Mechanical Stresses on Polymer Insulating Materials

Abstract

The usage of polymer materials as the main insulating material for many electrical apparatuses has been dramatically increased since its first introduction for more than 40 years ago. Thanks to the great advantages of polymer materials, nowadays the polymer materials like the Poly Ethylene (PE), Ethylene Propylene Rubber (EPR) and the Cross-Linked Poly Ethylene (XLPE) are the common material used for the insulation purposes for low, medium and high voltage levels such as cables. The insulation is a very critical part that affects greatly the operation of all equipment. The polymer materials used for insulation are subjected to many stresses which have a notable effect on the characteristics of these materials. These stresses are not only electrical, thermal and environmental but also they suffer from different types of mechanical stresses. Since understanding the effect of the different stresses on the polymer insulating materials is a must then, this paper gives a brief review on the effect of mechanical stresses on these materials which is still out of reach.