Received: 20 August 2021 Revised: 17 November 2021 Accepted: 7 April 2022 IET Science, Measurement & Technology

DOI: 10.1049/smt2.12104

ORIGINAL RESEARCH

Influence of surface discharge on the deterioration characteristics

of ethylene-propylene rubber cable insulation under alternating
current high voltage

Longlei Bai Daoping Fan Tianhe Li Bing Li Mingwei Su Shaogui Fan

Liuzhong Zhang

College of Intelligent Systems Science and Abstract

Engineering, Harbin Engineering University,
Harbin, China
Correspondence
Liuzhong Zhang, College of Intelligent Systems
Science and Engineering, Harbin Engineering
University, 145 Nantong street, Nangang District,
Harbin 150001, China.
Email: zhangliuzhong@hrbeu.edu.cn
Funding information
National Key R&D Program Project of Ministry of
Science and Technology, Grant/Award Number:
2018YFC0309005
To investigate partial discharge-induced deterioration characteristics of ethylene-propylene
rubber (EPR) cable insulation under repeated alternating current (AC) voltage on high-
speed trains, an experimental platform with a column-plate EPR insulation model is estab-
lished. The surface condition and breakdown voltage of insulation samples after discharge
treatment are observed and measured. In addition, a fitting formula to evaluate the dete-
rioration extent of EPR samples is proposed. The results show that under repeated dis-
charge pretreatments, the volume resistivity increases first and decreases afterwards when
discharge magnitude is low. When partial discharge (PD) intensity increases to 100 pC,
the volume and surface resistivity decrease monotonously, and the decreasing rate is pos-
itively correlated with PD intensity. During PD pre-treatment, a white circle appears near
the electrode and turns to pale yellow with PD intensity. For PD pretreatments of 50 and
100 pC, withstand voltage of EPR insulation increase first and decrease afterwards, and the
downward trend is slow. For PD pre-treatments of 200 and 400 pC, the withstand voltage
decreases significantly with the degradation time. The fitting formula model shows that
under the action of a strong electric field, the relationship between the reliability of EPR
insulation samples, the probability and rate of molecular chain breakage, and the intensity
of discharge activity is not linear.

1 INTRODUCTION characteristics of internal defects [6–9] and surface discharge

With the rapid development of high-speed railways in China,
high-speed railways are playing an increasingly important role
in the social economy. As a key component of high-speed rail-
way trains for power transmission, on-board high-voltage cables
have a direct impact on the safety and reliability of train oper-
ation. Ethylene-propylene rubber (EPR) material has excellent
dielectric properties, and has outstanding performance in high-
and low-temperature resistance, ageing resistance, and sufficient
flexibility. It has become the most widely used cable insulation
material in high-speed rail [1, 2].
Since ethylene-propylene rubber was first used as cable
insulation material in 1962, many scholars have carried out rel-
evant research on dielectric properties [3–5], surface discharge
properties [10, 11] of EPR type cable insulation, and many
valuable research results have been obtained. Scholars from
Bologna University in Italy studied the aging characteristics of
EPR insulation under thermal aging and electrical stress and
established a life evaluation model of ethylene propylene rubber
based on Weibull distribution and power law [5]. Scholars from
Akademia Górniczo-Hutnicza (AGH) University of Science and
Technology in Poland explored the surface discharge process of
EPR materials by using the cuprum (Cu) electrode and found
that metal atoms migration and ionized air particles aggregation
occurred on the surface of EPR materials during the surface
discharge process [6, 7]. Scholars from Taiyuan University of
Technology have studied the surface discharge characteristics
of EPR materials and the surface discharge characteristics of

