). From 2014 to 2020, the importances of Topic 5 (Heat Dissipation), Topic 8 (Installation and Fixation), Topic 6 (Electric Drive System), Topic 9 (Charging Pile), and Topic 15 (Damping) are gradually rising. In terms of popularity of technical topics, from 2014 to 2020, the first to fifth topics are Topic 20 (Safety), Topic 8 (Installation and Fixation), Topic 3 (Cable Insulation Materials), Topic 15 (Damping), and Topic 10 (Pump Cooling). Based on the prediction of ARIMA model, it is found that the popularity of these five technical topics is steadily increasing from 2021 to 2025, among which the popularity of Topic 20 (Safety) will increase from 63.58 to 113.07, the largest increase in popularity among all technical topics. The paper provides implications for countries dedicated to developing the new energy vehicle industry.

Invariant electrical conductivity upon thermal ageing of a crosslinked copolymer blend for high voltage insulation

Click chemistry type reactions between polyethylene-based copolymers are a promising and by-product free alternative to peroxide crosslinking of low-density polyethylene, which is widely used as an insulation material for high-voltage power cables.