AGING OF XLPE AND MOLECULAR VIBRATION FREQUENCIES

Polyethylene (PE) is a very important industrial plastic with a wide variety of

applications. In order to improve its properties for the various applications, PE is
cross-linked to form cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) thus converting it from a
thermoplastic to a thermalset. Upon cross-linking its temperature stability property
can be elevated to up to 120-150 and its chemical properties are also further
improved.
XLPE is a very important insulating material for electric cable insulation due to the
many good electrical properties of PE such as low dielectric constant, low dielectric
loss and high breakdown strength. The fact that PE is cheap, has high mechanical
strength coupled with good chemical resistance make it very applicable in electric
cable insulation and other industrial applications.
The above-mentioned physical properties make the use of XLPE in the manufacturing
of cable insulation very effective. However, XLPE insulation for cables suffers from a
major drawback just like all other insulating materials as they are subject to a lot of
different types of stresses during their life time of use and as a result undergo
degradation or ageing. Due insulation aging, the electrical system suffers from
reduced lifespan and ultimately lowers the system reliability,
Aging in cable insulation is caused by factors such as electrical and mechanical
stresses and environmental deterioration. Partial Discharge (PD) is one of the most
significant electrical stresses contributing a huge amount to the degradation of cable
insulation and ultimately leads to system failure.
XLPE CABLE INSULATION AGING
Basically two main cartegories of XLPE degradation processes can be identified.
These are (1) those associated with the manufacturing process. Under this category
are factors such as voids, poorly dispersed components, impurities, and physical
imperfections; and (2) due to physical or chemical changes or trapped charges in the
cables, which ultimately lead to thermal degradation of the insulation.
Under normal operation conditions, the temperature in the XLPE cable insulation
system should be below 90C while in times of fault, the cable insulation should be
able to withstand a temperature of up to 120C.At temperatures between 150C and
225C, the chemical changes in the polymer become active and this reduces both
the density and mechanical strength of the polymer insulating material. Even worse at
temperatures above 225C, chemical degradation become very manifest and can
easily be detected and further damage to the insulating polymeric material results.
Internal mechanical stresses resulting from the manufacturing process have also
been shown to have a significant effect on the breakdown strength of the cable
insulating material.
The most serious and dangerous defects in XLPE and other polymeric cable
insulation materials is caused by electrical aging. Electrical aging occurs via a series
of mechanisms including partial discharge, electrical trees and water trees. The
presence of defects in the XLPE polymeric insulator increases the effect of electrical
aging and thus increases the risk of electrical breakdown. XLPE polymeric insulators

are very sensitive even to very small partial discharges. Small cavities or gas bubbles
can form inside the XLPE cable insulator during the manufacturing or installation
process. When the electric field inside or near the cavity or bubble is high enough,
partial breakdown occurs. It is important to note that unlike thermal aging, electrical
aging of the cable insulation does not affect the whole cable but is rather a localized
phenomenon
Water is also another major cause of aging of XLPE insulated cables installed in the
ground that are constantly exposed to moisture. This aging process is called water
trees. Water trees are found to initiate and grow in XLPE insulation exposed to an
alternating electric field and humidity. Also the presence of impurities in the
insulation material has been found to increase the risk of formation of water trees. In
cases were water blocking barriers are not used, water can easily penetrate the
insulation from the outside. Terminal and joint faults in the insulation material are
also another source of water entry into the insulation cable causing water trees. The
moisture inside the insulation normally moves in the direction of the electric field in a
form of a tree or bush.
The growth of the water trees depends on the presence of water, intensity and
frequency of electric field, the type of insulation material, mechanical stresses and
temperature.in cases where a water tree branch bridges the electrodes, total
breakdown of XLPE insulation occurs. Therefore XLPE insulated cables installed in
moist environments should be protected from water penetration.
Electrical trees are also another critical source of XLPE insulation aging. An electrical
tree is a network of fine conductive channels that spreads relatively quickly through
the insulation and causes failure. Electrical trees can grow from the eroded surface
of the void or in the micro cavities of the XLPE polymer. They further develop from
expanded void to the partial discharges within the branches. Their rate of growth has
been found to depend on the applied electrical stress, temperature and both the
environmental and mechanical stresses.
XLPE MOLECULAR VIBRATION FREQUENCIES
Spectroscopic techniques are a very important tool in the identification ofunknown
compounds, confirming the presence of suspected compoundsand many other
aspects of chemical analysis. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) is one of
the most widely applied spectroscopic
techniques. Fourier transform infrared
spectroscopy is a material analysis technique that is used for identification of organic
and many types of inorganic compounds, determination of functional groups like
carboxyl groups, carbonyl groups. Over the
recent past, the technique was
restricted to laboratory settings
however, with recent advancements
and the
development of
portable FTIR tools, onsite FTIR analysis of XLPE insulation has
become possible.
Infrared radiation spans a section of the electromagnetic spectrum having wave
numbers from roughly 13,000 cm1 to 10 cm1, or wavelengths from 0.78 m to
1000 m. It is bound by the red end of the visible region at high frequencies and the
microwave region at low frequencies. IR absorption positions are generally presented
as either wave numbers () or wavelengths () where the two are related as:
in cm1 = 1/

IR absorption information is generally presented in the form of a spectrum with

wavelength or wave number as the x-axis and absorption intensity or percent
transmittance as the y-axis. The transmittance (T) spectra provide better contrast
between intensities of strong and weak bands because transmittance ranges from 0
to 100% T whereas absorbance ranges from infinity to zero.
It is important to note that there is no specific absorption spectrum for XLPE but each
individual sample will produce a unique spectrum largely dependent on the insulation
cable chemical content (manufacturing factor), extent of aging and other factors.
However, there is always a strong similarity in the positions of the absorption peaks.
To fully understand the extent of aging of XLPE, aged and unaged samples are
analyzed and their respective spectra compared.
A representative spectrum of the aged and unaged XLPE samples is shown below
from which some very important information can be obtained.

Fig.1.FTIR absorption spectrum for the unaged (a, b) and aged (c) XLPE cable
insulation
The peak at 720 cm-1 is the Methylene group (-CH2), which is characteristic of the
bonds in XLPE. This peak is consistent with the rocking vibrational motion of the
bonds. The peaks at approximately 1470cm-1, 2856cm-1 and 2923cm-1 all
correspond to the wagging, symmetric stretching and asymmetric stretching
vibrational motions of the CH2 group in the XLPE molecules.
A closer look at the absorption spectrum shows significant changes in the positions
and intensities of the peaks, which is indicative of the presence of new compounds in
the aged XLPE. Upon aging, various chemical products are produced in the XLPE
including esters, ketones and carboxylic acids. These are indicated by peaks at
1741cm-1, and 171718cm-1 respectively. The carbon-carbon double bonds are
responsible for absorption in the region between 810-1100cm-1.The C-O-C- bonds
absorption is indicated by the peaks in the range 1400-1180cm-1.The presence of
other smaller peaks can be attributed to the additives present in the XLPE structure
normally as part of the manufacturing process. The oxidation process is the main

source of the various oxidation products such as ketones, carboxylic acids,

hydroperoxides and other hydroxyl group containing compounds.