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294
air gap defects. The results show that charge injection and
extraction under alternating current (AC) voltage will seriously
corrode the material surface and accelerate its degradation
process [8, 9]. Scholars from Dalian University of Technology
researched the insulation characteristics of EPR by using the
Arrhenius curve and evaluated the residual life of EPR and
other materials after accelerated thermal aging [10, 11]. All the
above studies show that the surface discharge of the cable will
seriously damage the insulation performance of EPR material.
Surface discharge not only plays an important role in the
deterioration of EPR cable insulation, but also plays an impor-
tant role in the surface breakdown of various insulation mate-
rials. Researcher Qi [12] studied the creepage discharge of oil-
pressboard insulation and concluded that abrupt changes of dis-
charge repetition rate and magnitude are the key factor to cause
the degradation. Professor Sima analyzed the surface charge
evolution characteristics and the dielectric properties of epoxy
resin to reveal the underlying surface insulation failure mecha-
nism after arc ablation [13]. Researcher Yu et al. [14] have esti-
mated the influence of service time on the conduction current
characteristics of cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) cables, and
found that the electric field thresholds and activation energy of
the XLPE cables increase with the service time. It can be seen
that there is a direct correlation between long-term surface dis-
charge and insulation reliability.
However, due to frequent phase separation and electromag-
netic transient overvoltage [15, 16], the surface discharge of
on-board cables is more prominent. According to the relevant
research [15], the high-speed electric multiple units (EMU) will
undergo electric phase separation once every 5 min. In the pro-
cess of passing through the neutral section of the catenary, the
amplitude of phase separation overvoltage is about 25–70 kV,
and the maximum electric field strength of EPR cable insulation
is about 11.42–31.98 kV/mm [2]. Under the long-term effect,
the cable insulation performance decreases obviously, leading
to a continuous enhancement discharge phenomenon on cable
material’s surface, resulting in accelerated erosion of cable mate-
rial and reduced service life.
The electrical and mechanical properties of insulation are
critical factors that determine the life of power cables. In
recent years, some scholars applied nanotechnology to the mod-
ification of cable insulation materials, and inserting different
nanoparticles within different polymer materials might have a
completely different effect. Recently, Nagat et al. have reported
the effect of incorporating TiO2 /SiO2 nanoparticles on relative
permittivity (εr ), dielectric loss (tanδ), breakdown strength of
polyvinyl chloride (PVC) cable [17–19], and the results showed
3 wt.% functionalized TiO2 or SiO2 nanocomposite have dif-
ferent effects on the decrease of εr and tanδ. Moreover, they
also enhanced the partial discharge (PD) activity of low den-
sity polyethylene (LDPE) by adding the TiO2 nanoparticles by
0.25%–5% compared to pure LDPE [20]. From the experimen-
tal results, it can be seen that the addition of TiO2 reduced
the inception and extinction voltage of cables compared to
pure LDPE, but the decline degrees of those properties were
different from that in PVC cable. Therefore, the degradation
characteristics of the cable insulation should be studied before
BAI ET AL.
conducting related modification experiments and researches, to
select the appropriate nanoparticles and proportions.
However, because the large-scale application of high-speed
EMU is only nearly a decade, the research on the degradation
characteristics of EPR cable insulations in the whole-life cycle
is still in its infancy. So it is not easy to maintain and detect
the operating state of on-board cable in EMU and the above
researches fail to quantify the discharge intensity that is needed
to cause a certain level of deterioration. Therefore, it is more
urgent to study the effect of surface discharge on EPR insula-
tion degradation characteristics under overvoltage and has prac-
tical application value and significance.
In this paper, the surface discharge of the cable was simulated
by the column plate electrode, and the degradation experiment
of the EPR material under different discharge strengths was car-
ried out. The main contribution of this paper is summarized as
follows:
1. The relationship between the deterioration process of EPR
samples and the surface discharge strength was studied by
utilizing discharge characteristic analysis, initial discharge
voltage test, withstand voltage measurement, volume resis-
tivity, and surface resistivity test.
2. The white circle area appears near the electrode on the EPR
surface and the area turns to be pure yellow with the PD
intensity increasing. The reliability life of the EPR sample
is closely related to the electric field, PD energy and local
thermal heating applied on EPR insulation.
2 EXPERIMENTAL SETUP
AND METHODS
2.1 Experimental platform configurations
