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Vol.
No.
October
CTRICAL insulation has combined functions in providing electrical isolation, mechanical support, heat
dissipation, energy storage and personnel safety. There
are three main types of electrical insulation: solid, liquid and gaseous. Electrical failure in solid insulation is
of the non-reversible destructive type, whereas in gases
and liquids it is of the reversible, non- destructive type
[l]. Therefore, solid insulators are of most interest in aging studies. Solid insulators are widely used in capacitors,
transformers, cables, transmission lines, motors and other
devices. Failure in these electrical components is largely
attributed to the breakdown of electrical insulation due
to presence of degrading stresses, such as electrical, thermal, mechanical stress and also other stresses associated
with the environment in which they serve. Some of these
examples are described below:
E""
0018-9367/90/1000-923$1.00
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1990 IEEE
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example, the model based on the Eyring relation by Simoni [18,19] and Ramu [20,21], the exponential model
by Fallou et al. [21,22], the probabilistic model by Montanari et al. [23], and the physical model by Crine et al.
[24,25].
In this paper the statistical methods involved in the
interpretation of the lifetime data, namely the Weibull
and the log-normal distributions, and also the most frequently used aging relations under the electrical, thermal
and combined stresses are reviewed.
The main goal of aging studies is to establish a relationship for the aging process and the stresses causing it,
to suggest models, and t o verify them. All this is done
through an accelerated process, and the results applied
to normal operating conditions. The long-term tests a t
realistic working stresses are not possible due to the time
constraints. For example, underground transmission cables are designed for forty years of service [5]. Therefore,
being able to predict end of life with certain degree of
accuracy in a short time span by accelerating the aging
process is very useful to the design engineers. This is
why the accelerated aging tests are generally accepted
methods for estimating the service-life and other characteristics of solid electrical insulation.
There are several ways to accelerate the aging process,
particularly when exposed t o simultaneous electrical and
thermal stresses. The most popular are experiments performed on insulation at voltages and temperatures much
higher than normal operating conditions. Within this approach, there are two methods of applying voltage stress,
both a t constant frequency [26,27]. In the first method,
the voltage (some percentage of breakdown voltage) is
held constant and time t o failure is observed. In the second method, the voltage stress is raised in steps (or continuously) until the tested specimen fails, and then the
voltage a t which breakdown occurred is noted. For both
tests, the experimental data is then converted to life a t
a lower stress by the use of empirical models. Another
approach is to keep the voltage constant a t lower levels (close to service conditions) and accelerate the aging
process through a n increase in frequency of the applied
voltage [28]. However, this procedure is limited by the
dependence of insulation material properties, e.g. dielectric loss, on the frequency [5]. Furthermore, these tests
are unreliable because of non-linear effects of frequency
on life, especially at higher frequencies [28,29]. Similar
to the procedure for electrical stress, the aging process
under thermal stress is accelerated by applying higher
Vol.
temperatures. Typically, the samples are aged for several designated time spans and examined for physical and
chemical changes, and voltage breakdown strength tests
are conducted [17,30].
No.
October
ordered from smallest to largest and a probability calculated [13,31] for each point using the relationship below
F(2)
(n
1)
100%
Figure 1.
Aging factors and possible interactions.
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IP):(-[
exp
(2)
where F ( z ) is a probability of failure, a is the scale parameter (a 0) and represents the time (or voltage) for
F ( z ) t o reach 63.2%, is the shape parameter
0)
and is a measure of spread of the data, and is a random
variable (time or voltage).
Specimen No.
F(i)
Breakdown Time ti
(i)
(%I
(h)
1
2
10
20
30
15.3
30.3
3
4
5
7
8
50
60
70
105.7
ORIGIN
SMALL BETA ESTIMATOR
A
50
30
20
0.5
3
;
0.2
2.0
300
TIME
3.
Figure 2.
Lognormal probability plot of failure d a t a in Table 2 with line fit by eye [13].
Weibull plot of failure d a t a for t h e epoxy specimens in Table 1 with line fit by eye, a a n d are
scale and shape parameter, respectively [13].
2.
Breakdown d a t a on epoxy specimens with Lognormal distribution [13].
The log-normal distribution also is used in aging studies, mostly in life tests. The probability density function
is given by [13,31]
(3)
where
log
is breakdown voltage or time to failure,
p is logarithmic mean, and c is the logarithmic standard
deviation.
An estimate of the log mean is the voltage or time
corresponding to F ( z )
50%. In a similar fashion to
Weibull distribution, as was shown in Figure 2, data also
can be plotted using the log-normal graph paper. An
example of such plots is shown in Figure 3 using the data
from Table 2.
Specimen No.
F(i)
(%6)
2
3
4
5
6
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
7
8
9
Breakdown Time t i
(hours)
(i)
7.0
8.5
11.0
12.0
12.0
17.0
18.0
18.0
21.0
0.84
0.93
1.04
1.08
1.08
1.23
1.25
1.25
1.32
Eyring) that the power law has a sound theoretical background. For these models, the sets of d a t a for several
different voltages (at constant frequency) are taken with
other conditions unchanged.
