Polyethylene Based Ionomers as High Voltage Insulation Materials
Journal article, 2023
Polyethylene based ionomers are demonstrated to feature a thermo-mechanical and dielectric property portfolio that is comparable to cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE), which may enable the design of more sustainable high voltage direct-current (HVDC) power cables, a crucial component of future electricity grids that seamlessly integrate renewable sources of energy. A new type of ionomer is obtained via high-pressure/high-temperature free radical copolymerization of ethylene in the presence of small amounts of ion-pair comonomers comprising amine terminated methacrylates and methacrylic acid. The synthesized ionomers feature a crystallinity, melting temperature, rubber plateau modulus and thermal conductivity like XLPE but remain melt-processable. Moreover, the preparation of the ionomers is free of byproducts, which readily yields a highly insulating material with a low dielectric loss tangent and a low direct-current (DC) electrical conductivity of 1 to 6·10−14 S m−1 at 70 °C and an electric field of 30 kV mm−1. Evidently, the investigated ionomers represent a promising alternative to XLPE-based high voltage insulation, which may permit to ease the production as well as end-of-use recycling of HVDC power cables by combining the advantages of thermoset and thermoplastic materials while avoiding the formation of byproducts.
ionomers
thermal conductivity
cross-linked polyethylene
HVDC power cables
electrical insulators
Author
Silvia D'Auria
University of Parma
SABIC Technology Center (STC)
Amir Masoud Pourrahimi
Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Applied Chemistry
Alessia Favero
University of Parma
Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Applied Chemistry
Peter Neuteboom
SABIC Technology Center (STC)
Xiangdong Xu
Chalmers, Electrical Engineering, Electric Power Engineering
Shuichi Haraguchi
Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Applied Chemistry
Marko Bek
Chalmers, Industrial and Materials Science, Engineering Materials
Roland Kádár
Chalmers, Industrial and Materials Science, Engineering Materials
Enrico Dalcanale
University of Parma
Roberta Pinalli
University of Parma
Christian Müller
Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Applied Chemistry
Jérôme Vachon
SABIC Technology Center (STC)
Advanced Functional Materials
1616-301X (ISSN) 16163028 (eISSN)
Vol. 33 36 2301878Polymer engineering via molecular design: embedding electrical and optical properties into VITrimers (VIT)
European Commission (EC) (EC/H2020/101008237), 2021-06-01 -- 2025-05-31.
Subject Categories
Polymer Chemistry
Polymer Technologies
Other Materials Engineering
Other Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Information Engineering
DOI
10.1002/adfm.202301878