In this paper, according to the actual situation of EMU cable
withstand discharge deterioration, the circuit as shown in
Figure 1a is built in the shielded laboratory, where the back-
ground noise has been controlled below 1 pC. In this circuit,
the autotransformer, transformer, and coupling capacitor are all
non-discharge devices, and Zm is the detection impedance.
In the test, high-frequency current transformer (HFCT) and
detection impedance Zm are used to couple surface discharge
signals synchronously. After high-frequency filtering and ampli-
fication, the discharge signal coupled by HFCT is collected by
high-frequency oscilloscope Tektronix TDS 3032b, and con-
nected with a computer by a general data bus. The signal is pro-
cessed by upper computer software and stored in a database.
The detection impedance Zm is connected with the MPD 600
detector, which compares the collection results of the discharge
waveform with the collection results of the HFCT, and its detec-
tion sensitivity can reach 0.1 pC.
The column-plate electrode model is used in the experiment,
as shown in Figure 1b. The diameter of the upper cylindrical
electrode is 25 mm. The diameter of the bottom plate electrode
is 75 mm, and the thickness is about 10 mm. The upper cylin-
drical electrode is in close contact with the sample surface to
BAI ET AL.
FIGURE 1 Operating schematic diagram of the partial discharge system
avoid air gaps between the contact surface of the electrode and
the sample.
2.2 Experimental materials and sample
preparation
The test sample adopts a QTO-J30G cable special high-voltage
resistant ethylene-propylene rubber insulation film. The film is
made of ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubber
as the basic material, supplemented by reinforcing agents, soft-
eners, antioxidants, vulcanizing agents, which are fully mixed
through an internal mixer, and can be directly used as the main
insulation materials of EMU with a rated operating voltage of
27.5 kV and below. Before being used as the test sample, it was
preheated on the plate curing machine for 1 min, and then the
pre-heated sample was put into the mould for appropriate treat-
ment at the recommended curing temperature of 165°C and
curing time of 15 min. In this process, the pressure on the sam-
ple is kept constant to ensure its surface smoothness.
The vulcanized EPR sample is 140 mm square with a thick-
ness of about 1.25 mm. Its overall performance indicators are
shown in Table 1, which meets the relevant regulations of
‘TBT1484.3-2010’ and ‘GB 7594.8-87’. Before using the sample,
the surface of it is wiped with alcohol to ensure the surface is
clean, and then it is placed in the drying oven with a constant
temperature of 80°C for 24 h to remove the by-products in the
vulcanization process.
To simulate the surface discharge of the cable under frequent
overvoltage and realize the accelerated degradation of the
295
TABLE 1 Performance index of EPR sample
Test items Unit Test value
Elongation at break % 380
Volume resistivity (20°C) Ω⋅m 6.5 × 1015
Breakdown strength kV/mm 27.5
Relative permittivity dielectric loss factor 2.47 0.25%
sample, the samples were degraded under the specific electric
field strength of 20, 24, 28, and 32 kV/mm (hereinafter referred
to as groups a, b, c, and d). In each group, eight samples were
taken for degradation treatment and discharge tests. The aver-
age PD magnitude of EPR samples under each group is shown
in Table 2.
The specific voltage application and degradation process are
as follows:
Firstly, the voltage was slowly increased to the correspond-
ing voltage value of group a--d at the speed of 2 kV/s; then, the
degradation tests of test samples in each group were conducted
for 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, and 10.0 h, respectively; finally, the correspond-
ing samples were obtained and labelled. The specific voltage
application and sample number are shown in Table 3.
2.3 Experimental and test methods
In the process of the above test, the samples were degraded
for 6.5 h under 28 kV/mm electric field strength and 4.5 h at
32 kV/mm electric field. Therefore, c4 and d4 samples in Table 3
could not be degraded for 10 h. In this paper, the test results and
analysis are carried out based on the tested samples.
2.3.1 Measurement of volume resistivity and
surface resistivity
Insulation resistance is one of the most basic indexes to reflect
insulation performance. Volume resistivity and surface resistiv-
ity can effectively judge the deterioration state of EPR samples
[21]. In this paper, the MEGGER-AVO insulation resistance
tester and the three-electrode test system were used to measure
the volume resistivity and surface resistivity of different EPR
samples at room temperature. During the test, the applied volt-
age can be 500 V–10 kV. The test value, sample thickness, and
electrode size after 1 min of voltage application are taken, and
the results are obtained by referring to relevant provisions of
GB/T 1410–2006/IEC 60093:198 [22].
2.3.2 Measurement of PD characteristic
parameters
Using the test system built-in Figure 1, the PD magnitude and
PD pulse times of samples with different degradation degrees
were measured under the condition of externally applied voltage
296 BAI ET AL.

