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Full-Text Articles in Condensed Matter Physics

Effects Of Radiation Type On Charge Transport In Aged Polymers, Zachary J. Gibson, Jr Dennison, Virginie Griseri Nov 2025

Effects Of Radiation Type On Charge Transport In Aged Polymers, Zachary J. Gibson, Jr Dennison, Virginie Griseri

Journal Articles

Spacecraft charging issues are often investigated with simulated space environments and evaluated on pass–fail criteria that may yield little or no information about materials’ properties. It is far more effective to understand and mitigate spacecraft charging issues through investigations of material properties. However, material properties are dynamic in the harsh environment of space. Approximations must be made to simulate the space environment in the laboratory. This article reports on the investigation of the approximation that energy deposition causes the same aging effects in materials irrespective of the type of radiation sources. Samples of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and polyether-etherketone (PEEK) were irradiated …


Effect Of Space Radiation On The Mechanical Properties Of High-Strength Polyethylene Nanocomposite Films, Seunghyun Moon, Achal Duhoon, Zhongtian Gu, Jr Dennison, Tengfei Luo Nov 2025

Effect Of Space Radiation On The Mechanical Properties Of High-Strength Polyethylene Nanocomposite Films, Seunghyun Moon, Achal Duhoon, Zhongtian Gu, Jr Dennison, Tengfei Luo

Journal Articles

This study experimentally investigates the effects of prolonged radiation exposure on mechanical properties of high-strength, highly crystalline polyethylene (PE)/thermally reduced graphene oxide (TrGO) nanocomposite films for space applications. Prior to irradiation, PE/TrGO films were found to have tensile strengths up to ~4 GPa, more than 40 times that of conventional space-deployed membrane films (e.g., those used in solar sails) and over 59× the specific tensile strength. The PE/TrGO films were subjected to three radiation conditions to simulate space environmental conditions: 90Sr beta radiation (0.2 to 2.5 MeV), 80 keV electron beam irradiation, and 4.9 eV ultraviolet (254 nm) exposure. …


Electron Yields Of Lunar Regolith Simulant Layers, Christopher Vega, Matthew Robertson, Thomas Keaton, Heather Allen, Jr Dennison Oct 2025

Electron Yields Of Lunar Regolith Simulant Layers, Christopher Vega, Matthew Robertson, Thomas Keaton, Heather Allen, Jr Dennison

Journal Articles

The charging of bulk lunar regolith has been recognized since the Apollo era as an immediate and critical issue facing our return to the moon. Accurate electron yield (EY) measurements of bulk highly insulating granular materials—which largely determine how such particles charge through interactions with space environments—are lacking due to many experimental complexities that have led to a critical knowledge gap. Such knowledge is essential for addressing fundamental science and myriad important lunar applications and simulations related to lunar dust and regolith electrostatic charging. The few prior EY studies of lunar dust were limited due to severe charging effects and …


Time-Dependent Radiation Induced Conductivity Of Polyimide: Effects Of Dose Rate And Temperature On Dynamic Ric, Tyler Heggenes, Jenny R. Whiteley, Jodie Gillespie, Jr Dennison Oct 2025

Time-Dependent Radiation Induced Conductivity Of Polyimide: Effects Of Dose Rate And Temperature On Dynamic Ric, Tyler Heggenes, Jenny R. Whiteley, Jodie Gillespie, Jr Dennison

Journal Articles

Radiation induced conductivity (RIC) can impact charge dissipation within highly insulating materials used in spacecraft in harsh space plasma environments. Previous Utah State University (USU) research analyzed only the equilibrium portions of an extensive RIC database for polymeric materials, including Kapton HN (Trademark). This confirmed that equilibrium RIC follows a standard theoretical model that is temperature and dose rate dependent. The current study provides a new analysis of RIC’s time-dependent behavior of the Kapton HN data from this database. With the onset of radiation, the material response is characterized by an exponential increase in conductivity, while a hyperbolic inverse time-dependent …


Time-Evolved Constant Voltage Conductivity Measurements Of Common Spaceborne Polymeric Materials, Brian Wood, David King, Jr Dennison Aug 2025

Time-Evolved Constant Voltage Conductivity Measurements Of Common Spaceborne Polymeric Materials, Brian Wood, David King, Jr Dennison

