Investigations on effect of fillers and radiation in polymeric insulating material blends

Abstract

In recent years, many progressive research works are made in the field of insulation materials for Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) applications. As plant safety is the prerequisite in protecting the people and the environment at present and in future, the insulation system design should be done with utmost care. Proper implementation of insulation material design and pre-operative performance testing of the insulation materials ensures the reliability of the insulation systems at NPPs. newlineThe whole NPP is being monitored, controlled and corrective measures for abnormal operations are done from the control rooms. Thus, the cable insulation material design for the Instrumentation and Control (IandC) room becomes more significant which ensures the safety operation of the plant. The information is reliable from the automated and digitalized control room, if high grade insulation has been provided. This enhances the life span of insulation system in IandC and hence NPP operational life will be increased. newlineThe effects of ageing and degradation of cable insulation material under harsh environment such as Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) and Design Basis Accident (DBA) can be accessed by accelerated gamma radiation ageing using gamma chamber. The effect of lower to higher level of gamma irradiation on the electro-mechanical, dielectric and thermal behavioural change of the insulating material are being investigated. newline