Depolarization Current Method Research Articles

Electrical Conductivity Characteristic of Polyimide under Long-Term Combined Electron Irradiation and Thermal Cycle in Vacuum.

During long-term operation, low-earth-orbit spacecraft are exposed to a severe environment of electron irradiation and thermal cycle. This affects the electric properties of polyimide, an essential insulation material for spacecraft electrical transmission equipment, particularly the conductivity characteristic. Therefore, this paper investigates the conductivity and its evolution of polyimide after the combination of 20 keV, 8 nA/cm2 electron irradiation, and 243-343 K, 5 K/min thermal cycle in a vacuum environment for 432 h. The results show that the conductivity increases by about 2 orders of magnitude over 432 h, with the threshold field for electric-field-dependent conductivity decreasing. The conductivity growth rate varies, rising during the first 192 h, then increasing in the midelectric field, and decreasing in the high electric field regions. The thermally stimulated depolarization current method demonstrates that increases in γ, β1, and β2 trap densities, associated with enhanced motility of end groups, diamines, and dianhydrides after long-chain breaks, lead to higher conductivity and growth rate. Additionally, increases in β3 and α trap densities, related to increased C═O bonds and free radicals, reduce the threshold field and the conductivity growth rate in the range of 57.0-100.0 kV/mm after 192 h. These findings provide a reference for the performance evaluation and enhancement of spacecraft polyimide materials.

Study on water tree resistance and self‐healing properties of multi‐monomer melt‐grafted polyethylene

AbstractIn order to suppress the damage of cable insulation caused by water tree structure formed by micro‐droplets at insulation defects in low density polyethylene (LDPE) materials under AC electric field. In this paper, the siloxane group is grafted onto LDPE by melt grafting method, and different content of comonomer styrene (St) is added to improve the grafting rate of siloxane group grafted polyethylene. The effect of St on the microscopic characteristics of LDPE grafted KH570 is studied. In order to verify the accuracy and timeliness of water tree self‐healing of grafted polymer insulation materials, the microstructure characteristics of LDPE ungrafted and grafted polymer samples are analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, gel content test, and differential scanning calorimeter. Second, the AC dielectric properties of LDPE ungrafted and grafted polymer samples are studied by AC breakdown experiment and space charge test. Finally, the water tree length, micropore defects, and self‐healing of the samples are observed by optical microscopy and polarization and depolarization current method, and the changes of chemical composition in the water tree area before and after aging are analyzed by infrared spectroscopy. The principle and mechanism of repairing water tree defects with grafted monomers are explained. This paper not only combines the previous research results of self‐healing materials, but also provides a new method for the preparation process of LDPE grafted polymer, which has a good research prospect in practical application.

Molecular Layer Deposition of Polyurea on Silica Nanoparticles and Its Application in Dielectric Nanocomposites.

Polymer nanocomposites (NCs) offer outstanding potential for dielectric applications including insulation materials. The large interfacial area introduced by the nanoscale fillers plays a major role in improving the dielectric properties of NCs. Therefore, an effort to tailor the properties of these interfaces can lead to substantial improvement of the material's macroscopic dielectric response. Grafting electrically active functional groups to the surface of nanoparticles (NPs) in a controlled manner can yield reproducible alterations in charge trapping and transport as well as space charge phenomena in nanodielectrics. In the present study, fumed silica NPs are surface modified with polyurea from phenyl diisocyanate (PDIC) and ethylenediamine (ED) via molecular layer deposition (MLD) in a fluidized bed. The modified NPs are then incorporated into a polymer blend based on polypropylene (PP)/ethylene-octene-copolymer (EOC), and their morphological and dielectric properties are investigated. We demonstrate the alterations in the electronic structure of silica upon depositing urea units using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Subsequently, the effect of urea functionalization on the dielectric properties of NCs is studied using thermally stimulated depolarization current (TSDC) and broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS) methods. The DFT calculations reveal the contribution of both shallow and deep traps upon deposition of urea units onto the NPs. It could be concluded that the deposition of polyurea on NPs results in a bi-modal distribution of trap depths that are related to each monomer in the urea units and can lead to a reduction of space charge formation at filler-polymer interfaces. MLD offers a promising tool for tailoring the interfacial interactions in dielectric NCs.

Inter-Laboratory Study on Measuring the Surface Charge of Electrically Polarized Hydroxyapatite.

