Thermally stimulated creep for the study of ageing in insulating polymers under electric field

The stimulated aging caused by modifications of physical and/or chemical bonds, due, for instance, to electric stress or environmental conditions, affects fundamentally the molecular mobility of the disordered phases. The process by which the molecules are rearranged is characteristic of the structure and morphology of the polymers and the quantitative study of its kinetics can be used to quantify the aging procedure. In thermally stimulated creep spectroscopy (TSCr) the response of the solid to a constant stress is thermostimulated and recorded as a function of time and temperature. The kinetics of the return to equilibrium of the sample is characterized by parameters that can be used for defining the structure of the disordered phases. TSCr spectroscopy has been applied to the study of the influence of the electric field on aging in deionized water for low-density polyethylene.<
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