LOES Form Number 310-02201

Overview of Semiconductive Shield Technology in Power Distribution Cables

Suh Joon Han, Member, IEEE, Alfred M. Mendelsohn, Member, IEEE, Ram Ramachandran, Senior Member, IEEE

Abstract-- Semiconductive shields are a key component of medium voltage power distribution cables. The technologies for semiconductive shields have continuously improved since their introduction in the 1960s. In this paper, the key aspects of semiconductor shield technologies and improvements over the years are reviewed. Index Terms-- Carbon black, conductor shield, conventional shield, insulation shield, power cables, semiconductive shields, supersmooth shield.

I. INTRODUCTION Modern extruded dielectric cables for medium and high voltage applications comprise one or more high potential conductors in a cable core that is surrounded by several layers of polymeric materials [1].

insulation shield (4). Crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) or tree retardant XLPE (TR-XLPE) are widely used as a solid dielectric insulation, providing good economical value and high electrical performance. An insulation shield protects the insulation from the damaging effects of ionization at the outside of insulation surface and provides a permanent ground contact around the insulation. In some applications, it can be strippable for termination and joint installation, while in other applications, it can be the same as the conductor shield compounds to bond with the insulation. Neutral wires (5) are wound around the insulation shield to provide a good ground potential and the cable is covered with a thermoplastic polyethylene jacket (6) for mechanical protection and to prevent moisture ingress into the insulation. II. SEMICONDUCTIVE SHIELDS The semiconductive shields are polymer composites, filled with carbon black to achieve good electrical conductivity. Industrial cable standards and specifications require the conductivity of semiconducitive shield in terms of cable volume resistivity to be below 100,000 ohm-cm at 90 oC maximum continuous operation temperature and 130 oC emergency operation conditions for conductor shield. For insulation shield, the volume resistivity should not exceed 50,000 ohm-cm at 90 oC maximum continuous operation temperature and 110 oC emergency operation condition [2] [3]. III. CARBON BLACK Carbon black is elemental carbon in the form of spheroidal colloidal particles and coalesced particle aggregates, manufactured by the thermal decomposition of various types of hydrocarbons. Although the carbon black has less order than graphite, carbon black microstructure comprises of graphine structures similar to graphite. Graphine structures are hexagonal networks of carbon and
10 m

2 3 4 5 6

10 m

Fig. 1. Typical concentric neutral MV power cable crosssection. Micrograph of smooth interface between conductor shield and insulation by atomic force microscopy

Figure 1 shows typical construction of concentric MV cables. Copper or aluminum conductors (1) are covered with semiconductive conductor shield (2). The primary purpose of the semiconductive conductor shield is to provide an uniform electrical field gradient to polymeric dielectric insulation so that the long term viability of cables can be ensured. The polymeric dielectric insulation (3) is layered between the conductor shield and the

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The macroscopic properties of semiconductive shield compounds are influenced by various factors such as particle size, aggregate size, porosity, and surface chemistry of carbon black. Table 1 illustrates the effect of carbon black colloidal properties on macroscopic properties. The colloidal properties of carbon black are crucial to balance electrical properties and other macroscopic properties of semiconductive shields. TABLE I Effect of carbon black colloidal properties on electrical and physical properties of semiconductive shields
larger

these layers get stacked one above the other to form bulk graphite. Carbon black structure can be described as a turbostratic structure in contrast to the neatly stacked graphine structure of graphite. Carbon blacks in semiconductive shields are very clean and conductive in comparison to carbon black in rubber and reinforcement applications. In semiconductive shields, furnace black and acetylene black have been widely used. Furnace black is produced by partial oxidation of hydrocarbon oil or gas. Acetylene black is produced by continuous thermal decomposition of acetylene gas. Due to the nature of feedstocks, acetylene black is known to have much higher purity and less contamination than furnace black. However, over the years, the quality of electrical grade furnace black has also improved in terms of cleanliness. Generally, shields based on furnace black are called conventional shields, while those based on acetylene black are referred as supersmooth shields. IV. PERCOLATION OF CARBON BLACK Carbon blacks are known as intrinsic conductors with conductivity of 10-1 -102 (ohm-cm)-1 [4]. When carbon black is added into a polymer matrix to a certain level, the carbon black aggregates form a continuous path and become a conductive polymer composite. In the electron tunneling theory [5], electron flow occurs when the carbon black aggregates are in contact or separated by less than a critical distance, or percolation distance, which has been suggested at about 100 or less [6]. In a sense, electrons tunnel through the resistive polymer from aggregate to aggregate. As the aggregates are getting more in contact or close enough for tunneling to occur, the electrical conductivity of the polymer composite increases. The percolation is the point where the polymer composite makes a transition from insulating to conducting system. Electrical conduction in semiconductive shield depends on the percolation behavior of carbon black. Typical volume resistivity (VR) of semiconductive shields, at the volume loading is estimated by = 0 ( - 0 ) - t where 0 is resistivity of carbon black, and 0 is the volume fraction at percolation threshold, and t is an exponent constant known as conduction coefficient. It is reported normally higher than 2.0 for carbon black [7].