Surface charges on implants improve integration into bone and so require a clear protocol for achieving a surface charge and comparable results from different laboratories. This study sintered hydroxyapatite (HAp) at one laboratory to remove the influence of the microstructure on surface charge and then polarized/depolarized the pellets at two different laboratories (in Tokyo and Riga). Surface charges on HAp pellets induced by electric polarization at 400 °C in a 5 kV/cm DC electric field were measured by the thermally stimulated depolarization current (TSDC) method as 6-9 µC/cm2. The surface charge results were comparable between laboratories and also agreed with previously documented values. Recommendations describe conditions for polarization and depolarization to generate a surface charge and repeatedly achieve a comparable outcome. A visual display of the polarization mechanisms and the contribution to surface charge point to further aspects that need further development.

Mechanism study of the conductivity characteristics of cellulose electrical insulation influenced by moisture

Cellulose insulating paper is widely used in the power industry for its good electrical insulating properties. Moisture sharply increases its conductivity, which directly leads to the weakening of insulation performance and greatly increases the risk of subsequent electric field distortion and insulation breakdown. This paper focuses on the microscopic mechanism of moisture changing the characteristics of charge transport in cellulose insulation and attempts to reveal the related conductivity mechanism. To achieve this purpose, microscopic and macroscopic perspectives are integrated and several simulation and experimental methods are utilized comprehensively. The molecular dynamics simulation results showed that most water molecules in damped cellulose were individually and uniformly adsorbed on the hydroxyl groups by hydrogen bond, and the quantum chemistry computation results showed that the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital more appeared on the water molecule and the corresponding density of state increased. Then, experimentally, it was confirmed that the trap energy level decreased by the thermally stimulated current method. On this basis, the promotion effect of moisture on charge transport is predicted and verified by polarization and depolarization current methods. As the moisture content increased, more charge carriers escaped from the trap by hopping and participated in long-range continuous charge motion. Therefore, after dampness, the current of cellulose insulating paper increased exponentially with the increase in electric field strength, which was consistent with the hopping conductivity mechanism.

Non-Debye Relaxations: The Ups and Downs of the Stretched Exponential vs. Mittag–Leffler’s Matchings

Experimental data collected to provide us with information on the course of dielectric relaxation phenomena are obtained according to two distinct schemes: one can measure either the time decay of depolarization current or use methods of the broadband dielectric spectroscopy. Both sets of data are usually fitted by time or frequency dependent functions which, in turn, may be analytically transformed among themselves using the Laplace transform. This leads to the question on comparability of results obtained using just mentioned experimental procedures. If we would like to do that in the time domain we have to go beyond widely accepted Kohlrausch–Williams–Watts approximation and become acquainted with description using the Mittag–Leffler functions. To convince the reader that the latter is not difficult to understand we propose to look at the problem from the point of view of objects which appear in the stochastic processes approach to relaxation. These are the characteristic exponents which are read out from the standard non-Debye frequency dependent patterns. Characteristic functions appear to be expressed in terms of elementary functions whose asymptotics is simple. This opens new possibility to compare behavior of functions used to describe non-Debye relaxations. It turnes out that the use of Mittag-Leffler function proves very convenient for such a comparison.

Effect of graphene modified semi‐conductive shielding layer on space charge accumulation in insulation layer for high‐voltage direct current cable

Space charge accumulation in the insulation layer of high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cable is one of the key factors restricting the development of HVDC cable. The inner semi-conductive layer as an important structure of cable will affect the charge accumulation characteristics in the insulation layer. This work intends to explore the method of modifying the semi-conductive layer with graphene, to suppress charge accumulation in the insulation layer. First, the semi-conductive layer with different contents of Graphene (G) and carbon black (CB) are prepared. Second, the morphology and surface roughness of the cross section are analysed. Further, the effects of the semi-conductive layer on space charge accumulation of the insulation layer are studied by pulsed electro-acoustic method and thermal stimulation depolarisation current method. The experimental results show that a moderate amount of graphene replacing CB can effectively reduce charge accumulation in the insulation layer and inhibit positive temperature coefficient (PTC) effect at the same time. The surface roughness of specimens decreases with the increase of G content from 0 to 3 phr (parts per hundreds of resin), when the CB content decreases from 25 to 10 phr, the surface roughness of specimen increases. The resistivity test shows that doping G can significantly inhibit the PTC effect of the semi-conductive layer. The volume resistivity of the semi-conductive layer decreases with the increase of G content and CB content. In addition, charge accumulation of the insulation layer rises and then drops under the action of the semi-conductive layer.

