Residual Stresses and Strains in Cross-linked

Polyethylene Power Cable Insulation

Lorant Olasz

Doctoral thesis no. 63

TRITA, HFL-0412
KTH Engineering Sciences
SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden
TRITA HFL-0412
ISSN 1104-6813
ISRN KTH/HFL/R–06/11–SE

Akademisk avhandling som med tillstand av Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan i Stockholm

framlägges till offentlig granskning för avläggande av teknisk doktorsexamen tisdagen
den 13 juni kl. 10.15 i sal F3, Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan, Lindstedtsvägen 28, Stock-
holm.
Preface
When I started as a Ph.D. student at the Department of Solid Mechanics I was
determined that to work with computer modeling without having to perform ex-
periments, having done way too many experiments in the past. Luckily, during
the course of the project I came to realize how important it is to base a model
on experiments and to keep a sound balance between experiments and theory in
building a model. I would like to thank my advisor prof. Peter Gudmundson for
keeping me on track and for his continuous support and advice.
Financial support for the project was provided by FaxénLaboratoriet, ABB
Power Technologies AB and Borealis AB. I am also grateful to the various people
involved in the project for being available for questions and discussion. I spe-
cially want to thank Mr. Tommy Johansson, ABB Power Technologies AB, for
his dedication and for always being available.
I owe special thanks to Mr. Hans Öberg for his ideas and help with the lab
equipment and experiments and to the staff in the machine shop for the quick and
precise machining of various parts, but also for contributing with good ideas to
solve experimental problems.
To my colleagues I want to say thanks for interesting discussions and for mak-
ing the workplace enjoyable.

Lorant Olasz

April 2006, Stockholm

i
ii
List of appended papers
This dissertation consists of a summary and four appended papers:

Paper A:
Olasz, L. and Gudmundson, P. “Viscoelastic model of cross-linked polyethylene
including effects of temperature and crystallinity”, Mechanics of Time-Dependent
Materials, (Online First), 2006

Paper B:
Olasz, L. and Gudmundson, P. “Prediction of residual stresses in cross-linked
polyethylene cable insulation”, Polymer Engineering and Science, 45(8):1132-
1139, 2005

Paper C:
Olasz, L. and Gudmundson, P. “A non-linear viscoelastic constitutive model for
XLPE and its application in residual stress prediction for high voltage cable insu-
lation”, Report 410, Royal Institute of Technology, Department of Solid Mechan-
ics, Stockholm, Sweden, 2006

Paper D:
Olasz, L. and Gudmundson, P. “Residual strains in XLPE high voltage cable insu-
lation”, Report 411, Royal Institute of Technology, Department of Solid Mechan-
ics, Stockholm, Sweden, 2006

iii
iv
Abstract
The subject of this thesis is modeling of the manufacturing process of high voltage
power cables with the aim of predicting residual stresses and strains in the cable
insulation. The studied material is cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE), which at
room temperature is a semi-crystalline viscoelastic solid. Above the crystalliza-
tion temperature the material exhibits a rubber type behavior due to the cross-
links.
An extensive set of uniaxial tensile relaxation tests were used for the mechan-
ical characterization of XLPE. These experiments were complemented by pres-
sure volume temperature experiments as well as density and crystallinity mea-
surements. Based on the experiments, initially a linear and later a non-linear vis-
coelastic power law model was formulated, incorporating temperature and crys-
tallinity dependence. The non-linear model is based on the Schapery formulation.
Evaluations of the model were performed with additional uniaxial experiments.
These included comparisons between predicted stress responses and measured
values during relaxation tests with transient temperature histories, during two step
relaxation experiments and during uniaxial tests with constant strain rate loading.
The initial modeling work focused on the prediction of residual stresses which
develop during the cooling stage of the manufacturing process. As the constitu-
tive model incorporates temperature and crystallinity dependence, the mechanical
problem is coupled to the heat transfer and crystallization problems. Calculations
were performed for a vertical manufacturing line. The effects of a viscoelastic
material model are illustrated by a comparison to a stress state predicted by a
thermo-elastic material model.
A nal study concerns the modeling of the residual strains in the insulation. It
was found that strains originating at cross-linking of the molecules play a signi-
cant role for buildup of residual strains. Calculations are performed for the same
vertical process line as before. Good agreement was found between predicted
and experimentally obtained residual strains. Based on the residual strain state an
estimate is made for the upper limit of shrink-back of the cable insulation.

v
vi
Contents
1 Introduction 1

2 Cable manufacturing process 1

3 Structure and properties of PE and XLPE 2

4 Thermal residual stresses 4

5 Constitutive modeling 5
5.1 Linear viscoelastic models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
5.2 Non-linear viscoelastic models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

