Kraft-Pulp Based Material for Electrical Insulation

Abstract

The dielectric properties of the electrical insulation material have a significant influence on the performance and reliability of components in electrical equipment. The influence of the chemistry and electronic structure of the different constituents of the kraft pulp (used in electrical insulation) on some dielectric properties is discussed in this paper. The studies and mechanisms discussed indicate that the presence of different wood polymers (cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin), have different effects on dielectric properties (static electrification and high frequency response). Our results show that the dielectric response of lignin is different compared with the response of hemicellulose and cellulose and this is also expected from the chemical structure of the different components. The lignin molecule has a higher polarizability at frequencies of significance for streamer inception and propagation. With spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements it has also been shown that the energy for electronic transitions in this spectral region is lower for lignin. The results also clearly indicate that the role of cellulose, lignin and hemicellulose should be further investigated for improving electrical breakdown strength of paper based insulation materials.