Effect and mechanism analysis of matrix resin type on thermal aging characteristics of semi‐conductive shielding material for high voltage cable

Abstract The type of matrix resin of the semi‐conductive shielding layer directly affects the thermal aging characteristics of the semi‐conductive shielding layer and the high‐voltage cable. In this paper, ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), ethylene ethyl acrylate (EEA), and ethylene butyl acrylate (EBA) resins were used as matrix to prepare carbon black (CB) + EVA, CB + EEA, and CB + EBA shielding materials. The law of physicochemical, electrical, and mechanical properties of different matrix resin shielding materials with aging time was studied, and the influence mechanism of matrix resin on the aging characteristics of shielding materials was analyzed. The results show: with the increase of aging time, the crystallization area and the number of functional groups of the three shielding materials decreased to varying degrees. The number of functional groups in CB + EBA shielding materials decreased evenly with aging time, but that of CB + EVA and CB + EEA shielding materials changed significantly after 7 days of aging. After 60 days of aging, the crystallization area of CB + EBA shielding material changed slightly, but that of CB + EVA and CB + EEA shielding material decrease significantly. The electrical properties of the three shielding materials showed different decreasing trend with aging time. When the aging time is 7 days, the positive temperature coefficient (PTC) effect of CB + EEA shielding material decreases obviously. When the aging time is 30 days, the resistivity of CB + EVA and CB + EEA shielding material increases slowly (9 Ω cm–12 Ω cm) with the increase of temperature. When the aging time is 60 days, the resistivity of CB + EBA shielding material decreases obviously, and the PTC effect weakens obviously. Taking the mechanical properties of the shielding material as reference, the rapid deterioration stage of the mechanical properties of the three shielding materials is different. The CB + EVA and CB + EEA shielding material rapid deterioration time is 0–7 days, and the tensile strength and elongation of the shielding material are greatly reduced. The rapid deterioration stage of CB + EBA shielding material is 7–30 days, and the tensile strength and elongation decrease from 24.38 MPa and 499.5% to 14 MPa and 155.7%, respectively. This work can provide data support for the selection of matrix resin of shielding material and the fault analysis of shielding layer of high voltage cable.