Effect of SEBS on water treeing behaviors of cross-linked polyethylene
We investigated the effect of an aromatic polymer, styrene-(co-ethylene-butadiene)-styrene (SEBS), on water tree resistance of cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE). The XLPE/SEBS samples were characterized by means of gel content determination, different scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the accelerated water treeing experiment. Our results clearly indicated that the samples with SEBS showed improved water tree resistance in comparison to blank samples. It was also found that the blends had excellent dielectric property form the viewpoint of practical application.
EFFECT OF SAMPLE PREPARATION ON WATER TREE RESISTANCE OF XLPE/SEBS BLENDS
The effects of an aromatic polymer, such as poly[styrene-b-(ethylene-co-butylene)b-styrene] (SEBS), and its preparation processes on water tree resistance, morphology, crystallinity, dielectric constant and dielectric loss tangent of crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE)/SEBS and XLPE/SEBS/ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) blends were investigated. The XLPE/SEBS samples were characterized by means of differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy, dielectric spectral analysis and the accelerated water treeing experiment. The results clearly showed that although SEBS was partially compatible with LDPE and it was dispersed evenly in XLPE matrix, the blends demonstrated excellent dielectric performances, such as dielectric constant and dissipation factor. The crystallinity of XLPE/SEBS blends was decreased with increase in SEBS content and it was further decreased with the addition of EVA. SEBS could effectively improve the water-tree resistance of XLPE and both SEBS and EVA were found to improve the water tree resistance of XLPE synergistically as expected. The differences in sample preparation processes could change the phase morphology and dielectric performance of the blends, and could also influence the dispersion of SEBS in XLPE matrix as well as the crystallinity of the blends. Different preparation processes led to different water tree resistance behaviours of the samples. The improvement of SEBS dispersion in XLPE matrix helped to improve the water tree resistance of XLPE.
On electronic conduction in polyethylene films
DC conductivity measurements were carried out on low-density polyethylene films of thickness 25, 50 and 75 μm. The material showed non-ohmic conduction on application of high electric fields in the range 1 × 107 to 3 × 107 Vm−1. The results were applied to a model proposed by Adachi et al (1971) and good agreement was found between experimental results and those predicted by their model. The polyethylene was also treated with hexane, following the same procedure as Partridge (1967), and it was observed, as with Partridge, that the conductivity was reduced by two orders of magnitude.