TABLE 2 Average PD parameters of each test group

Applied electric field

strength/(kV/mm) 20 (group a) 24 (group b) 28 (group c) 32 (group d)

PD magnitude (pC) 50 100 200 400

PD pulse number (times/s) 5 15 30 55

TABLE 3 Sample group number 1. The surface state of the samples in the group a is shown
Average PD magnitude in Figure 2a-1 and Figure 2a-2. Until the end of the PD
PD degradation experiment, no discharge traces appeared on the surface of
time 50 pC 100 pC 200 pC 400 pC the sample a3 and a4 . The polymer structure on the sur-
1.0 h a1 b1 c1 d1 face is arranged orderly without apparent depression or pro-
2.0 h a2 b2 c2 d2
trusions in the microscopic image under the scanning elec-
tron microscope (SEM). Moreover, from the surface condi-
4.0 h a3 b3 c3 d3
tion and SEM morphology of a3 and a4 , there is little dif-
10.0 h a4 b4 c4 d4 ference between them, indicating that the influence of sur-
face discharge activity on the EPR samples can be almost
ignored.
2. The surface condition of the samples in group b is shown
of 20 kV. In this process, the duration of collecting the discharge in Figure 2b-1 and Figure 2b-2. There are circular burning
pulses and characteristic parameters of the deteriorated sample marks at the contact position of the column electrode, and
is 100 cycles. white circles begin to appear near the electrode. Compar-
Before the PD test of the deteriorated sample, the electrode ing the surface morphology characteristics of sample b3 and
is cleaned with alcohol to prevent the deterioration byproducts b4 , there is no significant difference in the surface traces of
of the EPR sample from adhering to the electrode surface and the two samples, but from the microscopic surface, the sur-
affecting the measurement result. The ambient temperature is face damage extent of b3 is smaller and the surface remains
about 20°C. flat. It can be seen from the SEM image of sample b4 that
although the surface of the polymer material remains intact
and smooth, white protrusions have appeared in some areas.
2.3.3 PD inception voltage and withstand 3. The surface condition and microscopic image of samples in
voltage group c after degradation for 4 h at the PD amplitude of 200
pC are shown in Figure 2c. It can be seen that the white cir-
In this paper, the circuit shown in Figure 1 is used to test the cle near the column electrode gradually turns to light yellow,
insulation performance of the deteriorated sample material. The and the area of the circle has expanded. The ablation traces
applied voltage is defined as the PD inception voltage (PDIV) are more obvious at the position in contact with that on the
when the surface discharge exceeds twice the background noise edge of the column electrode than that at Figure 2b. It can
value for more than 1 min, and the stable discharge pulse be seen from the SEM image that there are many scattered
appears on the oscilloscope. When the voltage continues to raised areas on the surface of the polymer material. The sur-
rise, the applied voltage value when the sample breaks down is face of the material is in a state of vertical and horizontal
the withstand voltage of the EPR material [21]. grooves, which is presumed to be caused by the discharge
phenomenon.
4. Figure 2d shows the surface state and microscopic condition
3 RESULTS OF EXPERIMENT of the group d after being treated for 4 h at the discharge
AND DISCUSSION amount of 400 pC. It can be seen from the left image that the
range of the light yellow circle has not been expanded, but
3.1 Surface condition of EPR samples under the colour has become darker. A discharge channel appears
different PD deterioration treatments as ‘△’ at the contact position of the column electrode. The
ablation caused by the discharge also gradually proceeds to
In this paper, the samples with the longest degradation time the inside of the EPR sample. From the SEM image on the
under each discharge condition are selected to analyze and com- right, it can be seen that there are perforation holes at the
pare the surface morphology changes. Since both samples c4 and ‘△’ position, and the ravines on the surface of the polymer
d4 have a breakdown phenomenon, the author selected samples material are further deepened.
a3 , a4 , b3 , b4 , c3 , and d3 for analysis and observed the surface
state of those samples near the cylindrical electrode. The result As can be seen from the SEM photos in Figure 2, the
is shown in Figure 2. structural cracking reaction gradually appears inside the EPR
BAI ET AL.
FIGURE 2 Surface state and morphology condition under different
degrees of deterioration (a-1) a3 , 50 pC, (a-2) a4 , 50 pC, (b-1) b3 , 100 pC, (b-2)
b4 , 100 pC, (c) c3 , 200 pC, (d) d4 , 400 pC
insulation with the increase of deterioration degree. There
are many protrusions on the surface of insulation polymer,
which are the result of the combined action of electrical stress
and thermal stress. When these protrusions gradually expand,
discharge carbon marks and creepage cracks appear on the
surface of EPR insulation. Therefore, AC overvoltage affects
297
the performance of EPR insulation, which is gradually initiated
from the cracking reaction of the insulating polymer.
3.2 Volume resistivity and surface resistivity
of deteriorated EPR cable samples
Figures 3 and 4 show the changes in the volume resistivity and
surface resistivity of the EPR material obtained after the cable
sample was subjected to discharge degradation treatment. In
order to better summarize its change law, EPR samples that can
withstand 6.0 and 8.0-h degradation treatment are also tested
and added in the figures.
1. With the increase in the electric field intensity applied by the
resistance meter, the volume resistivity and surface resistivity
of the EPR sample showed a downward trend. The resistivity
decreases rapidly before the field strength of 2 kV/mm is
applied, and the downward trend gradually slows down after
3.5 kV/mm.
2. In terms of volume resistivity, after EPR cable samples are
subjected to discharge degradation treatment, the volume
resistivities of the samples of the group a and group b with
lower discharge capacity appear to increase slightly at first
and then decrease gradually after different degradation times.
However, the volume resistivity of samples in group c and
group d with higher discharge capacity is characterized by a
gradual decrease. Moreover, the resistivity curves are approx-
imately parallel distribution under different degradation time
conditions.
3. In terms of surface resistivity, the surface resistivity of EPR
cable samples decreases with the prolongation of degrada-
tion time after discharge degradation treatment. For the dete-
riorated samples in groups a–d, the greater the applied dis-
charge amplitude, the more obvious the decrease of surface
resistivity after 4 and 10-h treatment.
It can be seen from Figure 4 that the interval of the surface
resistivity curve gradually expands with the extension of deteri-
oration time. This trend in Figure 4 is different from the parallel
relationship of the curves in Figure 3.
3.3 Measurement of PDIV of deteriorated
samples
The change trends of the PDIV (Uinc ) of samples in groups a–d
after different discharge amplitudes are shown in Figure 5. Dur-
ing the deterioration experiment of EPR cable material, some
samples in group c and group d have a creepage breakdown, and
the degradation time is less than 10 h. The PDIV amplitude of
the new sample is shown as the red curve in Figure 5.
It can be seen from Figure 5 that with the gradual increase
in the amplitude of the degraded discharge, the PDIV of the
EPR samples shows a decreasing trend. For example, after 4-h
degradation treatment at 400 pC, the Uinc of samples in group d
decrease from 20 to 16 kV, with a reduction of 20%. Therefore,
298 BAI ET AL.

