1,622 research outputs found
Electrical and Mechanical Properties of new Recyclable Power Cable Insulation Materials based upon Polyethylene Blends
Chemically crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) has been used as electrical insulation for power cables since the 1970s due to its favourable combination of electrical and mechanical properties. However, as the electrical engineering community has become increasingly aware of the life cycle environmental impacts, XLPE has come under scrutiny for its lack of recyclability and the high process energies used in its manufacture. Although technologies are being developed to facilitate the re-use of XLPE at the end of its initial service life, the use of this material is inferior to fully recyclable and low process energy alternatives. In this investigation, we concentrated on the use of binary blends of linear and branched polyethylene (LPE / BPE) as potential replacement materials for XLPE, since such systems have the potential to combine comparable mechanical properties and enhanced breakdown strength with good recyclability. We compare the thin film AC ramp breakdown behaviour of blends as a function of temperature up to 97 oC. These consist of the same BPE in virgin and crosslinked states and in a blend with 20wt% LPE. These data are augmented with dynamic mechanical analysis. In concert, these data indicate that with appropriate morphological control the blended thermoplastic material exhibits superior properties to XLPE under conventional operating conditions and may even be suitable for higher temperature operation than XLPE. The paper will discuss the importance of polymer blending and blend physical properties in the context of the process requirements and the implications for cable manufacture and on cable electrical and environmental performance in comparison with XLPE
Analysis of optimised micro-generator architectures for self-powered ubiquitous computers
Accepted versio
Analysis and optimisation of MEMS electrostatic on-chip power supply for self-powering of slow-moving sensors
Accepted versio
The mineral resources of the East Inshore and East Offshore marine plan areas, southern North Sea
Minerals are naturally occurring raw materials essential for the development of a modern
economy. However, mineral resources are finite and can only be worked where they occur. As
their extraction is subject to many constraints, it is important that society uses minerals in the
most efficient and sustainable manner. Identifying the distribution of known mineral resources
on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) and presenting them in a consistent fashion at a national
scale allows minerals to be considered in the marine spatial planning process and permits more
effective and sustainable management strategies to be developed.
The British Geological Survey (BGS) has undertaken a commission from The Crown Estate to
prepare a series of mineral resource maps which cover the UKCS. Mineral resource information
was compiled following a desk study of data held by the BGS and external sources. This report
summarises the mineral resources depicted on the first of these maps - the East Inshore and East
Offshore Marine Plan Areas in the southern North Sea. These are the first areas (Figure 1) for
which the Marine Management Organisation is preparing marine plans (MMO, 2010).
The map has been produced by the collation and interpretation of a wide range of information,
much of which is spatially variable and not always available in a consistent and convenient form.
The map depicts mineral resources of current or potential future economic interest in the area. It
comprises a 1:500 000 scale map (which accompanies this report) depicting marine aggregate
(sand and gravel) resources on the sea bed, and two 1:1 500 000 scale maps (as annexes in this
report) depicting coal and evaporite resources at depth beneath the sea bed. These map scales are
convenient for the overall display of the data. However, all the data are held digitally at larger
scales using a Geographical Information System (GIS), which allows for revision, updating and
customisation of the information, together with integration with other datasets
On Superspace Chern-Simons-like Terms
We search for superspace Chern-Simons-like higher-derivative terms in the low
energy effective actions of supersymmetric theories in four dimensions.
Superspace Chern-Simons-like terms are those gauge-invariant terms which cannot
be written solely in terms of field strength superfields and covariant
derivatives, but in which a gauge potential superfield appears explicitly. We
find one class of such four-derivative terms with N=2 supersymmetry which,
though locally on the Coulomb branch can be written solely in terms of field
strengths, globally cannot be. These terms are classified by certain Dolbeault
cohomology classes on the moduli space. We include a discussion of other
examples of terms in the effective action involving global obstructions on the
Coulomb branch.Comment: 23 pages; a reference and an author email correcte
Thermoplastic cable insulation comprising a blend of isotactic polypropylene and a propylene-ethylene copolymer
There is much interest in the development of replacement materials for crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) that are both recyclable (i.e. thermoplastic) and capable of high temperature operation. Thermally, polypropylene is the ideal choice, although its stiffness and low electrical breakdown strength make for a challenging materials design problem. We report here on the compositional optimization of a propylene homopolymer/propylene-ethylene copolymer blend in terms of its dynamic mechanical properties and thin film electrical breakdown strength. The extrusion of a trial mini-cable using the optimized blend is also discussed, which is shown to exhibit a significantly improved electrical performance, as gauged by its DC breakdown strength, than an XLPE-insulated reference
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