Barrier effect of treeing in composite insulating materials with heat-adhesive interfaces of different polymers

A polymer/polymer composite system is widely used in high-voltage equipment and power cables. The interface of this composite system plays an important role in the electrical degradation, such as electrical treeing or partial discharge, of the composite system. Therefore, it is important to study the effect of an interface on the electrical treeing of polymer/polymer-composite insulating materials. In this paper, we describe the tree growth and complete breakdown characteristics of specimens with a polymer barrier film layer molded in ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA), in which the interface of EVA and the barrier film is perpendicular to the electric field under an AC voltage. It is found that with a barrier film, the tree growth is retarded on the barrier film, which then punctures the film, or develops along the edge of the film. It is also found that the pressure of decomposing gas in the tree channels plays an important role in tree propagation.