Temperature and time dependence of electrical and mechanical durability of LDPE/diamond composites

Abstract In this study, the dependence of the electrical ( τ E ), mechanical ( τ σ ) life time on electrical strength ( E ) and mechanical tension ( σ ) of low density polyethylene composites with commercial diamond additive (LDPE/diamond) at different temperatures are investigated and compared with those of pure LDPE. 50–100 μm thick samples with the additive amount varying between 0.1–3% were prepared by using hot pressing method. log τ E − f ( E , T ), E versus diamond additive percentage are drawn and the determined values of mechanical degradation parameters at constant temperature are listed. Since τ E and τ σ both depend on temperature, electrical degradation mechanism is similar to the mechanical one proving the validity of the thermofluctuation theory. The results indicate that E and σ values reach maximum for 0.5% diamond and are equal to 8.5×10 7  V/m (6.0×10 7  V/m for pure LDPE) and 82 MPa (68 MPa for pure LDPE), respectively which complies with our other studies.