Pilar Tiemblo et al 2008 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 41 125208 doi:10.1088/0022-3727/41/12/125208
Pilar Tiemblo1, Mario Hoyos1, Jose Manuel Gómez-Elvira1, Julio Guzmán, Nuria García1, Andrea Dardano2 and Francesco Guastavino2
Show affiliationsElectrical treeing in LDPE and three LDPE nanocomposites, with spherical silica and fibrous and laminar phyllosilicates, has been studied. Electrical tests were performed at a 50 Hz frequency and voltages between 8 and 29 kV, and the time to inception of the first electrical partial discharges (TTI) of the electrical trees and the time to breakdown (TBD), related to the electrical stability of the insulator, were determined. Above 15 kV all the nanocomposites show longer inception times and shorter tree growth times than LDPE. It is proposed that both observations are caused by the modification of the polymer crystalline morphology induced by the presence of the fillers and by the development of a large number of interfacial structures, both organo–inorganic and amorphous–crystalline. Below 15 kV the TBD is increased in the nanocomposites with the laminar silicate because of tortuosity and the TTI is increased in the fibrous silicate containing a nanocomposite because of the LDPE crystalline morphology in the presence of the silicate. The nanosilica particles decrease the electrical stability in the whole voltage range by decreasing both TTI and TBD.
Issue 12 (21 June 2008)
Received 27 November 2007, in final form 28 April 2008
Published 30 May 2008
Pilar Tiemblo et al 2008 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 41 125208
Hongmei Zhang et al 2008 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 41 102006
H Takele et al 2008 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 41 125409
Dawen Li and L Jay Guo 2008 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 41 105115
Joseph Shinar and Ruth Shinar 2008 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 41 133001
O Trushkevych et al 2008 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 41 125106
P Parisse et al 2008 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 41 112003
Da Li et al 2008 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 41 115005
Beverly J. Smith et al. 1999 The Astronomical Journal 117 1237
G. Fritz Benedict et al. 2002 The Astronomical Journal 123 1411