Influence of press films on conduction in polyethylene plaque samples

Press molded plaque samples are commonly used for characterization of polymeric insulation materials. Such samples are prepared by pressing polymer granulates sandwiched between two layers of protective press films at high temperatures and pressures. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film is a common press film since it tolerates high temperatures, acts as a good diffusion barrier and can be separated from the molded polyethylene sample easily. In this work, studies are performed on the influence of the pressing film on the dielectric properties of press molded polyethylene insulation samples. Volume resistivity is measured under high voltage DC at different conditions on samples pressed using different press films and different preparations. Furthermore, PEA measurements under high voltage DC is performed on plaque samples press molded with different press films. It is found that press molding using PET film leads to a considerably higher apparent conductivity of the samples in comparison to using aluminum foil. Choice of press film, also influences the space charge measurement results. It is concluded that the influence of the press film used during sample preparation cannot be neglected and this effect should be evaluated carefully in material characterization research. According to the results in this work, aluminum foil seems to be a better option as a press film in comparison to PET press film.