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Research on the degradation in micro-structure and dielectric performance of XLPE cable insulation in service

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Abstract

How to accurately evaluate the aging status of cables in service has been a long-standing problem for researchers. In this paper, the degradation trend and mechanisms of the micro-structure and dielectric performance of 110 kV cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) cables that have been in service for different periods of time was investigated. The results show that with the increase of service time, the content of thermal aging product C = O and electrical aging product C = C monotonically increase, while on obvious water tree aging product -OH can be observed. This indicates that the degradation of the insulation of the in-service cables studied in this paper is mainly caused by both thermal stress and electrical stress. The increase of aging products strengthens the dipole polarization, leading to a monotonic increase in the relative dielectric constant (εr) and dielectric loss tangent (tanδ). The parameters such as crystallinity (Xc), melting temperature (Tm), and breakdown strength at 50 Hz (Eb) first slowly increase and then rapidly decrease. The decrease of Eb can be attributed to the increase in carriers caused by the ionization of aging products and the increase in free path of carriers caused by the decrease in Xc. Compared to the inner layer insulation, the degradation rate of outer layer insulation is slower, and the deterioration in micro-structure and dielectric performance parameters is more delayed, which may be related to the higher temperature and field strength experienced by inner layer insulation during service. However, due to the gradual increase in the difference in εr between the inner and outer layer insulation during service, the electrical aging rate of the outer insulation will increase after a longer period of service time.

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Data are available on request to the authors.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Shaanxi Provincial Education Department (Grant No. 22JK0322)

Funding

This article was funded by Natural Science Foundation of Shaanxi Provincial Department of Education, 22JK0322, Huan Li.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Electrical Engineering, Shaanxi University of Technology, Hanzhong, 723001, China

    Huan Li, Zhuobin Xi, Lei Xu, Cong Shan, Meng Nan & Liwang Zhao

  2. Shaanxi Xinneng Lianhui Technology Co., LTD, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China

    Lei Xu

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  1. Huan Li
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Contributions

ZB Xi, C Shan, M Nan and LW Zhao assisted with data acquisition and data analysis. H Li and L Xu developed the initial concept. H Li and ZB Xi wrote the initial paper. All authors discussed the results in the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Huan Li.

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Li, H., Xi, Z., Xu, L. et al. Research on the degradation in micro-structure and dielectric performance of XLPE cable insulation in service. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 34, 1449 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-023-10742-x

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