Thermoplastic materials for electrical applications - Surface aging test methods evaluation

Higher demand on recyclability and cost efficiency enforce the utilization of thermoplastic materials as electrical insulation in medium and high voltage applications. The long-term aging properties of the thermoplastic materials have to be investigated with the help of accelerated testing methods. One technical report IEC 60932 and one technical specification IEC 62271-304 have been published, describing testing methods simulating the aging of equipment in severe service conditions in terms of condensation and pollution. These methods demand special test equipment and are very time consuming. In the previous work, a fast materials screening test method has been developed in-house. In this work, two model thermoplastic materials were tested using the in-house screening method and the two IEC methods. The time-to-failure from these tests were compared, in order to build up their correlation. Based on the results from the rapid screening method, one might be able to predict the lifetime of the different thermoplastic materials in the future.