Journal Articles

Long-duration current measurements were made for low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polyimide (PI), polyether ether ketone (PEEK), and biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) to determine their bulk conductivity near room temperature as a function of time. These common thin-film spacecraft material samples were vacuum baked to remove moisture and volatile contaminants to better simulate space conditions. The constant voltage conductivity (CVC) method used a very stable, low-noise dc voltage source and measured the resulting current in a parallel plate geometry. Due to the extremely low conductivity of these four polymeric materials, extended experiments of up to ten days were necessary to establish equilibrium …


Young Professionals, Zachary Gibson Apr 2025

Young Professionals, Zachary Gibson

Journal Articles

Like many of us, I have attended numerous panels, seminars, and workshops geared toward helping young professionals and students. The more senior professionals are gathered for us to question and tap them for wisdom and anecdotes. One such question that inevitably comes up in one form or another is, “How did you get to where you are?” A thinly veiled question intending to ask how can one get to the same or similar position. The response often begins with a soft chuckle and a “well … ” Their answers are caveated by “my path was not the typical path.”


Modeling Permittivity Measurements Of Thin Film Materials Versus Film Thickness, Jr Dennison, Cameron Eggleston Oct 2024

Modeling Permittivity Measurements Of Thin Film Materials Versus Film Thickness, Jr Dennison, Cameron Eggleston

Journal Articles

Measured permittivity of thin film polymeric samples were substantially less for thin samples, asymptotically approaching bulk values above ~500 μm. For ~25 μm samples the observed permittivities were as much as 50% less than for bulk measurements. This behavior has been studied for four common homogeneous polymeric materials for sample thickness in the range of ~10 μm to > 1000 μm. To quantify these observations, an empirical single-parameter model was developed to correct measured permittivity of thin samples based on an effective stray capacitance in series with the samples to compensate for effects attributed to instrumentation.


Young Professionals: Fireside Chat With Jacques Lewiner And J. Keith Nelson At The Ieee Conference On Electrical Insulation And Dielectric Phenomena, Mattewos Tefferi, Allen Andersen, Sneha Hedge, Moein Borghei Jan 2024

Young Professionals: Fireside Chat With Jacques Lewiner And J. Keith Nelson At The Ieee Conference On Electrical Insulation And Dielectric Phenomena, Mattewos Tefferi, Allen Andersen, Sneha Hedge, Moein Borghei

Journal Articles

At the IEEE Conference on Electrical Insulation and Dielectric Phenomena (CEIDP), the Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Society’s Young Professionals (DEIS-YP) Committee has initiated a YP luncheon event. This event aims to feature keynote speakers who share insights into their career trajectories with young professionals. In the current CEIDP edition, we had the privilege of hosting two distinguished speakers: Jacques Lewiner, the 2023 Whitehead Memorial Lecturer, and J. Keith Nelson, the 2022 recipient of the Dakin Award who also presented his award lecture at the CEIDP 2023. The fire- side chat was moderated by Allen Andersen, who began with initial questions …


A Simple Method For Determining Shallow Charge Distributions In Dielectrics Via Pulsed Electroacoustic Measurements, Zachary Gibson, J. R. Dennison Aug 2023

A Simple Method For Determining Shallow Charge Distributions In Dielectrics Via Pulsed Electroacoustic Measurements, Zachary Gibson, J. R. Dennison

Journal Articles

The understanding of charge dynamics in dielectric materials is paramount in mitigating electrostatic discharge events for spacecraft. The most critical spacecraft charging events are found to result from incident electrons in the energy range of 10 keV to 50 keV. The charge embedded in dielectric materials in this energy range are deposited a distance into the material on the order of a few to tens of microns. One way to measure and understand the deposited charge is via pulsed electroacoustic measurements (PEA). However, the typical PEA spatial resolution of ~ 10 μm is not sufficient to resolve or discern charge …


Relevancy Of Pulsed Electroacoustic Measurements For Investigating Spacecraft Charging, Zachary Gibson, J. R. Dennison Feb 2023

Relevancy Of Pulsed Electroacoustic Measurements For Investigating Spacecraft Charging, Zachary Gibson, J. R. Dennison

Journal Articles

The magnitude and spatial distribution of charge embedded in dielectric materials and the evolution of the charge distributions with time are paramount for the understanding and mitigation of spacecraft charging. Spacecraft materials are charged primarily by incident fluxes of low-energy electrons, with electron fluxes in the 10–50 keV range often responsible for the most deleterious arcing effects. While the pulsed electroacoustic (PEA) method can provide sensitive nondestructive measurements of the internal charge distribution in insulating materials, it has often been limited for spacecraft charging applications by typical spatial resolutions of ≤ 10 μm , with a 10- μm …