The Influence of Short Chain Branch on the Crystal Characteristics and Breakdown Strength of Low-Density Polyethylene

Studying the influence of short chain branch (SCB) on the crystal properties and breakdown strength of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) plays an important role in improving the electrical and mechanical properties of LDPE by adjusting the molecular structure. In this work, the SCB and long chain branch (LCB) content of LDPE are quantitatively characterized. Grain size, crystallinity and breakdown strength of LDPE (including AC and DC) are calculated through related characterization experiments. The results show that the SCB content in LDPE is dozens of times that of LCB. Reducing the SCB content can reduce the grain size of 110 face in LDPE and improve the AC and DC breakdown strength. The trap distribution characteristics measured by the thermally stimulated depolarization current (TSDC) method show that the SCB inhibits the formation of deep cavity defects in the LDPE interface area and decreases the trap energy level of crystal defects. This inspired us to improve the breakdown strength by reducing the SCB content in LDPE.

DC conductivity characteristics of PEEK material at different temperatures and electric field intensities

This paper investigates the direct current (DC) conductivity of PEEK (polyetherketone) material that is used as packaging insulation materials of press pack IGBT devices under the electro-thermal composite stress. The DC conductivity is measured by polarization depolarization current method and corresponding experimental platform is setup in the laboratory. The temperature is controlled in the ranges of 15℃∼130℃, and the electric field intensities are controlled at the range of 10MV/m∼40MV/m. The effects of temperature and electric field intensity on the dc conductivity of PEEK materials are studied. The results show that the DC conductivity of PEEK material increases with the increase of temperature and electric field strength, respectively. The empirical formulas used to fit the relationship between the DC conductivity, temperature and electric field strength of PEEK material are proposed in this paper. The results can provide references for the packaging insulation design of press pack IGBT devices.

Realizing Quantitative Evaluation of Trap Energy Distribution in Polymers with an Electric Field Stimulated Depolarization Current Method

In this paper, we propose a method for characterizing the trap energy distribution of polymers. The method can accurately extract the de-trapping current from the polarization current of the sample, thus overcoming the accuracy problem of the traditional isothermal relaxation current (IRC) method. Further application of this method on crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) sheet samples revealed the effect of thermal degradation degree on the trap distribution of XLPE. At the recrystallization stage as polyethylene becomes re-crosslinked, the number of traps decreases. At the thermal-oxidative aging stage as the sample is seriously damaged, the number of traps increases. The de-trapping current of the sample thus exhibits a first decreasing and then increasing trend.

Influence of Cable Temperature Rise on PDC Method Test Results of Water Tree Aged Cables

There is a certain temperature rise in the field running cable because of the load bearing. To study the influence of cable temperature rise on the polarization and depolarization current (PDC) method, 10kV XLPE short cables were accelerated aging three months by water needle electrode method, and the PDC method was used to test the new and aged cables under constant humidity. The polarization and depolarization current of the cable samples was analyzed, and the conductivity and low frequency dielectric loss spectra were obtained and inspected. The results show that: in the experiment selected test temperature, the change laws of conductivity of the new and aged cables are the same, and the conductivity gradually rose after a slight drop in 40 °C; in the dielectric loss spectrum, the polarization of the new sample is low and the polarization loss changes little with temperature, and the dielectric loss is mainly affected by the conductivity, so the test result is clearly divided into two regions. And water tree aged samples have strong polarization and are obviously affected by temperature, so their low frequency dielectric loss showed the trend of first rising and then decreasing and the maximum appeared at 60 °C.

Analysis of Polarization and Depolarization Currents of Samples of NOMEX®910 Cellulose–Aramid Insulation Impregnated with Mineral Oil

The article presents results of laboratory tests performed on samples of NOMEX®910 cellulose–aramid insulation impregnated with Nynas Nytro 10× inhibited insulating mineral oil using the polarization and depolarization current analysis method (PDC Method). In the course of the tests, the insulation samples were subjected to a process of accelerated thermal degradation of cellulose macromolecules, as well as weight-controlled dampening, thereby simulating the ageing processes occurring when using the insulation in power transformers. The effects of temperature in the ranges typical of normal transformer operation were also taken into account. On the basis of the obtained data, the activation energy was then fixed together with dominant time constants of cellulose–aramid insulation relaxation processes with respect to the temperature and degree of moisture, as well as thermal degradation of cellulose macromolecules. It was found that the greatest and predictable changes in the activation energy value were caused by the temperature and the degree of moisture in the samples. A similar conclusion applies to the dominant time constant of the relaxation process of cellulose fibers. Degree of thermal degradation samples was of marginal importance for the described parameters. The final outcome of the test results and analyses presented in the article are regression functions for the activation energy and the dominant time constants depending on the earlier listed parameters of the experiment, which may be used in the future diagnostics of the degree of technical wear of cellulose–aramid insulation performed using the PDC method.

