الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract Cables are an essential component in the power system. Cables insulation should have basic electrical parameters to give it the capability of performing its function successfully. High dielectric strength, significant resistivity, besides low permittivity and loss factors, are important electric features that should be possessed in the cable insulation materials; however, thermal and mechanical aspects such as thermal withstand capacity and adequate degree of elasticity are substantial as well. Due to their chain structure, polymers have low dielectric constant and high electric breakdown; In addition, they are characterized with multiple valuable mechanical parameters that make them suitable for cable insulation applications. Polymer composites and blends in dielectric applications have lately garnered significant interest from researchers. The applicability of customizing polymers features to suit particular objectives met approbation by the industrial sector. This research introduces the changes of a comprehensive electromechanical properties bundle for low density polyethylene compounded to nano and micro scale magnesia (LDPE/MgO) to obtain electrical cables insulating material with advanced performance. Composites of various filler loading weight ratios were prepared by melt intercalation technique; multiple samples were produced in sets as they were cut with definite dimensions as per recommendations of the related testing standard then electrically and mechanically examined following the instruction dictated by the code while preserving typical test condition for all sets. Dielectric strength, volume resistivity, capacitance, and loss angle were the tests of the electrical test pack, while elongation, tensile strength, and melt flow rate were the mechanical and rheological tests applied. Water absorption is another test that has been conducted on the proposed composite. Artificial Neural Network was designed and trained using acquired practical results in order to predict dielectric strength of composites that have typical contents but with different filler loading or impacted by other media salinity degrees. The research findings and comparisons showed that the Low-Density Polyethylene compounded to surface characterized nano magnesia is better in most electrical and mechanical properties than the pristine host, nanocomposite with non-modified filler surface and micro composite, best results obtained with low percentages of filler loading of almost 1.5 wt%. |