Space Environment Effects On The Electron Yields Of Ldef Thermal Control Coatings, Trace Taylor, Matthew Robertson, Heather Allen, Jr Dennison, Michael Guy, Emily Willis Feb 2023

Space Environment Effects On The Electron Yields Of Ldef Thermal Control Coatings, Trace Taylor, Matthew Robertson, Heather Allen, Jr Dennison, Michael Guy, Emily Willis

Journal Articles

Space-environment-induced degradation of white thermal control coatings from the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) was investigated. Much of the exterior of the LDEF was painted with a white thermal control coating, Aeroglaze A276; and most of the interior was coated with a black thermal control coating, Aeroglaze Z306. Outgassing from these coatings and other LDEF materials interacted with the white surface when exposed to sunlight after volatile materials condensed on the LDEF surfaces. Surface morphology was characterized by optical and scanning electron microscopies. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy were used to identify the chemical compounds and elements present …


Comparison Of Pulsed Electroacoustic Measurements And Af-Numit3 Modeling Of Polymers Irradiated With Monoenergetic Electrons, Zachary Gibson, J. R. Dennison, Brian Beecken, Ryan Hoffmann Feb 2023

Comparison Of Pulsed Electroacoustic Measurements And Af-Numit3 Modeling Of Polymers Irradiated With Monoenergetic Electrons, Zachary Gibson, J. R. Dennison, Brian Beecken, Ryan Hoffmann

Journal Articles

Successful spacecraft design and charging mitigation techniques require precise and accurate knowledge of charge deposition profiles. This paper compares models of charge deposition and transport using a venerable deep dielectric charging code, AF-NUMIT3, with direct measurements of charge profiles via pulsed electroacoustic (PEA) measurements. Eight different simulations were performed for comparison to PEA experiments of samples irradiated by 50 or 80 keV monoenergetic electrons in vacuum and at room temperature. Two materials, polyether-ether ketone (PEEK) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), were chosen for their very low conductivities so that minimal charge migration would occur between irradiation and PEA measurements. PEEK was found …


Spacecraft Charging Test Considerations For Composite Materials, Allen Andersen, Wousik Kim, J. R. Dennison, Brian Wood, Todd A. Schneider, Jason Vaughn, Kenneth H. Wright Jr., Nelson W. Green, Eric Suh, Joel Schwartz, Abdul-Majeed Azad Dec 2022

Spacecraft Charging Test Considerations For Composite Materials, Allen Andersen, Wousik Kim, J. R. Dennison, Brian Wood, Todd A. Schneider, Jason Vaughn, Kenneth H. Wright Jr., Nelson W. Green, Eric Suh, Joel Schwartz, Abdul-Majeed Azad

Journal Articles

Composite materials present a growing challenge for spacecraft charging assessments. We review some recent lessons learned for charging tests of composite materials using both parallel-plate and electron beam test geometries. We also discuss examples of materials that exhibit significant variations between samples, despite them all having the same trade name.


Effects Of Volatile Compounds On Breakdown Field Strength Measurements Of Polymers, Megan Loveland Dewaal, Jr Dennison Nov 2022

Effects Of Volatile Compounds On Breakdown Field Strength Measurements Of Polymers, Megan Loveland Dewaal, Jr Dennison

Journal Articles

This study investigates the effects of absorbed water and volatile compounds on measurements of the electrostatic breakdown field strength. Comparisons are made between sets of pristine samples, ones that underwent a thorough vacuum bake out, and ones subsequently exposed to humid conditions to determine how quickly the samples reverted to an unbaked state. Specifically, we compared signatures related to an electrostatic breakdown (electrostatic breakdown field strength, frequency of pre-breakdown arcing, and flashover) and images of the arc damage sites. The work reports results for three prototypical polymeric dielectric materials: low density polyethylene (LDPE), polyether-etherketone (PEEK), and Nylon 66, listed in …


Ion Beam-Treated Space Polymers: Long-Term Stability In Geo-Simulated Environments, Jacob Kleiman, Zelina Iskanderova, Leonid Krishtein, J. R. Dennison, Brian Wood, Anatoly Grigorievsky, Carl Best Apr 2021