FIGURE 3 Volume resistivity of EPR degraded samples under different

degrees of deterioration (a) 50 pC, (b) 100 pC, (c) 200 pC, (d) 400 pC. EPR, FIGURE 4 Surface resistivity of EPR degraded samples under different
ethylene-propylene rubber degrees of deterioration (a) 50 pC, (b) 100 pC, (c) 200 pC, (d) 400 pC
BAI ET AL. 299

FIGURE 5 Variation trend of PDIV after degradation treatment. PDIV,

partial discharge inception voltage

it can be seen that the PD intensity and amplitude has a signif-

icant influence on the PD inception phenomenon of the EPR
samples.
Secondly, the PDIV of EPR samples in group a and group
b does not decrease significantly. When the PD amplitude
increases to more than 200 pC, the Uinc decreases step by step
with the extension of degradation time under the same PD
amplitude. But the obvious decline of Uinc mostly occurs in
4.0h–10.0 h. And its values are significantly less than 20 kV. It
can be seen that among the above factors, the influence of PD
amplitude is most important, and only when the amplitude is
higher than 200, the degradation time has a significant influence
on the changing trend of PDIV.

3.4 Variation trend of PRPD patterns after

degradation
Figure 6 shows the variation trend and phase-resolved partial
discharge (PRPD) patterns of EPR samples in the groups a
to d after degradation treatment for 4.0 h under various PD
amplitude conditions. The red dot represents the amplitude
of a certain discharge, and the sinusoidal curve represents the
waveform of the applied voltage. In Figure 7, the variation
trend of average PD amplitude, maximum PD amplitude, and
PD times in the process are calculated.
According to statistics, with the gradual increase in the PD
deterioration intensity, the average PD amplitude of deterio-
rated EPR samples first decreases and then increases. More-
over, the surface discharge pulses are densely distributed near
the peak value of the sine wave. By comparing the distribution
characteristics of each PRPD pattern in Figure 6, the degrada-
tion trend of EPR insulation material can be found.
After being treated under 50-pC discharge conditions, the
PD amplitude of sample a3 is small, but the distribution density
FIGURE 6 PRPD patterns of EPR samples after degradation (a) 50 pC,
is large, and the PD times are much more. However, the EPR (b) 100 pC, (c) 200 pC, (d) 400 pC. PRPD, phase-resolved partial discharge
samples b3 of group b under the PD deteriorated condition of
300 BAI ET AL.