6 Experimental characterization 8
6.1 Physical properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
6.2 Mechanical testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
6.2.1 Pressure Volume Temperature (pVT) measurements . . . . 9
6.2.2 Stress relaxation experiments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
6.2.3 Additional uniaxial tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
6.3 Constitutive model for XLPE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

7 Process model 14

8 Discussion and outlook 15

9 Summary of appended papers 18

References 20

vii
viii
1 Introduction
Cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) is a widely used material for power cable in-
sulation, where it has largely replaced oil impregnated paper. Although both the
material and the process have been known and used for several years, there is a
need in the industry for a deeper understanding of the manufacturing process and
its inuence on the nal product properties. Mechanical, thermal and chemical
modeling of the manufacturing process of a cable can be used as a tool for pre-
diction and optimization of the nal product. The present work focuses on the
mechanical modeling of insulation during the manufacturing process, namely on
nding a suitable constitutive model for XLPE and utilizing it in prediction of
thermal residual stresses and strains in the cable insulation.

2 Cable manufacturing process

By the process of cross-linking, polyethylene (PE) is changed from a thermo-
plastic into a single, interwoven molecule. Improved heat resistance is the most
important advantage of XLPE over low density polyethylene (LDPE). In a power
cable, the conductor temperature increases with the current transmitted through
the cable, thus more power can be sent through an XLPE cable than a non-cross-
linked cable of the same size.
The most widely used method for cross-linking polyethylene in the cable in-
dustry is the continuous vulcanization (CV) method with peroxide additives. High
temperature triggers the decomposition of peroxide into free radicals. The free
radicals react with polyethylene molecules, extracting hydrogen atoms, thus form-
ing a radical on the polymer chain which reacts with another polymer chain radical
to form a cross-link.
A typical manufacturing line for high voltage power cable utilizing cross-
linked polyethylene (XLPE) is usually of two types: a vertical continuous vulcan-
ization (VCV) line or a catenary continuous vulcanization (CCV) line (Boysen,
1970; Huotari, 1992; Huotari and Sistola, 1997). These differ in the physical lo-
cation of the cable that is transported through the process. In a VCV line the cable
is positioned vertically, whereas in a CCV line the cable is fed through the system
with a slight downward slope. The important stages of cable manufacturing can
be seen in the schematic of Figure 1. In a rst step of the continuous process,
the polymer is extruded onto a metal conductor, after which heating of the ca-
ble takes place. During this stage, cross-linking of the molecules is achieved at
temperatures above the melting point of the polymer.
The last stage of the process is cooling of the cable to room temperature,
achieved by circulating water or gas around the cable. Starting at the outer ra-

1
 Conductor
Die Extruder

Curing
Direction of Heat activated cross!
cable travel linking of PE molecules.
through the
process
Cable insulation

Cooling
Solidification and
partial crystallization
of the insulation

Figure 1. Schematic of power cable manufacturing process with its most

important parts.

dius and continuing inwards, partial crystallization of the insulation takes place.
Cooling of polymer products is often a problematic manufacturing stage as
it introduces residual stresses into the material. In particular, for high voltage
cable insulation the knowledge of such stresses is desirable as it inuences both
mechanical and electrical properties of the cable. It is widely known that elec-
trical breakdown strength is inuenced by the mechanical stress. But electrical
breakdown strength is also inuenced by the presence of voids or other defects,
the formation of which is related to the buildup of residual stresses during man-
ufacturing. During installation or repair of a cable, residual stresses may cause
problems at cable joints or terminations, since the insulation tends to shrink back
in the axial direction on the conductor. This phenomenon is commonly referred
to as shrink-back in the industry and there is a maximum allowed level for it reg-
ulated by an international standard IEC (2004).

3 Structure and properties of PE and XLPE

The result of cross-linking in PE, a single large interwoven molecule called gel,
makes up for most part of a cross-linked sample. XLPE used for high voltage
cable insulation is usually made starting with LDPE and its microstructure and
properties are similar to those of polyethylene in general.
Polyethylene is a partially crystalline solid, whose properties are strongly in-

2
 Lamellae

Interlamellar
links

Figure 2. A schematic representation of the structure of a spherulite.

uenced by the relative amounts of crystalline and amorphous phases present.

