The Application of Novel Polypropylene to the Insulation of Electric Power Cable (2)

Abstract

The authors had investigated the basic properties of newly developed stereoregular syndiotactic polypropylene (s-PP) which had been synthesized with homogeneous metallocene catalyst, in the previous paper. As the result of this, it was revealed that s-PP had superior thermal and electrical properties to cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) which was adopted as conventional insulating material for high voltage power cable. In this paper, we estimated the possibility to apply s-PP to the actual power cable from the viewpoint of long-term thermal durability and processability. Consequently, it was found that the thermal stability of s-PP could be significantly improved by adding both hindered phenol and sulfur antioxidants, and wide molecular weight distribution of s-PP contributed to good processability during extrusion. On the basis of these results, 600V and 22kV class cables with insulation of s-PP were manufactured. Successfully manufactured cables proposed that s-PP could be available to electric power cable. Lightning Impulse and AC breakdown strength of both cables at the temperature range of RT to 120°C will be discussed.