Effect of filler concentration on breakdown of Isotactic Polypropylene Nano-composites

Abstract

Transmission system is of vital importance that they should function reliably year in and year out. High voltage DC cable systems act as the backbone to power transmission system particularly to transmit wind power from offshore to load Centre with reduced loss. Cross linked polyethylene though most widely used insulation material for cables, is non-recyclable one. As the environmental concern are on the rise, to use a recyclable material, Isotactic polypropylene (i-PP) is identified as one of the a recyclable material. This has the advantage of operating under high temperature as well. Nano composite thin films for this work are prepared with i-PP as base with various weight percentages of TiO2 and ZnO nano particles. These specimens are subjected to stresses provided by (i) HVDC (ii)High frequency AC (10kHz and 20kHz), (iii) Superimposed stress (HVDC and High Frequency AC). Sample stressed with high frequency AC leads to rapid degradation. Polymer Nano composite with TiO2 filler is found to have higher resistance to insulation degradation compared with ZnO filler.