Ion Beam-Treated Space Polymers: Long-Term Stability In Geo-Simulated Environments, Jacob Kleiman, Zelina Iskanderova, Leonid Krishtein, J. R. Dennison, Brian Wood, Anatoly Grigorievsky, Carl Best

Journal Articles

As part of a large program conducted between years 2010 and 2018, a number of ion beam surface treatments and proprietary coatings formed on advanced space polymers by direct ion beam deposition were developed at Integrity Testing Laboratory (ITL) Inc, in Canada. Thistechnology allowed producing surfaces with controlled surface resistivity in a wide range of charge dissipation values, with negligibly low additional RF losses and other important functional properties, that allowed using such treated materials and products in modern space antennae, solar arrays and other external applications on spacecrafts in GEO environment. This paper will present an overview of results …


Experimental Investigation Of The Secondary And Backscatter Electron Emission From New Spacecraft Surface Materials, Millan F. Diaz-Aguado, John W. Bonnell, Stuart D. Bale, Justin Christensen, Phillip Lundgreen, Jordan Lee, Jr Dennison, Justin Dekany, Brian Wood, Mike Gruntman Mar 2020

Experimental Investigation Of The Secondary And Backscatter Electron Emission From New Spacecraft Surface Materials, Millan F. Diaz-Aguado, John W. Bonnell, Stuart D. Bale, Justin Christensen, Phillip Lundgreen, Jordan Lee, Jr Dennison, Justin Dekany, Brian Wood, Mike Gruntman

Journal Articles

The emission of secondary and backscattered electrons influences spacecraft surface potentials and the surrounding plasma. Modern spacecraft use new materials for which secondary emission properties have been unavailable. In this work, the total electron yield (i.e., the sum of secondary and backscattered electron yields) was measured for niobium-C103 alloy, molybdenum Titanium, Zirconium, Molybdenum (TZM) alloy, tantalum-tungsten alloy, Elgiloy®, graphite lubricant (DAG 213®), and titanium nitride. The surface properties of tungsten were also measured for comparison with past test data. The materials were readied as spacecraft flight materials and temperature-treated ("annealed") to predicted peak flight temperatures. The yield properties for 10 …


Physics-Driven Dual-Defect Model Fits Of Voltage Step-Up To Breakdown Data In Spacecraft Polymers, Allen Andersen, Jr Dennison Oct 2019

Physics-Driven Dual-Defect Model Fits Of Voltage Step-Up To Breakdown Data In Spacecraft Polymers, Allen Andersen, Jr Dennison

Journal Articles

Overly conservative estimates of breakdown strength can increase the mass and cost of spacecraft electrostatic discharge (ESD) mitigation methods. Improved estimates of ESD likelihood in the space environment require better models of ESD distributions. The purpose of this work is to evaluate our previously proposed dual-defect model of voltage step-up-to-breakdown tests with a case study across four dielectric materials. We predicted that materials best fit by mixed Weibull distributions would exhibit better fits with the dual-defect model compared to a mean field single defect theory. Additional data for biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP), polyimide (PI or Kapton) from three sources, and …


Guest Editorial Spacecraft Charging Technology, Allen Andersen, Michael Bodeau, Mengu Cho, Victoria A. Davis, Jr Dennison, Michelle Donegan, Dale C. Ferguson, Nelson Green, Virginie Inguimbert, Insoo Jun, Shu T. Lai, Justin J. Likar, Joseph Minow, Linda Neergaard Parker, Jean-François Roussel, Kazuhiro Toyoda, Henry B. Garrett, Hideyuki Usui Aug 2019

Guest Editorial Spacecraft Charging Technology, Allen Andersen, Michael Bodeau, Mengu Cho, Victoria A. Davis, Jr Dennison, Michelle Donegan, Dale C. Ferguson, Nelson Green, Virginie Inguimbert, Insoo Jun, Shu T. Lai, Justin J. Likar, Joseph Minow, Linda Neergaard Parker, Jean-François Roussel, Kazuhiro Toyoda, Henry B. Garrett, Hideyuki Usui

Journal Articles

This marks the seventh issue of the IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science dedicated to Spacecraft Charging Technology. The theme of this issue is based on the papers presented at the 15th Spacecraft Charging Technology Conference, Kobe, Japan, in 2018. The history of spacecraft charging goes back to the first Spacecraft Charging Technology Conference, sponsored by AFRL and NASA, that was held at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO, USA, in 1978. The 15th Spacecraft Charging Technology Conference was hosted by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the Graduate School of System Informatics, Kobe University. It continues a …


An Introduction To Quantile-Quantile Plots For The Experimental Physicist, Allen Andersen, Jr Dennison Nov 2018

An Introduction To Quantile-Quantile Plots For The Experimental Physicist, Allen Andersen, Jr Dennison

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.


