High field dissipation current waveform of XLPE film obtained by new method

Nonpolar polymers, such as polyethylene (PE), and polypropylene (PP), are widely used as the insulators of power cable and power capacitors. These power apparatus are normally used under an AC high field. Year by year, demand trends for electric power are still increasing. The spread of personal computers, and IT associated instruments, such as TV phone and IH cookware in the home will also make further increases in the near future. The authors consider that the designed electric field of the insulating part of power cables will also need to be raised. To design further high performance insulating materials, it is important to know the AC conduction mechanism under high fields. In this paper, they describe a new high-resolution observation system for dissipation current. Some results of high field AC dissipation current waveform observation which were carried out using crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) film samples are shown.