Performance comparison of semi‐conductive shielding layer for high‐voltage cable based on polypropylene and low density polyethylene resin

Abstract With the concept of environmental protection is deeply popular, the power cables change from traditional thermosetting cross‐linked polyethylene (XLPE) cables to low‐carbon, environmentally friendly, recyclable polypropylene (PP) cables and the semi‐conductive shielding layer that matches the insulation layer for PP cables is highly valued. In this paper, LDPE is replaced with PP in the formulation of shielding layer of commercial XLPE cables. The physicochemical and electrical properties of PP/EVA/CB (PP‐based) and LDPE/EVA/CB (LDPE‐based) shielding layers were compared. The effect of interface matching characteristics on the electric field distortion was analyzed by finite element simulation software. The experimental results show that the volume resistivity of the shielding layers all tend to rise with the increasing temperature, but the resistivity of the PP‐based shielding layer has a smaller fluctuation. The PP‐based shielding layer has a smoother surface, while the space charge injected into the PP insulation layer is the lowest, about 0.433 × 10 −7 C. Compared to the LDPE‐based shielding layer/insulation layer, the PP‐based shielding layer/insulation layer has a 50% reduction in interfacial electric field distortion rate. This work is an essential reference for the development for PP cables and their shielding layer selection.