Lisheng Zhong

Short-term breakdown and long-term failure in nanodielectrics: a review

Nanodielectrics, which are concentrated in polymer matrix incorporating nanofillers, have received considerable attention due to their potential benefits as dielectrics. In this paper, short-term breakdown and long-term failure properties of nanodielectrics have been reviewed. The characteristics of polymer matrix, types of nanoparticle and its content, and waveforms of the applied voltage are fully evaluated. In order to effectively comment on the published experimental data, a ratio k has been proposed to compare the electric properties of the nanodielectrics with the matrix and assess the effect for nanoparticles doping. There is evidence that the short-term breakdown properties of nanodielectrics show a strong dependence on the applied voltage waveforms. The polarity and the cohesive energy density (CED) of polymer matrix have a dramatic influence on the properties of nanodielectrics. Nanoparticle doped composites show a positive effect on the long-term failure properties, such as ageing resistance and partial discharge (PD) properties of nanocomposites are superior than microcomposites and the matrix. The larger the dielectric constant and CED of the matrix become, the more significant improvements in long-term performance appear. Based on the reported experimental results, we also present our understandings and propose some suggestions for further work.

Effect of polyethylene interface on space charge formation

This paper reports on an investigation into the space charge formation and decay at different material interfaces. In particular, the influence of the interface between electrode and polymer or polymer and polymer on the space charge dynamics has been studied. Planar samples were subjected to high DC electric stresses for extended periods of time and space charge measurements taken using the pulsed electroacoustic (PEA) technique. It has been found that the types of interface between electrode and polymer play a significant role in determining the charge distribution in the insulation and that the interface between polymer and polymer acts as a potential barrier to electrons while allowing positive charge carriers through easily.

Origin of thickness dependent dc electrical breakdown in dielectrics

A model based on space charge dynamics under high dc electric field has been proposed to explain commonly observed thickness dependent breakdown of polymeric material. The formation and dynamics of space charge will result in local electric field enhancement that has a direct impact on dielectric breakdown. The simulation results show that the breakdown depends on the sample thickness with a power index of 0.143, indicating the space charge and its dynamics are responsible for thickness dependent breakdown. The model also predicts the effect of voltage ramping rate on the electrical breakdown strength.

Major contributor to the large piezoelectric response in (1 − x)Ba(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3 − x(Ba0.7Ca0.3)TiO3 ceramics: Domain wall motion

The piezoelectric activity of lead-free Ba(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3-x(Ba0.7Ca0.3)TiO3 (BZT-xBCT) ceramics has been investigated as a function of composition by using Rayleigh analysis under subswitching-electric-field in combination with large-electric-field strain measurement. The result shows that the intrinsic piezoelectric response exhibits peak values in the vicinity of composition-induced R (rhombohedral)-MPB (morphotropic phase boundary) and MPB-T (tetragonal) phase transitions, but being much less than total d33 value. On the other hand, the extrinsic piezoelectric response, especially the one associated with reversible domain wall motion, has been greatly enhanced in the phase instability regime. Our results indicate that the extrinsic piezoelectric activity is the major contributor to the high piezoelectricity in BZT-xBCT ceramics.

Enhancing dielectric permittivity for energy-storage devices through tricritical phenomenon

Although dielectric energy-storing devices are frequently used in high voltage level, the fast growing on the portable and wearable electronics have been increasing the demand on the energy-storing devices at finite electric field strength. This paper proposes an approach on enhancing energy density under low electric field through compositionally inducing tricriticality in Ba(Ti,Sn)O3 ferroelectric material system with enlarged dielectric response. The optimal dielectric permittivity at tricritical point can reach to εr = 5.4 × 104, and the associated energy density goes to around 30 mJ/cm3 at the electric field of 10 kV/cm, which exceeds most of the selected ferroelectric materials at the same field strength. The microstructure nature for such a tricritical behavior shows polarization inhomogeneity in nanometeric scale, which indicates a large polarizability under external electric field. Further phenomenological Landau modeling suggests that large dielectric permittivity and energy density can be ascribed to the vanishing of energy barrier for polarization altering caused by tricriticality. Our results may shed light on developing energy-storing dielectrics with large permittivity and energy density at low electric field.