Particle size

Lower viscosity Increase loading Lower conductivity Higher viscosity Higher conductivity Lower dispersibility
smaller

Improve dispersibility

Highest viscosity Higher conductivity

smaller

Aggregate structure

larger

V. SMOOTHNESS The smoothness at interfaces between the insulation layer and semicondctive shields is very important to the long term electrical performance of power cables. The microprotrusions from the semiconductive shields can result in localized electrical stress and induce undesired treeing or electrical degradation. Typical sources of the protrusions are grit from carbon black, poor dispersion of carbon black, polymer gels, and contamination from the environments. The localized electrical stress enhancement factor, , from hyperboloidal protrusions at the semiconductive shields can be estimated by Masons equation [8] [9]. 2 d {r ln (1 + 4d r)} where d is a protrusion point to plane distance and r is a radius of the protrusion. Figure 2 illustrates the stress enhancement factors for various cable constructions, estimated

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data indicated that the supersmooth shields showed not only an order magnitude lower protrusion density at a given micro-protrusion height, but also have lower protrusion aspect ratio, which is defined by the ratio of protrusion height over the protrusion base-width.10 This suggests that the shapes of micro-protrusions on the supersmooth shields are much flatter than those of the conventional shields, inducing lower localized electrical stress to dielectric insulation. VI. CLEANLINESS

from Masons equation. As the protrusion tip radius is getting smaller or sharper, the stress enhancement increases in the same insulation thickness, which can induce more damage to the insulation.
10000
sharper protrusion equals high electrical stress point

Stress Enhnacement Factor

1000

sharp protrusion round protrusion (smaller tip radius) (larger tip radius)

100
15 kV (4.445 mm) 35 kV (8.76 mm) 138 kV (21.6 mm) 400 kV (31 mm)

10

1 1 10 100 Protrusion Tip Radius, micron 1000

Fig. 2. Stress enhancement factor in various cable constructions

Element, ppm

The major breakthrough in semiconductive shield technology in the 1990s was the development of supersmooth semiconductive shields. Conventional semiconductive shields contain furnace carbon black while the supersmooth shields comprise acetylene black. By nature of feedstock and reaction conditions, acetylene black has lower grit and ionic impurities levels than furnace black, resulting in smoother surface than conventional semiconductive shields when extruded on cable.
10000 Conventional shield (1990s) 1000 New conventional shield (2000s) Supersmooth shield 100
2

The water-soluble ionic impurities level in the semiconductive shield compounds is known to affect the number and size of water trees developed in the insulation, which can lead to dielectric failure in power cables [11]. To evaluate the cleanliness of the semiconductive shield, elemental analysis was performed by induction coupling plasma (ICP) spectroscopy. As shown in Figure 4, supersmooth shields contain much lower level of ionic impurities and sulfur. However, the cleanliness of conventional semiconductive shield also improved over the years.
10000 Conventional Shield (1990s) 1000 New Conventional Shield (2000s) Supersmooth shield 100

10

Protrusion Density, number/m

0.1
10

Al

Ca

Cu

Fe

Mg Na

Ba

Si

Ash

Fig. 4. Contamination levels of semiconductive shields

20~29 30~39 40~49 50~59 60~69 70~79

0.1

Micro-Protrusion Height, micron

VII. ACCELERATED CABLE LIFE PERFORMANCE During the life span of the cables, electrical, thermal, and mechanical stresses are applied to the cables. These multi-factor stresses influence the aging of the cable. Accelerated cable life testing (4,4 ACLT) was performed to measure time to failure characteristics of the XLPE cables after accelerated wet aging condition at 4 Vg stress and 90 oC conductor temperature in 50 oC deionized water tank. The cable constructions were 15 kV rated, # 2/7 aluminum stranded