In the following analysis, the electrical stress a t constant frequency is assumed to be the only stress.
stress is one of the main factors causing deterioration of electrical insulation, and therefore
numerous studies have been carried out under electrical
stress only. Two major models relating the test stress
with the time to failure are universally accepted: the inverse power model and the exponential model. These
two are the earliest failure models, the power law was
proposed by Peek [33] in 1929. Even though both models were conceived as empirical formulas, it was shown by
Endicott [12] (employing the reaction rate theories by H.
LECTRICAL
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L
log L
kV-"
log k dogV
Vol.
No.
October
t*t
30
20
-7
TIME-TO-FAILURE
IO
100
103
TIME ( h )
Figure 5.
Figure 4 .
Inverse Power Law, the open circles represent the
means (based on the lognormal) for the time-tofailure at each test voltage [13].
L
log L
cexp(-kV)
logc kV
(5)
Lo
104
L=-
K2
(7)
Eo exp[-KI(E EO)]
where E is the applied stress, Lo is life a t EO(the threshold stress), and K1, Kz are constants.
With these transformed equations, a better approximation may be achieved a t lower fields; however, both
relations state an infinite life when approaching either
zero (Equation 6) or the threshold stress (Equation 7),
which is inconsistent with existing experimental data.
Therefore, the models are valid for the regions a t stresses
E Eo (Equation 6) and E E o (Equation 7) [18]. At
lower fields ( E E O ) ,the thermal stress is postulated to
be responsible for the insulation failure.
HERMAL
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Aexp
dc;
dt
B
T
a:
clr
-hi(T)Gi(gl,gzr.. .gm)Ci(cl,cz,
-CN)
where i
1 . . N for homogeneous reactions, T the absolute temperature, c; the concentration of characteristic
group in reaction i, g j the concentration of the active
gas j in the material (assumed constant but may depend
on temperature), G; is a simplified function for chemical reactions expressed as
gy'ni where n,; may be
temperature dependent and represents the reaction order
due to gas n in reaction i, k , ( T ) is a function and may
be of Arrhenius form (Equation
and
are functions
of the concentration of a characteristic group ( c i ) in reaction i, are separable from IC,(T)G;,and are assumed to
be independent of temperature.
nLl
A connection between physical properties and composition of the material is represented as a single-valued
function of chemical and physical details of its composition
p f ( C 1 , C Z I .cn)
(10)
For example, in case of N homogenous equations and time
transformation t' A t , the acceleration factor A may be
calculated a t two different temperatures TI and T2
103
300
TEMPERATURE ("C)
Figure 6.
Arrhenius plot of class H insulation data [16].
OF
There are recent theories for accelerated thermal endurance tests on the electrical insulation, one of them being the 'Theory of Equalization of Thermal Aging' given
by Paloniemi [17]. This model describes the physical aging phenomena in a way to obtain more accurate repro-,
duction of true aging process. It assumes that the aging process consists of several chemical reactions, taking
place simultaneously, which may have different activation
energies, and all together having some effect on physical properties of the electrical insulation. Some types of
these reactions are: thermal degradation, oxidation, and
hydrolysis.
In this approach, the aging process is assumed to consist of N reactions which may be chemical or physical, or
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ULTISTRESS
factors such as thermal and voltage stresses acting simultaneously. These include models by Simoni [18,19] and
Ramu [20,21] based on Eyring relation, the exponential
model by Fallou et al. [21,22], the probabilistic model by
Montanari et al. [23], and the recent model by Crine et
al. [24,25].
E
Q2Q
Figure 7.
Life surface for combined stresses using Simonis
model [19].
L (109)
TIPLE
Figure 8.
Electrical life lines at various temperatures using
Simonis model [19].
( E S / E S O ) ~ +1~- t / L o ( E / E o ) N e x p ( B D T )
N=n-bDT
D T 1/To 1/T
(13)
LILO
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exp( B DT)
(14)
This model is based on Eyrings physico-chemical reaction rate process which assumes existence of thresholds,
both electrical and thermal under which the aging process
is negligible. It is represented by [20,21]
L
K(T)E-n(T)exp(-B D T )
Eo
(15)
930
al
m
B1 exp
T
0
0
A
M N
3
Time (S)
Figure 9.
Power law plots at different temperatures for polypropylene-oil system using Ramu's model [38].
given by [21,22]
exp[A(E)
1-WTE )
E>O
(16)
n=
(1
E -E
E,'-E=
F ( t ,E , T )
1 exp
[-().I
E
E,
P(E?T)
(19)
3.0
2.6
1000/T( K-'
Figure 10.
Exponential model by Fallou; variations of characteristic life with temperature at different electric stresses for polypropylene-oil system [21].
Constants A I , Az, B1 and Bz are determined experimentally. Other parameters are defined in the two models
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931
Id
LIFE
(h)
Id
Figure 11.