Phase transition sequence in Pb-free 0.96(K0.5Na0.5)0.95Li0.05Nb0.93 Sb0.07O3−0.04BaZrO3 ceramic with large piezoelectric response

The piezoceramic 0.96(K0.5Na0.5)0.95Li0.05Nb0.93Sb0.07O3−0.04BaZrO3 (KNLNS0.07-BZ), which shows large piezoelectric response (d33 ≈ 425 pC/N), has been considered as one of the promising Pb-free substitutions for Pb(Zr,Ti)O3. In this paper, we investigate the phase transition sequence for KNLNS0.07-BZ by employing the dielectric measurement, mechanical spectroscopy, as well as Raman spectroscopy. Two ferroelectric-ferroelectric transitions have been detected by inspecting anomalies in the spectra, indicating the existence of three ferroelectric phases. Moreover, in-situ X-ray diffraction study has been further performed on KNLNS0.07-BZ to identify the crystal structure for each phase. The result reveals that the phase sequence for KNLNS0.07-BZ evolves from tetragonal (T) to rhombohedral (R) via an intermediate orthorhombic (O) phase. And the piezoelectric-optimal region for KNLNS0.07-BZ locates on a T-O boundary rather than the previously reported T-R boundary. Strong piezoelectricity may stem from the ea...

Influence of the atmosphere on the reaction of dibenzyl disulfide with copper in mineral insulation oil

A mineral insulation oil containing 500 mg/l dibenzyl disulfide (DBDS) was aged under different thermal (105 °C to 165 °C) and atmospheric (nitrogen and air) conditions to further understand the reaction mechanism of corrosive sulfur with copper. The DBDS concentration of each oil sample was measured using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and the change in the color of each oil and copper specimen was subsequently observed. The following conclusions were drawn: copper sulfide (Cu2S), which is the decomposition product of the DBDS-Cu complex, can be formed under both nitrogen and air environments but is highly prone to deposition on the copper surface under nitrogen. However, the DBDS-Cu complex tends to peel off the copper surface in air, which leads to significantly higher concentration of dissolved copper in oil or to the deposition on the wrapped insulation paper surface. DBDS simultaneously reacts with oxygen and copper when the oil contains oxygen. In addition, the activation energy of the reaction of DBDS with copper was determined as approximately 98.61 kJ/mol by using the Arrhenius equation.

Determination of threshold electric field for charge injection in polymeric materials

Accurately determining the threshold electric field at which charge injection from the electrodes starts is important for reliable operation of dielectric materials as the presence of charge in the material can lead to electric field enhancement, resulting in degradation and early failures of the material. The two methods in charge measurements that have been commonly used to find out the threshold field have been compared to the proposed method, which overcomes the drawbacks of the two methods. Such method offers (i) high sensitivity as the effect of capacitive charge has been eliminated and (ii) contributions from both mobile and slow charges; hence, providing a more accurate value for the threshold electric field. Based on the proposed method, it has been found that the threshold field for low density polyethylene is around 8 kV/mm, which is lower than the reported value obtained from the other methods.

Electrostatic charging tendency and correlation analysis of mineral insulation oils under thermal aging

In order to investigate the electrostatic charging tendency (ECT) of transformer oil under thermal aging and understand its correlations to the other insulation parameters, a series of accelerated aging tests were carried out on two types of mineral insulation oils, A and B, both of which were mainly used in 500 kV power transformers in China. Oil samples were pre-processed by degassing and dehydrating, and then aged at 120°C for various periods up till to 675 h, meanwhile, different contents of oxygen and copper/pressboard/silicon steel sheet were also added into the oil samples for sensitive study. The results indicate that the ECT of oil A increases notably with aging time, the ECT of oil B however does not change so much during the whole aging period. Injection of oxygen in the samples enhances the ECT of oil A, such a promotion effect is minor for oil B. The correlations between the ECT and other parameters, such as tanδ, volume resistivity (ρv) and acid number were analyzed as well. There are linear correlations between ECT and tanδ, acid number and log (ρv) of oil A, of which ECT and tanδ has the highest correlation coefficient of 0.881. Regarding oil B, there is only a positive linear correlation between ECT and acid number.

Phase transition behaviours near the triple point for Pb-free (1 − x)Ba(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3-x(Ba0.7Ca0.3)TiO3 piezoceramics

The reason for the large electromechanical response in Pb-free piezoceramic Ba(Zr0.2 Ti0.8 )O3 -(Ba0.7 Ca0.3 )TiO3 (BZT-BCT) still remains controversial, and a central issue is whether or not the multi-phase-coexisting point (triple point) in the phase diagram is a thermodynamic tricritical point. In this letter, we study the phase transition behaviour for the ferro-para transitions of BZT-BCT specimens in the vicinity of a triple point. Our results show that latent heat and thermal hysteresis approach zero, while the permittivity peak value is maximized close to the triple-point composition, which suggests that the triple point exhibits nearly tricritical transition behaviours in the BZT-BCT system. Further, the TEM result shows that the domain width is minimized with composition approaching the triple point, which indicates a reduction of the domain wall energy possibly relevant to the tricriticality of the triple point. A sixth-order Landau energy modeling shows that the triple tricritical point provides a free-energy state of near-vanishing polarization anisotropy and thus enhances the piezoelectric response for such a material system.