Jinliang He

High dielectric and nonlinear electrical behaviors in TiO2-rich CaCu3Ti4O12 ceramics

We present a TiO2-rich CaCu3Ti4O12 polycrystalline ceramic with high dielectric and nonlinear electrical properties. Analysis of the ceramic microstructure and composition indicates that obvious grain boundaries are formed. Our results demonstrate that all the ceramic samples exhibit high dielectric permittivity and remain almost constant over the frequency range from 100Hzto1MHz, which could be attributed to an internal boundary layer capacitance effect. The current-density–electric-field characteristics prove that the excessive TiO2 in the CaCu3Ti4O12 ceramics can efficiently improve varistor voltage and nonlinear coefficient.

Grain boundary behavior in varistor-capacitor TiO2-rich CaCu3Ti4O12 ceramics

We prepared TiO2-rich CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO) ceramics by a solid-state sintering process and observed large nonlinear electrical and high dielectric behaviors. Microstructure and phase composition analyses show that CCTO grain-amorphous/TiO2 nanograin boundary-CCTO grain junction structures exist in these TiO2-rich CCTO ceramics, which leads to the nonlinear electrical and high dielectric properties. The temperature dependence of impedance spectroscopy and relationships between electrical current density versus applied electrical field indicate that the activation energy of the grain boundary for the TiO2-rich CCTO ceramics is almost the same as the potential barrier height and both of them are weakly independent of the doped concentration of TiO2, which supports the internal barrier layer capacitor model of Schottky barriers at the grain boundaries between semiconducting CCTO grains.

Numeral analysis model for shielding failure of transmission line under lightning stroke

The shielding failure is the occurrence of a lightning stroke that bypasses the overhead ground wires and terminates on the phase conductors. The correct design to improve the shielding effect of transmission line to lightning is one of the key problems of transmission line design. A numerical analysis model for shielding failure of transmission line based on electromagnetic field theory is proposed in this paper. The electrical field of the system including lightning leader, transmission line and ground is solved, the range of lightning current striking the phase conductor is obtained, and the shielding failure probability of transmission line is calculated. The lightning leader model and the critical breakdown electrical field intensity of long gap are discussed. The analyzed results by numerical analysis model are compared with those by the electrogeometric model.

Energy Storage in Ferroelectric Polymer Nanocomposites Filled with Core–Shell Structured Polymer@BaTiO3 Nanoparticles: Understanding the Role of Polymer Shells in the Interfacial Regions

The interfacial region plays a critical role in determining the electrical properties and energy storage density of dielectric polymer nanocomposites. However, we still know a little about the effects of electrical properties of the interfacial regions on the electrical properties and energy storage of dielectric polymer nanocomposites. In this work, three types of core-shell structured polymer@BaTiO3 nanoparticles with polymer shells having different electrical properties were used as fillers to prepare ferroelectric polymer nanocomposites. All the polymer@BaTiO3 nanoparticles were prepared by surface-initiated reversible-addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization, and the polymer shells were controlled to have the same thickness. The morphology, crystal structure, frequency-dependent dielectric properties, breakdown strength, leakage currents, energy storage capability, and energy storage efficiency of the polymer nanocomposites were investigated. On the other hand, the pure polymers having the same molecular structure as the shells of polymer@BaTiO3 nanoparticles were also prepared by RAFT polymerization, and their electrical properties were provided. Our results show that, to achieve nanocomposites with high discharged energy density, the core-shell nanoparticle filler should simultaneously have high dielectric constant and low electrical conductivity. On the other hand, the breakdown strength of the polymer@BaTiO3-based nanocomposites is highly affected by the electrical properties of the polymer shells. It is believed that the electrical conductivity of the polymer shells should be as low as possible to achieve nanocomposites with high breakdown strength.

Grain and grain boundary effects in high-permittivity dielectric NiO-based ceramics

We present a Li and Ti codoped NiO-based polycrystalline ceramic with high-permittivity dielectric properties. Analysis of the ceramic microstructure and composition proves that obvious grain boundaries are formed. The measurements of frequency and temperature dependence of impedance and dielectric permittivity indicate that the grain and grain boundaries have remarkable influence on the dielectric properties due to the various activation energies corresponding to the dielectric relaxation processes. Our results also demonstrate that the activation energy required for relaxation Ea is almost the same to the activation energy of the conductivity in the grain interiors Eg.