FIGURE 7 Development trend of PD parameters of PRPD patterns

FIGURE 8 Withstand voltage changes of EPR specimens with different

100 pC have more large-scale discharge pulses, but their distri- degrees of deterioration
bution is sparse, and the total PD times reduce slightly. After
the samples c3 of group c are degraded under 200-pC condi-
TABLE 4 Changes of sample resistivity
tion, the larger discharge pulses continue to increase, and the
discharge pulses also extend from the peak to the low phase Discharge intensity (pC) 0 50 100 200 400
area of the sine wave, but the increases in the PD times are not ρvolume (Ω × m) 100% 110% 90% 90% 60%
evident. Finally, after the degradation treatment of the sample
ρsurface (Ω) 100% 95% 77.5% 12.5% 5.4%
d3 , the average PD amplitude and distribution density in PRPD
patterns are significantly increased, and the PD times are also
greatly increased.
As shown in Figure 7, comparing the changing trends of the to 42.63 after being degraded for 1.0 h. With the extension of
curves in the figure, the average PD amplitude of deteriorated the discharge time, the withstand voltage continues to decrease,
samples a3 , b3 , c3 , d3 is consistent with the variation trend in and the deterioration process shows an accelerated trend.
PD times. With the increase in the degradation discharge inten- In addition, the withstand voltage of the EPR samples in
sity, those curves decrease at first and then increase gradually, groups a and b both show a tendency to increase first and then
while the curve of maximum PD amplitude keeps a monotonic decrease significantly. However, the samples of groups c and d
increasing trend. show a monotonous decreasing trend. Combining the afore-
mentioned changes in the discharge characteristics of the sam-
ples, it can be found that the difference in PD levels under dif-
3.5 Withstand voltage of EPR samples with ferent overvoltage conditions has an essential impact on the dis-
different deterioration degrees charge degradation process on the surface and inside of the EPR
material.
The withstand voltage results of the deteriorated EPR samples
under different overvoltage conditions are tested in this section.
Compared with the new sample, the changes in the withstand 4 RESULTS ANALYSIS
voltage and breakdown strength of the EPR samples after PD AND DISCUSSION
degradation are shown in Figure 8. The result is the average
value of the breakdown test for samples in each group. The 4.1 Influence of the discharge intensity on
results show that the withstand voltage Ubd of the new sample the resistivity
is about 45.0 kV, as shown by the dotted line in Figure 8.
When the degraded intensity is 50 pC, the average withstand- It can be seen from the change of resistivity in Section 3.2 that
voltage of the samples in group a is the same as that of the the deteriorated discharge intensity has an important impact on
new sample. After 10-h continuous treatment under 100-pC the decrease of surface resistivity of the EPR sample in the
discharge conditions, the withstand voltage of the EPR sam- deterioration process of cable insulation caused by overvoltage.
ples in group b drops to 43.96 kV. When the degradation time Under different discharge intensities, the change in resistivity
is less than 10 h, the withstand voltage remains unchanged or after the longest degradation treatment is shown in Table 4.
rises slightly and then gradually decreases. The withstand volt- It can be seen from Table 4 that the volume resistivity of EPR
age of EPR samples in group c decreases to 42.33 kV after being samples first increases and then decreases when the discharge
treated for 4 h at 200 pC. When the degraded discharge intensity intensity is lower than 100 pC, and gradually decreases when the
is 400 pC, the withstand voltage of the samples in group d drops discharge intensity is higher than 200 pC, but the overall decline
BAI ET AL.
is small. Under the same conditions, the surface resistivity of
EPR samples shows a monotonous decreasing trend, and the
decreasing trend is more obvious than that of volume resistivity.
According to related studies, the deterioration and failure of
polymer materials will be affected by many factors such as heat,
electricity, light, and oxygen. In this paper, considering the effect
of a strong electric field, the process of the oxidation reaction
between EPR material and oxygen molecules is as follows [23]:
The newly generated free radicals can be used as the centre of
the deep trap, trapping the electrons and holes injected by the
electrode, thereby forming an additional space electric field in
the depression of the sample surface [24].
In the degradation process of polymer materials, there are
contradictory effects in promoting the perfection of crystalline
morphology and accelerating the breaking of molecular chains
[25]. The free radicals produced in the thermal oxidation pro-
cess can act as the crystal nucleus, which leads to the further
crosslinking of the polymer molecular chains, the perfection of
crystal morphology, and the further improvement of resistivity
and other parameters. However, many molecular chain ruptures
caused by the impact of high-energy particles will significantly
reduce the surface resistivity and other parameter values, which
will accelerate the rate of deterioration. In this paper, when the
discharge intensity is lower than 100 pC, the molecular chain-
breaking activity in the sample is weak, and the crystal form
is mainly perfect. The electric charges impact the EPR surface
violently, and molecular chain breaks are more common, so the
volume resistivity decreases slightly or increases slightly, but the
surface resistivity decreases significantly. In the degradation pro-
cess where the discharge intensity is higher than 200 pC, the vio-
lent discharge intensity is accompanied by high field strength,
so that the electrons injected by the electrode and the charged
particles ionized by the discharge have an energy of more than
10 eV [24]. Therefore, the impact on the EPR surface is inten-
sified, causing a large number of C–H bonds, C = C bonds, and
other molecular bonds in the rubber molecules to break, result-
ing in the appearance of surface defects and the increase in dis-
charge of by-products. This leads to a phenomenon in which
both volume resistivity and surface resistivity greatly reduced.
Simultaneously, as shown in Figure 2, the change in the ERP
surface under different discharge intensities is closely related
to resistivity change. When the discharge intensity is low, the
kinetic energy of the charged particles injected by the column
electrode is limited. The frequent impacts on the surface of the
EPR material will cause molecular chain breaks on the material’s
surface due to the fatigue effect of the electrical stress, forming
301
micro-porous surface defects [25]. At this time, the microhole
depression is shallow, and the ablation marks are not obvious,
as shown in Figure 2a and b. It is easy to combine electrons
and holes by free radicals in the recesses to form a reverse spa-
tial electric field [26], which inhibits the further development of
discharge, as shown in Figure 6a and b.
With the increase in the discharge intensity, the tendency
of EPR material molecular chain breakage gradually develops
internally, and the micro-porous defects gradually expand and
increase. Moreover, the discharge erosion in the micro-hole is
intensified, leading to increased conductivity and charge decay
[26]. Therefore, the reverse electric field gradually disappears,
promoting the continuous development of discharge degrada-
tion, and finally forms discontinuous dendritic discharge traces
on the surface of the EPR material, as shown in Figure 2d and
Figure 6d.
4.2 Relationship between discharge
intensity and PRPD patterns
It can be seen from the results in Sections 3.3 and 3.4 that EPR
samples show different discharge characteristics after treatment
with different discharge intensities. First of all, the PDIV is
unchanged at 100 pC, and the downward trend of inception
voltage is evident when it is above 200 pC. Secondly, in the
PRPD patterns, the PD times and large amplitude discharge
pulses gradually increase with the applied electric field strength.
The change in PD characteristics along the EPR sample surface
is closely related to the appearance of defects in this material,
and the breakage of the EPR molecular chain at different dis-
charge intensities is an important reason for the micro-porous
defects on the sample. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the
relationship between the discharge strength and molecular bond
fracture.
Under the effect of applied overvoltage, charged particles
continuously impact the surface of EPR material, resulting in a
large number of EPR molecular chain cracking, and the molec-
ular structure of the material is damaged [27–29]. According to
the thermal wave theory, the probability q of EPR molecular
chain failure can be expressed as [27]
⎛ W − aF ′ ln 2W1 e ⎞
aF ′ ⎟
q = f0 exp ⎜− (1)
⎜ 2kT0 ⎟
⎝ ⎠
where f0 is an oscillation frequency of atoms in the molecular
chain, W1 is the energy of polymer molecular chain destruction
reaction, a is the curvature constant of the relationship between
the potential energy of adjacent atoms and the distance r, where
a≈r/3.2; F’ is forces acting on molecular chains; e is base of nat-
ural logarithm; T0 is the ambient temperature of the dielectric.
In formula (1), the force acting on the molecular chain is
related to its molecular constant
eaMepr 𝜔
F′ = (2)
r0 N 𝜌′ (1 − 2m∕mepr )
302 BAI ET AL.

