At present, the cable insulation materials used in cable production are roughly divided into three categories: PE, PVC, and XLPE. The following introduces the differences between the insulating materials PE, PVC, and XLPE used in cables.
Explanation of the classification and characteristics of cable insulating materials
PVC: Polyvinyl chloride, a polymer formed by the free polymerization of vinyl chloride monomers under specific conditions. It has the characteristics of stability, acid resistance, alkali resistance, corrosion resistance, and aging resistance, and is widely used in building materials, daily necessities, pipelines and pipes, wires and cables, and sealing materials. It is divided into soft and hard: soft ones are mainly used to make packaging materials, agricultural films, etc., and are widely used in the manufacture of wire and cable insulation layers, such as ordinary polyvinyl chloride insulated power cables; while hard ones are generally used to make pipes and plates. The biggest feature of polyvinyl chloride material is flame retardancy, so it is widely used in the field of fire prevention and is one of the most commonly used insulating materials for flame retardant and fire-resistant wires and cables.
PE: Polyethylene is a thermoplastic resin made by polymerization of ethylene. It is non-toxic and harmless, has excellent low temperature resistance, and can withstand the erosion of most acids and alkalis, and has excellent electrical insulation performance. At the same time, because polyethylene has the characteristics of non-polarity, it has the characteristics of low loss and high conductivity, so it is generally used as an insulation material for high-voltage wires and cables.
XLPE: Cross-linked polyethylene is an advanced form of polyethylene material after transformation. After improvement, its physical and chemical properties have been greatly improved compared with PE material, and at the same time, its heat resistance level has been significantly improved. Therefore, wires and cables made of cross-linked polyethylene insulation material have advantages that polyethylene insulation material wires and cables cannot match: light weight, good heat resistance, corrosion resistance, relatively large insulation resistance, etc.
Compared with thermoplastic polyethylene, XLPE insulation has the following advantages:
1 Improved heat deformation resistance, improved mechanical properties at high temperature, improved environmental stress cracking resistance and heat aging resistance.
2 Enhanced chemical stability and solvent resistance, reduced cold flow, basically maintained the original electrical properties, long-term working temperature can reach 125℃ and 150℃, cross-linked polyethylene insulated wires and cables, also improved short-circuit bearing capacity, its short-term bearing temperature can reach 250℃, the same thickness of wires and cables, cross-linked polyethylene current carrying capacity is much greater.
3 XLPE insulated wires and cables have excellent mechanical, waterproof and radiation resistance properties, so they are widely used. Such as: internal connection wires of electrical appliances, motor leads, lighting leads, automotive low-voltage signal control wires, locomotive wires, subway wires and cables, mining environmental protection cables, marine cables, nuclear power laying cables, TV high-voltage wires, X-RAY firing high-voltage wires, and power transmission wires and cables and other industries.
Differences among cable insulation materials PVC, PE, and XLPE
PVC: low operating temperature, short thermal aging life, small transmission capacity, low overload capacity, and great smoke and acid gas hazards in case of fire. General products in the wire and cable industry, good physical and mechanical properties, good processing performance, low cost and selling price. But it contains halogens, and the sheath usage is the largest.
PE: Excellent electrical properties, with all the advantages of PVC mentioned above. Commonly used in wire or cable insulation, data line insulation, low dielectric constant, suitable for data lines, communication lines, and various computer peripheral wire core insulation.
XLPE: Almost as good as PE in electrical properties, while the long-term operating temperature is relatively higher than PE, the mechanical properties are better than PE, and the aging resistance is better. A new type of environmentally friendly product with good high temperature resistance and environmental resistance, a thermosetting plastic. Commonly used in electronic wires and places with high environmental resistance requirements.
Difference between XLPO and XLPE
XLPO (cross-linked polyolefin): EVA, low smoke and halogen-free, radiation cross-linked or vulcanized rubber cross-linked olefin polymer. A general term for a class of thermoplastic resins obtained by polymerizing or copolymerizing α-olefins such as ethylene, propylene, 1-butene, 1-pentene, 1-hexene, 1-octene, 4-methyl-1-pentene, and some cycloolefins.
XLPE (cross-linked polyethylene): XLPE, cross-linked polyethylene, silane cross-linking or chemical cross-linking, is a thermoplastic resin made by polymerization of ethylene. In industry, it also includes copolymers of ethylene and a small amount of α-olefins.
Post time: Jun-26-2024
