High efficiency voltage stabilizers for XLPE cable insulation

A set of new voltage stabilizers has been synthesized, tested and has shown to suppress a degradation mechanism, i.e. electrical treeing, present in cross-linked polyethylene used for high-voltage cables. Electrical treeing is seen at very high and divergent electrical fields and has a rapid lapse from initiation to total breakdown of the insulation material. The new voltage stabilizers presented in this paper have increased the electrical tree inception field with up to 50% at such low additions as 0.4%-wt. Furthermore, the best-performing materials have also proven to increase the threshold level for tree inception, i.e. before this level no deterioration of the material is seen, up to 50%. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.