𝜔2 = 2GMepr · D = 𝜎2 + GMepr 𝜀E 2 (3) external mechanical stress σ can be ignored, and the elastic
modulus GMepr and rubber molecular weight Mepr are taken as
where Mepr is the molecular weight of EPR polymer; ω is equiv- constants. Formula (8) can be rewritten as
alent applied stress, which is the joint action of mechanical stress √ 2𝜇e
σ and electric field E; r0 is the length of a chain; N is Avogadro ⎡ ⎛ 𝜇 + A0 𝜀GMepr ln √ ⎞ ⎤
⎢ ⎜ A0 𝜀GMepr ⎟ ⎥
constant; ρ’ is EPR material density; m is the molecular weight eW0
t = exp ⎢− ⎜ ⎟ E⎥ (9)
at the end of a chain that is free to be delisted; mepr is also the f0 ⎢ ⎜ 2kT0 ⎟ ⎥
molecular weight of EPR polymer. In formula (3), GMepr is elas- ⎣ ⎝ ⎠ ⎦
tic modulus; ε is dielectric constant.
According to formula (1)–(3), the following results can be When a large number of molecular chains in the polymer are
obtained: broken, and the damage of the material gradually develops from
the surface to the inside, the insulation performance of the poly-
⎡
⎢ √ mer will be significantly reduced [28, 29].
q = f0 exp ⎢−(W1 − A0 𝜎2 + 𝜀GMepr E 2 ln It can be seen from formula (9) that the degradation time t
⎢ of EPR material is not only related to its internal structure and
⎣
composition, but also has an exponential relationship with the
⎤ total electric field E. In this paper, the electric field E is deter-
2W1 e ⎥
× √ )∕2kT0 ⎥ (4) mined by the applied discharge intensity and space electric field
A0 𝜎2 + 𝜀GMepr E 2 ⎥ at the micropore defect. According to the analysis in Section 3.1,
⎦ when the degradation discharge intensity is lower than 100 pC,
the applied electric field is inhibited by the reverse electric field
where
/[ ( )] on the surface of the sample. The total field E is small, and
2m the insulation performance of EPR material decreases slowly,
A0 = (aeMepr ) 3.2N 𝜌 1 − (5)
mepr resulting in the PDIV, PD times, and large discharge pulses
remaining stable. However, when the degradation intensity is
W1 = W1 − 𝜇E (6) higher than 200 pC, the inhibition effect of the reverse elec-
tric field on the sample surface is weakened or disappeared.
in formula (6), W0 is the original state energy; μ is a coefficient The results show that the total field E increases obviously,
related to the material composition. and the degradation process of the material is accelerated. The
When the destruction of the material strength does not hap- EPR insulation performance also drops significantly, making the
pen suddenly but is caused by the continuous accumulation PDIV drops by more than 20%. Therefore, the PD times, PD
of the destruction of the dielectric structure under the action amplitude, and phase width in the PRPD patterns increase sig-
of discharge degradation, the phenomenon of molecular chain nificantly.
destruction in the EPR material will appear in large numbers. In
this paper, the author regards the time from the deterioration
of the material to the significant decrease in insulation perfor-
mance as its resistance to deterioration time t. At this time, it 4.3 Effect of discharge energy on
can be considered that it is an inevitable event that the molecu- breakdown voltage
lar chain is destroyed at the deterioration time t, which is
Since the characteristics of the withstand voltage of the sam-
q×t = 1 (7) ple after deterioration have changed significantly, when the dis-
charge intensity is above 200 pC, the withstand voltage of the
As the above formulas, the relationship between deteriora- sample decreases significantly, with a maximum decrease of
tion time t and electric field E and other parameters can be 10%. In the process of over-voltage degradation, due to the
obtained as influence of EPR molecular chain fracture and discharge by-
products, micro-porous defect areas with low resistivity will
1 appear in EPR materials. In this defect area, the discharge
t = exp
f0 energy will increase due to the discharge magnitude and the rep-
√ 2(W0 −𝜇E )e
etition rate becoming larger significantly. The discharge energy
⎡ (W0 − 𝜇E ) − A0 𝜎2 + 𝜀GMepr E 2 ln √ ⎤ W in unit time can be shown as
⎢ A0 𝜎2 +𝜀GMepr E 2 ⎥
×⎢ ⎥
⎢ 2kT0 ⎥ ∑
n
⎣ ⎦ W = Wi (10)
i=1
(8)

