Influence of post-manufacturing residual mechanical stress and crosslinking by-products on dielectric strength of HV extruded cables

Residual mechanical stresses from manufacturing always exist in freshly extruded HV cables. These stresses are not uniformly distributed in the cable insulation bulk material. Five different HV cables were analyzed with respect to residual mechanical stresses and dielectric breakdown strength. Photoelastic measurements have been carried out and show that maximum residual stresses range from 4.5 to 6 MPa and are located near the conductor shield. Breakdown strength measurements with respect to mechanical stresses have also been performed up to, and above the maximum stresses observed. A significant decrease in ac breakdown strength was observed for stresses higher than 6 MPa. Typical crosslinking by-products from dicumyl peroxide (DCP) have been measured by FTIR spectroscopy at five radial positions in the insulation bulk. Measured by-products consisted in acetophenone and cumyl alcohol. FTIR measurements show that crosslinking by-products content is higher in the bulk of the insulation than near the conductor and insulation shields thus showing a diffusion process. Moreover, residual amount of cumyl alcohol is generally between 1 and 3 times that of acetophenone. No important effect of both by-products on the ac dielectric breakdown strength was observed.