Fig. 3. Typical surface smoothness data of semiconductive shields from surface smoothness analyzer

According to the micro-protrusion analysis with a laser-scanning instrument, the size and shape of supersmooth shields are quite distinguishable from those of conventional shields. Although there have been improvements in the conventional shield, the surface smoothness of supersmooth shields is still better than conventional shields as shown in Figure 3. Statistical evaluation of the micro-protrusion

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Apparent Shear Viscosity at 125 C, Pa second
10000.0 Conventional shield (1990s) New conventional shield (2000s) Supersmooth shield

conductors with XLPE insulation and strippable insulation shields. Figure 5 illustrates the accelerated cable life performance of XLPE cables with supersmooth conductor shields is better than for conventional conductor shields [12]. The results are based on many sets of ACLT data for each type of shield. The new conventional shields with improved furnace black are also being tested in ACLT [13]. While only preliminary data is available, indications are their performance will be in the range of conventional furnace black shields. Although the primary use of supersmooth conductor shields is in HV and EHV applications, their benefits can also be utilized in MV cables to provide longer service life.
Conventional shields from 1987 Conventional shields from 1992 Supersmooth shields
100% 80% Cumulative Failure 60% 40% 20% 0% 10

1000.0

100.0 100.0

1000.0

Shear Rate, 1/second

Fig.6. Capillary shear viscosity of semiconductive shield at 125 oC

IX. STRIPPABILITY Installation of splices and termination for cables can be achieved by using insulation shields that can be easily removed from the insulation. An important criterion for strippable insulation shield is to maintain easy stripability at various installation temperature conditions and for different insulations while minimizing any pick-off residues on the insulation surface, which can act as electrical stress points. During the dry curing cable manufacturing process, the insulation and semiconductive shields are co-extruded at melt state, followed by vulcanization in the hot dry nitrogen tube and water cooling process. At the initial coextrusion stage, the flexible long polymer chains from both layers in a melt state will start to wet and diffuse each other at the interface between insulation and insulation shield, which can result in molecular entanglements at the interface. As a result, the two layers are welded. As the cable is cured, the interfacial crosslinking will promote chemical interlocking at the interface. When the cured cable is quenched in the water tube, the insulation will crystallize upon cooling. The crystallization of polyethylene spherulites in the insulation in the vicinity of the interface can result in breaking up of the original interface plane due to a volume contraction, followed by a subsequent influx of insulation shield melt across the interface, which will be interlocked upon further solidification in the cooling process. Figure 7 illustrates those possible mechanisms. However, the strippable force for the separation of the two layers will be affected not only by the adhesion strength, but also by a mechanism to distribute the mechanical load effectively at the interface in such a way as not

100 Failure Time (days)

1000

Fig. 5. Accelerated cable life tests of XLPE with various semiconductive shields

VIII. EXTRUSION PROCESSABILITY One of the key requirements for semiconductive shields is extrusion processability. As the cable production rate increases, the semiconductive shields can pose a limitation in cable processability due to its higher viscosity, which can induce scorch in an extruder. The scorch build-up of semiconductive shield is a very important factor on the quality of cables because it can be embedded at the interface with insulation, resulting in protrusions and high electrical stress point. New conventional shield technology has been developed to address the issue of extrusion processability [13]. Figure 6 shows the shear viscosity of new conventional shield is much lower than existing conventional and supersmooth shields.