Since the effect of discharge intensity on the insulation 1

properties of the samples is mainly studied in this paper, the Wi = qi Ui (11)
2
BAI ET AL.
TABLE 5 Partial discharge energy of EPR insulation
Discharge intensity(pC) 0 50 100 200
PD energy (J) 0 3655 1764 11,205
where n is PD repetition rate, Wi is PD energy of the ith dis-
charge, qi is the PD amplitude of the ith discharge, and Ui is
the applied voltage across termination samples when the ith dis-
charge occurs. In this defect area, the value of PD energy will
directly affect the total heat Q generated by the discharge parti-
cle impact in unit time.
Q ∝W
Generally, the calorific value in EPR insulation is considered
to be generated by the current flowing the low resistivity chan-
nel. But at this time, because of the impact of the discharge par-
ticles, the PD energy is an important factor affecting the total
heat production. Therefore, the PD energy is used here as an
important factor to measure the insulation performance. Esti-
mated by the average discharge magnitude and discharge rep-
etition rate in Figure 7, the results shown in Table 5 can be
obtained.
From the PD energy in Table 5, during the degradation pro-
cess of EPR samples, when the discharge intensity is lower than
100 pC, the total electric field intensity E is smaller. Besides,
due to the reverse electric field at the micro-porous defect, the
molecular bond is less impacted, and the probability of molec-
ular chain rupture is low. Therefore, the total heat Q of the
defect area and the deterioration time maintain a stable state.
The degradation effect is limited.
When the discharge intensity is higher than 200 pC, the
impact of discharge particles on the surface of the EPR sam-
ple increases significantly. The volume resistivity ρ reduced sig-
nificantly, and a large number of polymer molecular chain scis-
sion phenomena occur in the EPR material, which causes the
total heat Q of the conductive channel to increase. Therefore,
the withstand voltage significantly reduces, and the deteriora-
tion time also shows a significant decline.
5 CONCLUSIONS
In this paper, the influence of surface discharge on the dete-
rioration of EPR cable insulation under frequent overvoltage
conditions has been conducted. Influencing factors and break-
ing characteristics of EPR cable are discussed based on electrical
and thermal behaviours of insulation material. The conclusions
are shown as follows:
(i) Under the condition of frequent overvoltage, the surface
discharge of EMU cable insulation is intensified, and the
EPR sample surface changes obviously. Under the degrada-
tion treatment of 100-pC discharge intensity, a white circle
around the electrode will appear on the sample’s surface.
303
With the increase in discharge intensity, the white circle
400 gradually turns light yellow, and there are branch creepage
traces until the breakdown occurs.
46,818
(ii) When the discharge intensity is less than 100 pC, the sur-
face deterioration of the material is not apparent in the
short term, and the volume resistivity, surface resistivity,
and withstand voltage all change little. However, when the
discharge intensity is greater than 200 pC, the surface resis-
tivity and withstand voltage decrease more obviously. The
larger the discharge volume, the faster the decrease.
(iii) The withstand voltage, molecular chain rupture probability,
and rupture rate of EPR polymer under AC high-voltage
are closely related to the discharge intensity (i.e. the electric
(12) field strength under overvoltage). When the degradation
intensity is higher than 200 pC, the probability of molecular
chain rupture increases significantly, the material degrada-
tion speed increases, and the total heat Q generated in the
conductive channel increases, resulting in an exponential
decline in the breakdown strength.
(iv) The reliability life of EPR cable insulation and the PD
energy value is closely related to the electric field, PD
degradation degree and damage degree of internal polymer
molecular structure. In the future, the breakdown mech-
anisms of EPR cable insulation under different degrada-
tion conditions and the effective methods for diagnosing
the deterioration degree of EPR cable will be investigated.
In addition, the non-linear phenomenon of volume resistiv-
ity and withstand voltage will be investigated by quantifying the
inflection point. Based on this, the proposed parameter criterion
and the novel method in this paper will be extended to other
industrial equipment testing applications.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was supported by the National Key R&D Pro-
gram Project of Ministry of Science and Technology (No.
2018YFC0309005).
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
We declare that we have no financial and personal relation-
ships with other people or organizations that can inappropri-
ately influence our work, there is no professional or other per-
sonal interest of any nature or kind in any product, service,
and/or company that could be construed as influencing the
position presented in, or the review of, the manuscript entitled,
‘Influence of surface discharge on the deterioration characteris-
tics of EPR cable insulation under AC high-voltage’.
DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
The data used to support the findings of this study are available
from the corresponding author upon request.
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How to cite this article: Bai, L., Fan, D., Li, T., Li, B.,
Su, M., Fan, S., Zhang, L.: Influence of surface discharge
on the deterioration characteristics of
ethylene-propylene rubber cable insulation under
alternating current high-voltage. IET Sci. Meas.
Technol. 16, 293–304 (2022).
https://doi.org/10.1049/smt2.12104