Space charge measurements on polymer nanocomposite HDPE/SiO2 materials

This work concerns the study of electrical properties of polymer nanocomposite materials. Through the addition of nanoparticles in a polymer matrix, we seek to improve the physical properties of these “innovative” materials. We propose to study the influence of incorporating silica nanoparticles in a HDPE matrix on the accumulation of space charge. The results presented in this article shall be given for different contents of silica nanoparticles (0 wt%, 1 wt%, 2 wt% and 4 wt%). These materials will be compared according to their space charge behaviour. This study has allowed us to identify the optimal content of nanoparticles resulting in minimal space charges accumulation between the four SiO₂ nanoparticle contents. The influence of the applied constraint will also be considered, in particular the poling electric field and the stress duration.