Effect of polarity‐reversal voltage on charge accumulation and carrier mobility in silicone rubber/silicon carbide composites

Abstract Polarity‐reversal voltage in high‐voltage direct current transmission system would cause serious electric field distortion, accelerating charge injection. The effect of polarity reversal on charge transport characteristics in silicone rubber (SiR)/silicon carbide (SiC) composites with nonlinear conductivity at different temperatures is studied. The charge transport characteristics of silicone rubber/silicon carbide composites under unipolarity voltage and polarity‐reversal voltage at 30°C, 70°C and 90°C are obtained by the isothermal surface potential decay method, and the carrier mobility and trap characteristics of the composites are further calculated. Studies have shown that a large amount of hetero‐charge remains in silicone rubber materials under polarity‐reversal voltage, which in turn leads to intensive charge neutralisation and severe electric field distortion. The silicon carbide doped composites exhibit excellent performance in suppressing the accumulation of residual charges and weakening the charge neutralisation under polarity‐reversal voltage. In addition, high temperature enhances the conductivity of silicone rubber/silicon carbide composites and reduces the accumulation of residual charges, which restrains the distortion of the local electric field under polarity‐reversal voltage. This research shows that the application of non‐linear conductivity material is an effective measure to solve the problem of cable insulation under polarity‐reversal voltage.