A Consideration for Potentials of Low Density Polyethylene Using Metallocene Catalyst as Insulator for Power Cable

We investigated high-field conduction, dc and impulse breakdown strength, space charge distribution, and tree inception voltage for 3 kinds of new low-density polyethylene (LDPE) prepared using metallocene catalyst(mLna, niLao, mLIdao), linear LDPE prepared using Ziegler catalyst (LLao) and LDPE prepared by high-pressure process (LDna). The de and impulse breakdown strengths of LDPE's using metallocene catalyst were higher than those of LLao and LDna. The high-field currents of LDPE's using metallocene catalyst were lower than those of LLao and LDna. Homo space charge was accumulated near the cathod in mLna, The tree inception voltage of mLna was higher than that of LDna. From these results, it is concluded that LDPE using metallocene catalyst has superior electrical insulating properties to the conventional LDPE and that the former has a potential as insulator of power cable.