Interface charge accumulation in bi-layer dielectrics between cable and accessory insulation under temperature gradient

Abstract

Abstract Bi-layer dielectrics are a feature of high-voltage direct-current cable and accessory systems, giving rise to the interfaces between the cable and accessory insulation. The interfaces act as preference sites for space charge build-up and are therefore regarded as potential breakdown initiation sites. A further complication is that during the operation of cable, a temperature gradient (TG) will be produced across the bi-layer insulation. In this paper, carbon black (CB) nanoparticles with 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 3.5 and 5.5 wt% are doped into silicon rubber (SR), space charge distributions in bi-layer dielectrics composed of cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) and CB/SR nanocomposites under DC voltage and TG are measured using the pulsed electroacoustic method, and the effects of the doping proportion of CB nanoparticles and the TG on the bi-layer interface charge behavior are investigated. The experimental results show that under the TG, CB nanoparticles doped into SR can effectively suppress the interface charge accumulation, the amount of the interface charge decreases with the increase of the doping proportion from 0 to 1.5 wt% but increases with the increase of the doping proportion from 1.5 to 5.5 wt%, and the CB nanoparticle with 1.5 wt% shows relatively better suppression effect on the interface charge accumulation. With the increase of the TG, the amount of the interface charge increases initially and then decreases.