Space Charge Transport of $\boldsymbol{\text{Al}_2 \mathrm{O}_3}$ /Silicone Rubber Composites Under Thermal Aging

Silicone rubber (SIR) has been widely used in the insulation of cable accessories due to its excellent performance. In this paper, pure SIR and nano $\boldsymbol{\text{Al}_2 \mathrm{O}_3 / \text{SIR}}$ composites are thermally aged for 0–80 days at $\boldsymbol{200^{\circ} \mathrm{C}}$. The effects of long-term thermal aging on the space charge transport are analyzed. The results show that with the increase of thermal aging time, the accumulation of heteropolar charge of pure SIR and nano $\boldsymbol{\text{Al}_{2}\mathrm{O}_{3}/\text{SIR}}$ composites gradually decreases and changes to the accumulation of homopolar charge. Compared with pure SIR, the space charge accumulation of $\boldsymbol{\text{Al}_{2}\mathrm{O}_{3}/\text{SIR}}$ composites decreases significantly and changes little with the increase of thermal aging time. It is believed that when doped nano $\boldsymbol{\text{Al}_{2}\mathrm{O}_{3}}$ in SIR, the increase of carrier mobility and the introduction of metal oxides reacting with fallen free radicals to form stable compounds both lead to less space charge accumulation of $\boldsymbol{\text{Al}_{2}\mathrm{O}_{3}/\text{SIR}}$ composites.