Measurement Stand, Method and Results of Composite Electrotechnical Pressboard-Mineral Oil Electrical Measurements

The paper presents a measuring stand designed and built for testing direct and alternating current properties of power transformers basic insulation component i.e. electrotechnical pressboard impregnated with transformer oil. Measurements of direct and alternating current parameters are performed using the frequency domain spectroscopy and polarization depolarization current methods.The measuring station includes a specially developed climatic chamber which is characterized by high accuracy of temperature stabilization and maintenance during several dozen hours of measurements. The uncertainty of temperature maintaining during several dozen hours of measurements does not exceed ± 0.01 °C. The computer software developed to control the station allows for remote measurements, changes in supply voltage and temperature settings and acquisition of the obtained results. A new type of measuring capacitor was developed and manufactured, the structure of which significantly reduces the chance of samples contamination during measurements. By increasing the accuracy of temperature stabilization during measurements, the resolution of measurement temperatures was increased, at which it is possible to perform measurements with the frequency domain spectroscopy and polarization depolarization current methods. This allowed to reduce the step of measurement temperature change and thus to increase the accuracy of determining the activation energy of the measured parameters.The article also contains basic information on the analysis of the direct and alternating current electrical parameters of the composite electrotechnical pressboard-mineral oil-water nanoparticles. The results of several direct and alternating current parameters measurements of a transformer oil impregnated pressboard sample with a moisture content of (5.2 ± 0.1) % by weight obtained by the use of a measuring stand are presented as examples.

Application of Polarization and Depolarization Current in High Voltage Insulator - A Review

Deterioration of cable insulator can be caused by many factors such as aging, fault and breakdown. These factors are caused by the presence of moisture, impurities and heat due to high temperatures in an insulator. The maintenance and replacement for insulation system in power cables, power transformers and electric machine stator are generally expensive and time consuming. Thus, the performance and ability of an insulator can be monitored through polarization and depolarization current (PDC). Polarization and depolarization current (PDC) is a non- destructive test method that is used to analyse many factors that affects the behaviour of an insulator in time domain. This paper presents the review on application of polarization and depolarization current test method on different type of insulator. The factors that affects the performance of different type of insulator will be discussed in this paper. Moreover, the theory of polarization and depolarization current will be explained in order to understand the behaviour of polarization and depolarization current curve when fault occurs. Last but not least, this paper will provide a review on the different type of factors that affects the performance of different types of insulation.

Dielectric response study of service-aged XLPE cable based on polarisation and depolarisation current method

Dielectric response measurement based on the polarisation and depolarisation current (PDC) method is a diagnostic tool commonly employed to the insulation condition assessment of power apparatus. In this paper, experimental studies are carried out on short sections of service-aged XLPE cable. Daniel's normalisation is applied to estimate the difference between the permittivity under DC excitation and that at optical frequency. Physical explanations of various polarisation processes at low and high frequencies are interpreted through the clustering model. Based on transforming the PDC currents into the frequency domain equivalents, dissipation/loss factor (tan δ) measurement and modeling over the range of frequency from very low to power frequency are presented. The analysis reveals the relationship between individual loss factors and the overall loss factor. Also, measurements of the activation energy and testing under varying electrical stresses and ambient conditions provide further information for interpretation.

Influence of Polarization and Non-Uniform Electric Field on Failure Characteristics of Polypropylene Film

Polypropylene (PP) film is widely used in the high energy density capacitors due to its excellent electrical properties. However, polarization and non-uniform electric field have great impact on the dielectric reliability of PP films, which were investigated in this paper focusing on the failure characteristics. By using the polarization and depolarization current method, the polarization tests of PP films with different thickness were conducted to reveal the variation of the capacitance, dielectric loss and volume resistivity. The accumulation of space charge was measured based on PEA method, and then the trap density and trap depth of PP films at different polarization levels were calculated. Finally, the DC breakdown properties at non-uniform electric field were analyzed based on the breakdown voltage and the quantitative indication of breakdown craters. Obtained results reveal that the increasing polarization degree causes the decrease in the volume resistivity, the increase in the polarization current, dielectric constant and dielectric loss. In addition, the trap density and trap depth both increase that promote the accumulation of space charge. The breakdown voltage, failure area and angular second moment of breakdown craters show the increasing tendency with the increase of the electric-field uniformity, but the decreasing tendency with increasing polarization degree.

