Modification of Cable Insulation Characteristics Using Nanocomposites for the Nuclear Power Plant

Abstract

Nowadays, the nuclear power plant (NPP) lifetime can be extended to 80 years. This allows recommending the modifications in some properties of cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) cable insulation. This work is laboratory implementation of nanofillers such as silicon dioxide (SiO2) and clay to enhance cable insulation. The volume resistivity, capacitance, dielectric loss, tensile strength and elongation properties were tested and measured for the nanosized samples. Furthermore, these measurements were carried out for modified XLPE/SiO2 and XLPE/clay samples with additive concentration of 1, 2.5, 4 and 5 weight percentage (wt. %). The officially documented results showed much better cable electrical insulation and mechanical profile. 205% and 189% improvement in volume resistivity was observed for XLPE/SiO2 and XLPE/clay, respectively. The analytical calculations were in agreement with the experimental results.