Space charge accumulation in polymer is a key problem for the electrical aging of insulation under DC condition. Space charge accumulation is strongly determined by the charge injection rate. The estimation of charge injection with steady state current contains the extraction current and is not accurate. This paper proposes a quantitative estimation method of the charge injection at the metal/polymer interface with space charge and current simultaneous measurement. A double-layer sample with a blocking layer is employed to make a quasi-unipolar condition to remove the extraction current. In addition, the displacement current is removed by considering the change in electric field on the electrode. The relationship between the electrode electric field and the pure injection current is analyzed. It is found that the square root of electric field intensity and the logarithm of injection current at the Al/LDPE (low density polyethylene) interface are linear with each other. The coefficients β for negative and positive charge injection at Al/LDPE interface are about 8.44 × 10−24 and 8.32 × 10−24, respectively. It indicates that both negative and positive charge injection at Al/LDPE interface fit the mathematical relationship of the Poole–Frenkel effect, rather than the Schottky effect which is mostly used in the study on the charge transport at polymer/metal. The negative and positive charge injection barriers are 1.23 and 1.24 eV, respectively.

Space charge accumulation greatly influences the dielectric performance of epoxy composites under high voltage. It has been reported that nano-fillers can suppress the charge accumulation in the bulk of insulation materials. However, it is still unclear how the nano-fillers influence the charge distribution at the interface between the filler and polymeric matrix. In this work, the dielectric properties and the local dynamic charge mobility behavior at the interface of barium titanate/epoxy resin (BTO/EP) composites were investigated from both bulk and local perspectives based on the macroscopic test techniques and in-situ Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) methods. Charge injection and dissipation behavior exhibited significant discrepancies at different interfaces. The interface between BTO and epoxy is easy to accumulates a negative charge, and nanoscale BTO (n-BTO) particles introduces deeper traps than microscale BTO (m-BTO) to inhibit charge migration. Under the same bias condition, the carriers are more likely to accumulate near the n-BTO than the m-BTO particles. The charge dissipation rate at the interface region in m-BTO/EP is about one order of magnitude higher than that of n-BTO/EP. This work offers experimental support for understanding the mechanism of charge transport in dielectric composites.

Electric tree growth is a key ageing mechanism leading to breakdown of high voltage electrical insulation. Partial discharges (PDs) are invariably associated with electrical tree inception and propagation. In turn, the physical structure of an electrical tree influences the characteristics of partial discharge activity. Interpretation of PD patterns is therefore central to developing an understanding of the tree propagation process, and also to the use of PD patterns as an asset management tool. Our previous research indicates that the phase resolved PD (PRPD) patterns and pulse sequence analysis (PSA) patterns evolve with tree propagation. A method was proposed to estimate the point-on-wave inception and extinction voltages of PDs in tree channels within each power cycle. It was shown that the evolution of PD patterns is a consequence of changes to PD inception and extinction voltages as a tree develops. This paper provides a deterministic model of partial discharge in tree channels. Simulations of PDs in a straight non-conductive tree channel are based on experimental PD inception, extinction and residual voltages. The quantitative simulations reproduce almost all the characteristics of observed PRPD and PSA patterns. It is concluded that PD events are determined by five key parameters: tree structure, applied voltage, PD inception voltage, PD extinction voltage and PD residual voltage. Key parameters estimated by the method, and the models proposed explain PD activity in non-conductive trees. It is suggested that the PSA and PRPD patterns should be discussed together to fully understand the PD events. This model forms a platform for generating robust information for asset managers using PD measurements from high voltage equipment in service.

The effects of charge carrier injection and intrinsic ionic carriers on the conduction process in superclean low-density polyethylene and cross-linked polyethylene (LDPE and XLPE) and the associated development of space charge are investigated. The carrier mobility is measured directly by space charge measurements in a double- and triple-layer structure. It is shown that the difference between superclean LDPE and XLPE in the field-dependence of the current density results from the dominance of ions in XLPE introduced by cross-linking as compared to injected carriers in the case of superclean LDPE.

The ionic transport process is an important counterpart to charge transport in oil‐paper insulation, and it significantly impacts oil flow electrification at the oil‐paper interface. Despite this, the dynamics of this phenomenon and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear, particularly at the molecular level. To understand this fundamental aspect, we conduct Molecular Dynamics study on the transport behaviour of an impurity ion in different oil‐paper insulation models under various external electric fields. Different influence factors, such as external electric fields, temperatures, and local structural characteristics, are investigated in relation to the corresponding ionic mobility in different polymer models. According to the simulations, ionic mobility and its response to electric fields are higher in weaker electrostatic models. As a result, mineral oil exhibits the highest ionic mobility and the most substantial enhancement of ionic mobility by external electric fields, followed by vegetable oil, oil‐paper blends, and insulating paper. This significant deviation in ionic mobility between oil and paper leads to the formation of an electric double layer near the oil‐paper interface. The underlying physical mechanisms of different ionic mobility and its response to the electric field in different polymer models could be explained by the different polymer structural influences in terms of interaction energy and coordination numbers in a static manner, as well as by the interactions between the impurity ion and its surrounding atoms in terms of lifetime correlation functions and velocity autocorrelation functions in a dynamic manner. In addition, the influence of temperature on ionic mobility in mineral and vegetable oil is examined, and their activation energies are calculated. Advancing in the fundamental understanding of the dynamics of the ion transport process in oil‐paper insulation is vital to improving their insulating properties for oil‐impregnated power transformers.

Dielectric elastomers (DE) used for energy conversion are often subjected to DC voltages or low frequency varying voltages where the influence of space charge accumulation should be considered. The accumulation of space charge distorts the local electric field in the dielectric, which is closely related to critical dielectric performance, such as breakdown and electrical ageing. Little research has been done on the effect of space charge in DE on the breakdown performance. In previous studies, it was shown that adding nano-sized silica may improve the breakdown strength, which is often ascribed to the traps created by the nano particles. Charge trapped in front of the electrode-dielectric interface is supposed to reduce the electric field and hence reduce charge injection and accumulation, resulting in a higher breakdown strength. In this paper, to test this hypothesis, PDMS samples were prepared with different concentrations of nano-silica, as well as reference samples without filler. These specimens were characterized through space charge measurements. Conduction current measurements were performed to obtain additional information on the injection current. To relate space charge accumulation to a change of the breakdown characteristics, different types of breakdown tests were performed under AC and DC voltage. First, AC and DC ramp voltages were used, with the hypothesis that any accumulated space charge will have an effect only on DC breakdown because AC stress at power frequency does not allow enough time for space charge accumulation. In an additional step, step-up DC voltage tests were performed with the duration of each step long enough to allow space charge accumulation. The hypothesis in this case was that, due to the effect of space charge, the DC breakdown voltage would be lower than under DC ramp tests. The results of these experiments show that in the reference specimens, the breakdown strength is indeed affected by a strong build-up of space charge. Further, the space charge can be mitigated by adding a small fraction of nano-silica. This mitigation of space charge accumulation was shown to lead to a significantly higher DC breakdown strength, whereas the AC breakdown strength was hardly affected.