Space Charge Behaviors of PP/POE/ZnO Nanocomposites for HVDC Cables

Polypropylene (PP) has been paid much attention due to its high melting point, excellent electrical insulting performance and thermoplastic property, which is potential to replace the XLPE as HVDC cable insulating material. Blending PP with polyolefin elastomer (POE) is an effective way to modify its stiffness and brittleness at room temperature. However, space charge behavior of PP/POE blend, as a great concern under de stress, is not clear and needs further investigation. To research the space charge behaviors, pure PP, PP/POE blend and its nanocomposites with different contents were prepared. Then, mechanical properties, permittivity constant, breakdown strength, volume resistivity, space charge behaviors and trap level distribution were investigated. The results indicate the addition of POE enhances the mechanical flexibility of PP greatly, and nano-sized ZnO doping has little effect on the mechanical flexibility of PP/POE blend. The nanocomposites show lower permittivity constant, higher breakdown strength and higher volume resistivity than the PP/POE blend. Compared to pure PP, the space charge accumulation and electric field distortion get severe in PP/POE blend. However, by nanoparticles doping, space charges are remarkably suppressed, which is related to the increased trap level density in nanocomposites. It indicates the PP/POE/ZnO nanocomposites have much potential for HVDC cable application, which show high mechanical flexibility as well as excellent electrical performance.