A Predictive Range Expression: Applications And Limitations, Gregory Wilson, Anne C. Starley, Lisa Phillipps, Jr Dennison Jan 2018

A Predictive Range Expression: Applications And Limitations, Gregory Wilson, Anne C. Starley, Lisa Phillipps, Jr Dennison

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.


Time-Evolved Constant Voltage Conductivity Measurements Of Common Spaceborne Polymeric Materials, Brian Wood, David King, Jr Dennison Jan 2018

Time-Evolved Constant Voltage Conductivity Measurements Of Common Spaceborne Polymeric Materials, Brian Wood, David King, Jr Dennison

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.


Highly Accelerated Test Method For Characterizing Likelihood Of Breakdown In Hvdc Dielectric Materials, Allen Andersen, Jr Dennison Oct 2017

Highly Accelerated Test Method For Characterizing Likelihood Of Breakdown In Hvdc Dielectric Materials, Allen Andersen, Jr Dennison

Journal Articles

Increasing application and development of HVDC technologies emphasizes the need for improved characterization of candidate insulating materials. Accurately predicting the lifetime to breakdown of dielectric materials by means of accelerated voltage step-up to breakdown tests can be prohibitively time consuming. Step-up to breakdown tests with sufficiently slow voltage ramp rates that continuously monitor leakage current have detected a distribution of DC partial discharge (DCPD) events occurring prior to breakdown, which increase with increasing field. These DCPD distributions are shown to correlate strongly with the likelihood of breakdown for four common polymers. Given that hundreds of DCPD events are typically observed …


Perspectives On The Distributions Of Esd Breakdowns For Spacecraft Charging Applications, Allen Andersen, Krysta Moser, Jr Dennison Aug 2017

Perspectives On The Distributions Of Esd Breakdowns For Spacecraft Charging Applications, Allen Andersen, Krysta Moser, Jr Dennison

Journal Articles

Electrostatic discharge (ESD) continues to pose significant risks to space missions despite decades of intense study. Tabulated values of material breakdown strength used in spacecraft charging models are often based on cursory measurements that may not be fully relevant to a given mission. Materials physics offers insight into the pertinent variables that affect breakdown and how to address them experimentally for spacecraft applications. We present measured distributions of ESD data across several test configurations for three polymeric materials that, taken together, begin to provide an understanding of how to estimate the likelihood of ESD events over a spacecraft’s mission lifetime. …


Pea System Modeling And Signal Processing For Measurement Of Volume Charge Distributions In Thin Dielectric Films, Lee H. Pearson, Jr Dennison, Erick W. Griffiths, Anthony C. Pearson Aug 2017

Pea System Modeling And Signal Processing For Measurement Of Volume Charge Distributions In Thin Dielectric Films, Lee H. Pearson, Jr Dennison, Erick W. Griffiths, Anthony C. Pearson

Journal Articles

This paper discusses our effort to develop advanced pulsed electroacoustic (PEA) measurement system capabilities that incorporate (1) improved signal processing tools for increased signal/noise ratios; and (2) integrated PEA modeling tools. In addition, we emphasize state-of-the-art system electronic components, integrated environmental controls, and sensor improvements required to achieve high spatial resolution while maintaining reasonable temporal resolution for both ambient and in vacuo measurements of thin dielectrics charged using electron beam injection, which is most applicable for spacecraft charging tests. PEA measurement systems provide an important tool to investigate the spatial extent and dynamic evolution of embedded charge distributions in thin …


Dependence Of Electrostatic Field Strength On Voltage Ramp Rate For Spacecraft Materials, Krysta Moser, Allen Andersen, Jr Dennison Aug 2017

Dependence Of Electrostatic Field Strength On Voltage Ramp Rate For Spacecraft Materials, Krysta Moser, Allen Andersen, Jr Dennison

Journal Articles

This work investigated the dependence of electrostatic field strength for spacecraft materials on voltage ramp rate, by applying an increasing incremental electrostatic field until electrostatic breakdown occurred. Tests on Kapton E found that at ramp rates two or three orders of magnitude lower than the maximum recommended rate, the electrostatic breakdown field, FESD was lower by a factor of two or more. This suggests that tabulated values of FESD, which have been used by the spacecraft charging community, could substantially overestimate FESD in common slowly evolving spacecraft situations. This study expanded these ramp rate tests to include a wider range …


