Development and testing of medium voltage power cables with water treeing retardant materials

As a result of recent research work within the Pirelli Cable laboratories to improve the resistance of standard crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) to water treeing, a specific nonionic surfactant additive has been identified, which significantly increased the water treeing resistance of polyethylene-based insulating material for power cables. Electrical testing on full size cables made to the AEIC Specifications with the newly developed material demonstrated significant effectiveness in retarding water treeing and excellent electrical performance after long term wet aging as compared to a standard and commercially available treeing retardant XLPE.