Effect of cenosphere on dielectric properties of low density polyethylene

AbstractDielectric characterization of cenosphere filled low density polyethylene composites is reported in this paper. Cenosphere filled low density polyethylene (LDPE) composites with inhomogeneous dispersions of cenosphere were prepared and dielectric measurements have been performed on these composites in the temperature range 34–110°C in the frequency range 1–10kHz. The dielectric constants of the composites with filler concentrations 0%, 10%, 15% and 20vol.% were measured. Effect of temperature and frequency variations on dielectric constant (ε′), dissipation factor (tanδ) and a.c. conductivity (σa.c.) was also determined. The frequency dependent dielectric and conductivity behaviour of flyash cenosphere filled low density polyethylene (LDPE) polymer composites have been studied. Appearance of peak in the dielectric loss curves for all the concentrations confirms the presence of relaxing dipoles in the cenosphere/LDPE composites. The effect of filler distribution on the dielectric constant is examined and the observed differences are attributed to the differences in two kinds of interfaces present: one formed between the touching cenosphere particles and the other formed between LDPE and cenosphere. With the increase of cenosphere content dielectric constant decreased gradually. Maxwell–Garnett approximation fairly fits for the dielectric data obtained experimentally for these composites