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Magazine, vol. 8, No. 5, pp. 8-24, September/October 1992. AEIC Publication CS5-94, Specifications for Crosslinked Polyethylene Insulated Shielded Power Cables Rated 5 through 46 kV. ICEA Publication S-66-524, Crosslinked Thermosetting Polyethylene Insulated Wire and Cable for the Transmission and Distribution of Electrical Energy. J. B. Donnet., A. Voet,, Carbon black: Physics, Chemistry, and Elastomer Reinforcement, New York: Marcel Dekker, 1976, Chap. 8, pp. 245. G. Bahder, F. G. Garcia, Electrical Characteristics and Requirements of Extruded Semi-conducting Shields in Power Cables, 70 TP 553-PWR presented at the IEEE Power Group at the IEEE Summer Power Meeting and EHV Conference, Los Angeles, July 12-17, 1970. Technical Report S-34, Carbon Black Selection for Plastics Cabot Corporation. C. C. Chen, Y. C. Chou, Phys. Rev. Lett., 54, pp. 2529, 1985. J. H. Mason, Proc. Instn. Elec. Engers., vol. 98, pp. 45-59, 1951. J. H. Mason, In Progress in Dielectrics, vol. 1. J. S. Birks, and J. H. Shulman, editors, London: Heywood and Co., 1959. W. K. Lee, A Study of Electric Stress Enhancement Part 1: Implication in Power Cable Design, IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation, vol. 11, No. 6, pp. 983-989, December 2004. M. S. Mashiikian, J. H. Groeger, JICABLE A6, pp. 1, 1987. L. H. Gross, J.S. Furno, C.G. Reid, A. Mendelsohn, XLPE Materials for Extruded High/Extra-High Voltage Transmission Cables, CIGRE WG 15, Boston, MA, August 1997. S. J. Han, L. H. Gross, J. Lastovica, New Semiconductive Compound Technology for Solid Dielectric Insulated Power Cables. International Symposium on Electrical Insulation, pp. 354-357, September 2004.

to destroy itself. In other word, to separate the two layers of insulation shield and insulation, the applied force must overcome the adhesion force. In addition, the applied force must be less than the mechanical strength of either of the two layers. This will minimize a cohesive failure such as the pick-off residues after peeling off insulation shields.
interfacial crosslinking

[2] [3] [4] [5]

[6]
Insulation shield

[7] [8]

XLPE Insulation

[9]
inter-diffusion crystallization

[10]

[11] Fig. 7. Potential schematics of adhesion strength development at the interface of insulation and insulation shield [12]

X. CONCLUSIONS In conductor shield applications, supersmooth shields clearly demonstrated superior performance to conventional conductor shields in terms of smoothness and cleanliness, and long term accelerated electrical performance. However, the conventional conductor shield performance also improved over the years by use of cleaner furnace black and compounding practices. New formulation technology can also improve the processability of semiconductive shields, which provides more robust cable extrusion. In insulation shield applications, the driver is to maintain easy stripability over various types of installation conditions and insulations. XI. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Special thanks go to colleagues in Weston Canal Center and the Seadrift manufacturing site in The Dow Chemical Company for numerous helpful discussions. XII. REFERENCES
[1] N. M. Burns,, R. M., Eichhorn, C. G. Reid, Stress Controlling Semiconductive Shields in Medium Voltage Power Distribution Cables, IEEE Electrical Insulation

[13]

XIII. BIOGRAPHIES
Suh Joon Han is a Senior R&D Specialist for the Wire and Cable Compounds group of The Dow Chemical Company. He holds a Ph. D. degree in Polymer Science and Engineering from Lehigh University of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He has been working in the research and development of semiconductive shields compounds and insulation materials in power cable applications. He is a member of IEEE Dielectrics and Insulation Society, and ACS Division of Polymeric Materials Science and Engineering. He is an author of more than 20 technical papers and presentations, and holds 2 patents.

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Alfred Mendelsohn is a Senior R&D Leader for the Wire and Cable Compounds group of The Dow Chemical Company. Al holds a Ph. D. degree in Engineering from The City University of New York. Al has been the research and development manager for power cable materials for many years. In his current position, Al is responsible for end use technical support at electric utility companies worldwide. He is a member of IEEE and CIGRE. Ram Ramachandran is the Global End Use Marketing Manager for Dow Wire and Cable business. He holds undergraduate degrees in Chemistry and Metallurgical Engineering from India and a MS in Materials Science from Columbia University, New York and an MBA from SUNY, Buffalo. His role and focus is to understand the critical needs and issues of cable end users such as electric utilities to help drive Dow product development and offer solutions and support. He is a Senior Member of IEEE and is the current Chair of A 14 D, Power Cable Standards discussion group of the Insulated Conductors Committee of IEEE. He holds 8 patents and has authored 19 papers.

XIV. AFFILIATION FOOTNOTES

S. J. Han is with The Dow Chemical Company, 1 Riverview Drive, Somerset, NJ 08873, USA (e-mail: hansj@dow.com) A. M. Mendelsohn is with The Dow Chemical Company, 1 Riverview Drive, Somerset, NJ 08873, USA (e-mail: mendela@dow.com) R. Ramachandran is with The Dow Chemical Company, 1 Riverview Drive, Somerset, NJ 08873, USA (e-mail: ramachs@dow.com)