Effective length of counterpoise wire under lightning current

In a high soil resistivity area, counterpoise wires are applied to decrease the grounding resistance of tower grounding devices. If the conductor of counterpoise wire is very long, although the power frequency grounding resistance of the tower grounding device is decreased, the lightning protection performance of the transmission line is still not good. The influences of the length of grounding electrodes on the lightning transient characteristic were analyzed. The dynamic and nonlinear effect of soil ionization around the grounding electrode was considered in the analysis model of transient characteristics for the grounding electrodes under lightning impulse. The counterpoise wire has an effective length when lightning passes through it. When the length of a grounding electrode exceeds the effective length, the grounding conductor will not be utilized effectively. The simulating experiments were performed to analyze influences of the length of the counterpoise wire on the impulse characteristics. The formulae to calculate the impulse effective lengths of counterpoise wires were proposed. The model proposed in the paper has been validated by comparing the numerical results with experimental tests.

Evaluation of polypropylene/polyolefin elastomer blends for potential recyclable HVDC cable insulation applications

This paper evaluates the microstructure and properties of polypropylene/polyolefin elastomer (PP/POE) blends for potential recyclable HVDC cable insulation applications. PP/POE blends with different POE content were prepared by melt mixing. The introduction of POE results in a slight decrease of the melting points but improves the flexibility of PP. Compared with PP, the volume resistivity of the blends shows a decrease at low loading of POE and starts to increase when the POE loading is higher than 15 wt%. After the introduction of POE, the DC breakdown strength is slightly decreased and the hetero space charge accumulation is enhanced. Although the electrical properties of the PP/POE blends are inferior to those of the pure PP, the enhanced flexibility, high volume resistivity, high breakdown strength as well as the excellent thermal properties make the PP/POE blends have the potential for HVDC cable application. The hetero space charge accumulation is still an issue, and further modification of the blends should be considered for suppressing the space charges.

Dielectric and nonlinear electrical behaviors observed in Mn-doped CaCu3Ti4O12 ceramic

We present a remarkable effect of Mn doping on the dielectric and nonlinear electric properties of CaCu3Ti4O12 ceramics. The results indicate that only 2.5at.% Mn doping can suppress the dielectric permitivity in CaCu3Ti4O12 by up to two orders of magnitude (from 104 to 102), and the nonlinear varistor characteristics disappear completely, which should be mainly ascribed to the decrease of potential barrier height at the grain boundary and charge compensation for the conduction electrons caused by the Mn doping.

A Current Sensor Based on the Giant Magnetoresistance Effect: Design and Potential Smart Grid Applications

Advanced sensing and measurement techniques are key technologies to realize a smart grid. The giant magnetoresistance (GMR) effect has revolutionized the fields of data storage and magnetic measurement. In this work, a design of a GMR current sensor based on a commercial analog GMR chip for applications in a smart grid is presented and discussed. Static, dynamic and thermal properties of the sensor were characterized. The characterizations showed that in the operation range from 0 to ±5 A, the sensor had a sensitivity of 28 mV·A−1, linearity of 99.97%, maximum deviation of 2.717%, frequency response of −1.5 dB at 10 kHz current measurement, and maximum change of the amplitude response of 0.0335%·°C−1 with thermal compensation. In the distributed real-time measurement and monitoring of a smart grid system, the GMR current sensor shows excellent performance and is cost effective, making it suitable for applications such as steady-state and transient-state monitoring. With the advantages of having a high sensitivity, high linearity, small volume, low cost, and simple structure, the GMR current sensor is promising for the measurement and monitoring of smart grids.

Laboratory investigation of impulse characteristics of transmission tower grounding devices

Reducing grounding resistance of a transmission tower grounding device is an important method to improve performance of transmission lines against lightning. Principles of impulse characteristics of grounding devices were discussed. Impulse experiments using grounding device models were systematically performed to analyze the influence of different factors on the impulse characteristics of grounding devices. During the experiments, soil resistivity was changed in the range of 100 to 5103 /spl Omega//spl middot/m. Effects of different parameters on impulse grounding resistance and impulse coefficients of different transmission tower grounding devices were discussed. Formulae to calculate impulse coefficients and power frequency grounding resistance of different grounding devices were obtained.