Space Charge Behavior of LDPE Graphene-Oxide Nanocomposites

This paper deals with space charge characterization of LDPE nanocomposites having graphene oxide as nanofiller. Space charge measurements were performed at 40 kV/mm and at two temperatures, i.e. 20 degrees C and 60 degrees C. Experimental results showed that the base LDPE specimens is affected by a large bipolar charge injection at room temperature. In particular, a large amount of positive charge injected by the anode is seen to cross the insulation in a form of a charge packet, overwhelming the negative charge injected by cathode. Specimens containing graphene oxide (GO), on the contrary, do not show any charge packet formation and the space charge accumulated in the bulk is significantly lower than for LDPE. This results in a smaller electric field distortion, which provides beneficial effect for reliability of electrical insulation.