Electrical treeing in LDPE nanocomposite materials

This work deals with the inception and the growth of electrical treeing inside different Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) nanocomposites. Two nanoflllers were adopted: sepiolite and montmorillonite. Both nanoflllers belong to the family of silicate clay minerals but have different aspect ratio. The nanocomposites have been prepared by melt dispersion of sepiolite, montmorillonite and a mixture of both. The results evidence that the growth of the electrical treeing inside the original pure polymer can be altered significantly by the dispersion of inorganic nanoparticles.