Degradation of cable insulation material by accelerated thermal radiation combined ageing

The degradation of ethylene propylene rubber (EPR) sheets as a cable insulation material for nuclear power plants (NPP) was studied by accelerated thermal ageing, radiation ageing and thermal – radiation combined ageing. The oxidation of EPR proceeded with ageing and the decay of mechanical property was closely related to the content of oxidation products. The antioxidant as a stabilizer in EPR was effective for the thermal oxidation, but not for the radiation oxidation. The distribution of oxidation products across the sheet was changed due to decay of antioxidant by evaporation during thermal ageing. The antioxidant was not effective for radiation oxidation, and it was decomposed by radiation. For the thermal and radiation combined oxidation, the mechanical property and the content of oxidation products were different among the treatment sequences, which was due to the decay of antioxidant. The lifetime of EPR cable is closely related to the remaining content of antioxidant, and the lifetime evaluation would be recommended by the reverse sequential combination (thermal ageing after radiation ageing).