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Oxygen Consumption As Sensitive Measure Of Polymer Electrical Cable Insulation Aging

It is of sustained interest to estimate the remaining useful lifetime of polymers used as cable insulation in nuclear power plants for cable aging management and license extension purposes. Studies have been focused on a range of topics from mechanism of degradation process, kinetic modeling, effects on chemical signatures and mechanical properties, and accelerated aging techniques for lifetime prediction. 

Product Number: ED22-17274-SG
Author: Yelin Ni, Katarzyna Grubel, Jonathan D. Egbert, Leonard S. Fifield
Publication Date: 2022
$20.00
$20.00
$20.00

Oxygen consumption during degradation of cable insulation is a sensitive measure that reveals early progress of aging when there is little detectable change in thermal-mechanical properties of bulk polymer materials. Early indicators are critical for lifetime prediction especially for materials such as ethylene propylene rubber (EPR) that exhibit “induction time” behaviors. Oxygen consumption is an appealing
metric as it directly relates to the kinetics of oxidation reaction. Measured oxygen consumption rates at various temperatures and dose rates are used to discriminate kinetic models. In this work, we describe the design of sealed aging containers and key experimental steps to measure oxygen consumption, report oxygen consumption rates during thermal degradation of EPR specimens at 136°C and 162°C and
compare results to literature values.

Oxygen consumption during degradation of cable insulation is a sensitive measure that reveals early progress of aging when there is little detectable change in thermal-mechanical properties of bulk polymer materials. Early indicators are critical for lifetime prediction especially for materials such as ethylene propylene rubber (EPR) that exhibit “induction time” behaviors. Oxygen consumption is an appealing
metric as it directly relates to the kinetics of oxidation reaction. Measured oxygen consumption rates at various temperatures and dose rates are used to discriminate kinetic models. In this work, we describe the design of sealed aging containers and key experimental steps to measure oxygen consumption, report oxygen consumption rates during thermal degradation of EPR specimens at 136°C and 162°C and
compare results to literature values.