What is crosslinked polyethylene?

Author

Smedberg, A. ; Gustafsson, B. ; Hjertberg, T.

Author_Institution

Borealis AB, Stenungsund, Sweden

Volume

1

fYear

2004

Firstpage

415

Abstract

The generally accepted reaction scheme for peroxide initiated crosslinking of polyethylene looks relatively simple. However, a deeper look into this subject reveals a far more complex and fascinating area. The presence of vinyl groups in the LDPE material proved to have a significant effect on the gel formation and on the network densities reached. The vinyl groups were found to be rapidly consumed via a so-called polymerisation reaction. Deeper studies of the network revealed that 2/3 of the network points present constituted of partially to fully trapped entanglements which means that only 1/3 are of chemical nature. It is therefore important to characterise the network by different techniques.

Keywords

XLPE insulation; bonds (chemical); polymer gels; polymer structure; polymerisation; LDPE material; crosslinked polyethylene; fully trapped entanglement; partially trapped entanglement; peroxide initiated crosslinking; polymerisation reaction; reaction scheme; vinyl groups; Additives; Cable insulation; Cables; Chemical technology; Chemistry; Dielectric materials; Dielectrics and electrical insulation; Polyethylene; Polymers; Temperature;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Solid Dielectrics, 2004. ICSD 2004. Proceedings of the 2004 IEEE International Conference on

Print_ISBN

0-7803-8348-6

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/ICSD.2004.1350379

Filename

1350379