Cathodoluminescence Studies Of Defects In Coated Boron Nitride, Kévin Guerch, Justin Dekany, Jr Dennison, Thierry Paulmier, Sophie Guillemet-Fritsch, Pascal Lenormand Jul 2017

Cathodoluminescence Studies Of Defects In Coated Boron Nitride, Kévin Guerch, Justin Dekany, Jr Dennison, Thierry Paulmier, Sophie Guillemet-Fritsch, Pascal Lenormand

Journal Articles

Optical emission properties of Boron Nitride (BN) substrates, BN with alumina (Al2O3) coating, and thermally-annealed alumina-coated boron nitride (an-BN/Al2O3) were investigated under electron irradiation using cathodoluminescence (CL) measurements. Tests were performed temperatures ranging from ~100 K to ~300 K, with monoenergetic beams from 5 keV to 30 keV, and electron flux densities from 1 nA.cm-2 to 500 nA.cm-2. These experiments were conducted to identify the effects of coating and thermal annealing on the nature and occupation of defect states in different samples with BN substrates. Previous studies have shown that these treatments can limit the charging of BN substrates. Consequently, …


Temporal And Spatial Correlations In Electron-Induced Arcs Of Adjacent Dielectric Islands, Justin Christensen, Jr Dennison, Justin Dekany Jan 2017

Temporal And Spatial Correlations In Electron-Induced Arcs Of Adjacent Dielectric Islands, Justin Christensen, Jr Dennison, Justin Dekany

Journal Articles

This study investigates very short duration (


Density Of State Models And Temperature Dependence Of Radiation Induced Conductivity, Jodie Corbridge Gillespie, Jr Dennison, Alec M. Sim Jan 2017

Density Of State Models And Temperature Dependence Of Radiation Induced Conductivity, Jodie Corbridge Gillespie, Jr Dennison, Alec M. Sim

Journal Articles

Expressions are developed for radiation induce conductivity (RIC) over an extended temperature range, based on density of states models for highly disordered insulating materials. A general discussion of the DOS of can be given using two simple types of DOS distributions of defect states within the bandgap for disordered materials are considered, one that monotonically decreases within the bandgap and one with a distribution peak within the band gap. Three monotonically decreasing models (exponential, power law, and linear), and two peaked models (Gaussian and delta function) are considered, plus limiting cases with a uniform DOS for each type. Variations using …


Mixed Weibull Distribution Model Of Dc Dielectric Breakdowns With Dual Defect Modes, Allen Andersen, Jr Dennison Oct 2015

Mixed Weibull Distribution Model Of Dc Dielectric Breakdowns With Dual Defect Modes, Allen Andersen, Jr Dennison

Journal Articles

This work provides physical insight into common statistical models for DC dielectric breakdown field strengths. Voltage step-up tests were performed on low density polyethylene films. The merits of generalizations to widely-used empirical Weibull models are discussed. The cumulative probability distributions of the breakdown fields were fit to standard two- and three-parameter Weibull distributions. Mixed two-parameter Weibull distributions, sometimes used in the literature to model multiple breakdown modes, were found to yield the best fits to the data. In addition, the same data were fit to a physically-motivated dual-defect mean field model incorporating both low- and high-energy defect modes with different …


Pre-Breakdown Arcing As A Proxy For Dc Dielectric Breakdown Testing Of Polymeric Insulators, Allen Andersen, Jr Dennison Sep 2015

Pre-Breakdown Arcing As A Proxy For Dc Dielectric Breakdown Testing Of Polymeric Insulators, Allen Andersen, Jr Dennison

Journal Articles

Pre-breakdown arcing is proposed as a key indicator of DC breakdown properties of polymeric dielectric materials. Voltage step-up tests were performed for films of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) at ramp rates significantly lower than is common in most studies, allowing for the observation of both breakdown and transient pre-breakdown current spikes. The distributions of the breakdowns versus applied field were compared with the more frequent pre-breakdown arcs. A strong correlation was observed for LDPE between the distribution of breakdowns in step-up tests and the distribution of pre-breakdown arcing. Pre-breakdown arcing distributions are much easier to obtain than breakdown distributions and may …