Experimental d a t a a n d theoretical life curve for
XLPE cables using t h e Probabilistic model by
Montanari [23].
In this most recent proposition [24,25], the authors suggest a simple physical model, based partially on the rate
theory, to describe the aging process of electrical insulation. The proposed model assumes that stress, electrical,
or of other nature, reduces the height of the energy barrier controlling the process. The time t required to go
over a barrier, and therefore the lifetime is described as
h
AG
exp -csch
kT
kT
(21)
where h is the Planck constant, k the Boltzmann constant, A G the free energy, the barrier width (or carrier
mean free path), and E is the electrical (or mechanical or
other stress) and with other parameters as described previously. In the high-field region, i.e. above a critical field
E,, Equation 21 reduces to the exponential dependence
AG
eXE
kT
With this equation, the values for free energy A G and
mean free path can be obtained from the plot of logt
vs. E , and may also be used for the lower field region.
However, these two parameters change with the polymer
morphology, test temperature and the environment [24].
In addition, the value of mean free path varies with the
applied stress a t low fields. Even though it makes the
extrapolation to lower stresses more difficult, the authors
report better agreement of the experimental data on PE,
XLPE and E P R cables with this model than by the power
laws [24].
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ever, the results obtained using this model a t room temperature do not satisfy the models equation [22]. Also,
this model (valid for E
0) does not take into account
the threshold voltage, since the exponential functions
properties account for the curvature of the life line a t
stresses close t o zero. Therefore, extrapolation of results
from this model to lower stresses has to be approached
with extreme caution. In addition, this model lacks some
of the physical background from the single stress models
presented in previous publications [12,37] and incorporated in other multistress models.
The probabilistic model by Montanari takes a different
approach to the threshold value. It also uses the inverse
power law as an aging model; however, it addresses the
threshold voltage curvature of lifetime line in a different
manner by suggesting a modified expression for the power
exponent which includes the dependence on temperature
and electric stress, and also a shape parameter ( v ) accounting for different properties of the tested material
and therefore different lifelines. Unlike previous models,
it does not have a separate term for the thermal stress
alone. This is a relatively new approach but needs to
are two major methods of conducting the accelerated aging tests of the electrical insulation: under
single and multiple stresses. The single stress approach,
usually electrical or thermal, offers relative simplicity in
conducting the test itself i.e. the experimental set up,
interpretation of the d a t a and development of empirical
relations. However, the major drawback of this method is
its inapplicability to real life operating conditions which
mostly are of the multistress type. Because of that, the
extrapolation of results from tests using single stresses
has t o be done with great caution.
HERE
The multistress aging models are based on the cumulative damage theory and offer a better approximation of
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[l] J. K. Nelson, Breakdown Strength of Solids, Engineering Dielectrics, Vol. IIA, ASTM S T P 783, R.
Bartnikas and R. M. Eichhorn (eds.), 1979.
933
[21] B. Hemalatha and T. S. Ramu, Insulation Degradation Under Multifactor Stress, Fifth International
Symposium on High Voltage Engineering, Braunschweig, West Germany, August 1987.
[22] B. Fallou, C. Burguiere and J . F. Morel, First Approach on Multiple Stress Accelerated Life Testing
of Electrical Insulation NRC Conference on Electrical Insulation and Dielectric Phenomena, Pocono
Pa, pp. 621-628, October 1979.
[23] G. C. Montanari and M. Cacciari, A Probabilistic
Life Model for Insulating Materials Showing Electrical Thresholds, IEEE Trans. Electr. Ins., Vol. 24,
pp. 127-137, 1989.
[24] J.-P. Crine, J.-L Parpal and G. Lessard, The Compensation Law and Polymer Aging and Relaxations,
Proc. 3rd Int. Conference on Conduction and Breakdown in Solid Dielectrics, Trondheim, Norway, 1989.
25.
1251 J.-P Crine, J.-L Parpal and Ch. Dang, A New Approach to the Electric Aging of Dielectrics, Proceedings of CEIDP, Leesburg, Virginia, 1989.
[26] J. Artbauer, Short-Time and Long-Time Dielectric Strengths, Electrical Research Association,
Leatherhead (England), ERA Trans. 2881, pp. 1-17,
1971, Translated from: Electrotech. Z. (ETZ) A, Vol.
91, pp. 326-331, 1970.
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[38] P. Cygan, B. Krishnakumar and J . R. Laghari, Lifetimes of Polypropylene Films under Combined High
Electric Fields and Thermal Stresses, IEEE Trans.
Electr. Ins., Vol. 24, pp. 619-625, 1989.
[39] Comments with reply, On the Estimation of Power
Apparatus Insulation Under Combined Electrical
and Thermal Stress, by T. S. Ramu, L. Simoni and
G. C. Montanari, IEEE Trans. Electr. Insul., Vol. 21,
pp. 239-240, 1986.
This paper is based on an Invited Review presented at the
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