Dielectric response and breakdown strength improvement of LDPE/TiO2 nanocomposites by using POSS as compatibilizing agent
In this paper, two types of nanocomposites were prepared by ball milling techniquee The first type consists of 5% untreated titanium dioxide (TiO2) incorporated into LDPE. For the second one, 5% commercial TiO2 chemically treated with trisilanol phenyl polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (TSP-POSS) as dispersant was ball-milled with LDPE. The microscopic observation by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) showed a better dispersion into polymer matrix of the TiO2 treated with POSS as compared to untreated TiO2. It was found that LDPE/treated TiO2 nanocomposite exhibited lower relative permittivity and dielectric losses compared to LDPE/untreated TiO2. The surface treatment of LDPE/TiO2 by TSP-POSS also affects the dielectric strength. The LDPE/treated TiO2 revealed highest breakdown strength of 82 kV/mm, compared to 78 kV/mm and 71 kV/mm of LDPE neat and LDPE/untreated TiO2, respectively.
Surface and breakdown resistance of polyethylene-based nano-dielectrics containing graphene-like additives
In this work, nanopowders of graphene oxide (GO) and functionalized graphene (G*) have been mixed with low-density polyethylene (LDPE) to fabricate samples with low filler weight ratio. A peculiar fabrication method was utilized, which consisted of ball-milling followed by thermal pressing. Electrical properties like resistance to erosion due to partial discharge (PD), and breakdown values were detected and the results were compared with those obtained on the neat LDPE. It is highlighted that the addition of G*, in particular, improves significantly both resistance to PD activity and the electric strength of LDPE specimens.
THE PERFORMANCE OF STEADY DETONATION ENGINES
Propulsion systems driven by steady normal detonations are studied. The practical di‐culties associated with stabilizing a detonation wave are highlighted. The requirement on the freestream total enthalpy is considered in parallel with efiects such as condensation or auto-ignition of the fuel-air mixture and limitations associated with fuel sensitivity to detonation. A criterion for detonation stabilization is formulated and applied to an analytical treatment of a detonation ramjet and a detonation turbojet, which are the respective analogs of the ramjet and the turbojet using detonative combustion. The performance of these engines is evaluated and compared to the ideal ramjet and turbojet models for hydrogen and JP10. A limitation is placed on the maximum total temperature allowed in the combustor, based on material considerations. The results show that steady detonation engines have a small thrust-producing range, due to the requirements for detonation stabilization. Their performance is always lower than that of the conventional ramjet and turbojet because of the total pressure loss across the detonation.