Charge Injection Characteristics of Semi-Conductive Composites with Carbon Black-Polymer for HVDC Cable.

Semi-conductive composites composed of carbon black-polymer play an important role in uniform electric field in high voltage direct current (HVDC) cable. They also affect space charge behaviors in the insulation material. However, the charge injection characteristics of semi-conductive composites are not detailed. In this work, the electrode structure of ‘Semi-conductive composites- Insulation material- Metal bottom’ (S-I-M) is proposed, and the currents formed by injected charges from semi-conductive composites are characterized by the thermally stimulated depolarization current (TSDC) method. Further, the experimental results based on the structure of S-I-M are compared with the traditional electrode structure of M-I-M (Metal upper electrode- Insulation material- Metal bottom electrode) and the simplified cable electrode structure of MS-I-M (Metal upper electrode-Semi-conductive electrode- Insulation material- Metal bottom electrode), respectively. The experimental results show that the semi-conductive composite plays an important role in the charge injection process and it presents a different tendency under different compound modes of temperature and electric field. For the low electric field (E ≤ 5 kV/mm) and the low temperature (T ≤ 50 °C), the current caused by the accumulated charges follows the rule, IS > IMS > IM. For the low electric field and high temperature (T > 50 °C), the current caused by the injected charges follows the rule, IMS > IM > IS. This phenomenon is closely related to the interface characterization and contact barrier.

Influence of Temperature on Charge Accumulation in Low-Density Polyethylene Based on Depolarization Current and Space Charge Decay.

Temperature is one of the key factors affecting space charge accumulation in high voltage direct current (HVDC) cable insulation material. The influence of temperature on charge accumulation in low density polyethylene (LDPE) has been investigated with a combined thermally stimulated depolarization current (TSDC) method and pulsed electro-acoustic (PEA) method. The experimental results indicate that there exists a transition temperature region of charge accumulation around 50 °C. The total accumulated charges all firstly increase and then decrease with the increasing polarization temperature under three typical polarization electric fields, and they have more accumulated charges in LDPE around 50 °C. The phenomenon has a close link with the dynamic processes of charge trapping and de-trapping, which were verified by TSDC results. At room temperature, the trapped charges are difficult to release from the traps, and these homocharges near the cathode can depress the further injection of the charges. More charges can be injected from the electrodes with the increase of temperature, while the charge migration is relatively lower before 50 °C, leading to more accumulated charges. When the temperature exceeds around 50 °C, the molecular movement is accelerated which can enhance the hopping probability of charges between the adjacent traps, resulting in few accumulated charges.

Polarization and Trap Characteristics Modification of Oil-Impregnated Paper Insulation by TiO₂ Nanoparticles.

Polarization and traps determine the electrical property of oil-paper insulation, but most attention has been paid to the modification of insulating oil with nanoparticles, so there are is little research about oil-impregnated paper, and the origin for performance variation is not understood yet. In this paper, spherical nanoscale titanium dioxide was prepared by the hydrolysis method and nanofluid-impregnated paper (NP) was fabricated through oil-impregnation. The frequency domain spectrum was measured for polarization analysis, and both thermally stimulated depolarization current (TSDC) and isothermal surface potential decay (ISPD) methods were used to reveal trap parameters. Results show that NP’s low frequency permittivity is much larger, and another peak appears in the spectrum even though the content of nanoparticles is very low. With the addition of TiO2 nanoparticles, TSDC’s amplitude and peak temperature increase, and the trap energy becomes shallower. TiO2 nanoparticles’ strong polarization and high activation energy contribute to NP’s larger interface polarization intensity and activation energy. Furthermore, because of oxygen vacancies, TiO2 nanoparticles offer a transfer site for holes and electrons to escape from deep traps; thus, the trap energy is greatly reduced.

TSDC study of electrical aging of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT)

Aging may introduce one or more modifications in a polymer when it is submitted to certain stresses. In this work, we have investigated in particular electrical aging of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) by the thermally stimulated depolarization current (TSDC) method. This study consists in subjecting a sample to different electric fields Ea, with intensities lower than the breakdown field of the material during different times Ata. The results reveal a decrease in the polarization of the material which is probably caused by an injection of space charges. This effect induces a decrease in the activation energy, fragility index and dielectric loss factor. Also, the compensation parameters are affected by this aging.