Characterization of space charge in the solid insulating materials

High voltage (HV) insulation is an important part in power system apparatus. Its role is to protect the system or device from the overvoltage phenomena. However, deterioration and breakdown in HV insulator had become a major problem. One of the reasons that contribute to this problem is the presence of space charge that cause high electric field and made the degradation and breakdown faster. Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate the presence of space charge in the insulating materials and the impact on the insulation deterioration. The study of space charge characteristics are conducted using the QuickField software and comparing the characteristics with different polymer materials used. Several types of polyethylene (PE) materials are used in this project, namely cross linked polyethylene (XLPE), low density polyethylene (LDPE), and high density polyethylene (HDPE). The findings of the result are divided to three parts; which are different size and charge density of the space charge, comparison of space charge with different location and samples, and accumulated charges with different density. Voltage distribution and electric field characteristics are affected to the existence of the space charges in the dielectrics. The results show that the existence of space charge region in the dielectric could change the electric field strength at the location of space charg