Density is strongly related to crystallinity, with higher density polyethylenes hav-
ing higher degree of crystallinity. Other important characteristics inuencing the
physical properties are basic molecular properties such as chain branching, aver-
age molecular weight and molecular weight distribution.
The basic structure of PE is the chain −(CH2CH2)n −, which has no branches
on the backbone. In commercial PE, n may be between about 400 and above
50000 and chain branches are usually present on the chain backbones. The small-
est crystalline units, called lamella, are planar in shape and consist of chains that
are perpendicular to the plane and fold back and forth, every 5-15 nm, although
sometimes less frequently. Lamellae are interconnected by a few chains which
pass from one lamella, through a small amorphous region, to another lamella. As
it can be seen in gure 2, the lamellae are ordered into much larger spherically
shaped units, called spherulites. The lamellae extend radially in the spherulite,
with the molecule chains oriented in a direction that is perpendicular to the radius
of the spherulite. Spherulites consist of both crystalline and amorphous parts and
are interconnected by amorphous regions. Spherulites are thought to develop from
an initial central lamellae, which subsequently branches to form the spherulite. It
is also possible that spherulites grow as much that they impinge into each other,
thus obtaining the shape of polyhedra. Density of a pure PE crystal has been cal-
culated to 1.00 g/cm3 , whereas that of an amorphous phase is believed to be about
0.855 g/cm3 .
LDPE contains short chain branches on the chain backbone. These short chain
branches disrupt chain folding and thus reduce the degree of crystallinity to 40-

3
60% from about 70-90% of unbranched PE. The crystalline melting point T m is
also reduced to 105-115◦C from 135◦C of unbranched PE. Melting usually occurs
over a wide temperature range, beginning at 70-80 ◦C for a polymer of density
0.92 g/cm3 . The density is 0.912-0.935 g/cm3 compared to the higher 0.960-
0.970 g/cm3 of unbranched PE.
A wide interval in degree of cross-linking and gel content is possible to achieve
in cured XLPE samples depending on the process and base material. Gel contents
close to 100% are possible to achieve, but for LDPE, which is the common base
material for high voltage cables, crosslinked with dicumyl peroxide the gel content
is more likely to be between 70% to 80%.
According to several authors (Nilsson et al., 1998; Phillips and Kao, 1986;
Gohil and Phillips, 1986a,b) the fully developed spherulite crystal structure is not
preserved in cross-linked polyethylene. Instead XLPE was found to have what
is described as a sheaf like microstructure. These sheaves look like undevel-
oped spherulites and are considerably smaller in size than spherulites in PE. It
seems like the crystal development in XLPE stops at various stages before reach-
ing the fully developed spherulites of PE. It is also reported that the microstructure
changes with the degree of cross-linking. Gohil and Phillips (1986b) reported that
high cross-link density results in parallel compact lamellar bundles and with de-
creasing cross-link density the lamellae have a tendency to splay apart and form
sheaf-like structures. The nucleation density of these lamellar bundles was found
to increase with cross-link density.

4 Thermal residual stresses

The problem of thermal residual stresses is found in a wide variety of polymer
products where rapid inhomogeneous cooling is part of the manufacturing pro-
cess. For power cables, cooling starts at the outer layers of the insulation where
the temperature drops almost instantaneously from well above the melting point
to room temperature. As a result the outer layers stiffen, but the inner layers still
occupy a larger volume introducing stresses into the insulation. As cooling pro-
ceeds radially into the insulation, solidication produces further thermal stresses.
Usually thermal stresses partially persist in the nished product since most poly-
mers are viscoelastic. Furthermore, the stress development is also inuenced by
the semi-crystalline microstructure of certain polymers like PE and XLPE.
In the past, the development of thermal stresses has been treated mostly as a
thermo-elastic problem and it has been recognized that the predicted stress state
can be viewed as a limiting case to the actual stress state in polymers which show
viscoelastic behavior (Struik, 1990; Djurner et al., 1980).
Crystallization during cooling changes the density of the material and the con-

4
stitutive relationship. As a result of the rapid inhomogeneous cooling, the varying
sub-cooling of the polymer melt at solidication inuences the degree of crys-
tallinity and the the shape and size of the crystals. For the case of poly(etherether-
ketone) (PEEK) it is shown by Eduljee et al. (1994) that as crystalline regions grow
during cooling, the elastic modulus of the polymer changes which inuences the
development of the residual stresses. For this polymer it is also found that at high
cooling rates crystallization is suppressed and thus the process becomes similar to
amorphous polymers.

5 Constitutive modeling
5.1 Linear viscoelastic models
At innitesimal strain, linear viscoelasticity can be used for modeling of the me-
chanical behavior. For the uniaxial case, the normal stress ! is related to the
normal strain " by the relaxation modulus, E(t), according to
! t
d"
! (t) = E(t − # ) d# . (1)
0 d#
Early on it has been recognized that characterization of the relaxation modulus
can for many materials be simplied if isothermal relaxation curves at different
temperatures can be brought together to form a “master curve” by shifting them
parallel to the logarithmic time axis, (Morland and Lee, 1960; Muki and Stern-
berg, 1961; Lee and Rogers, 1965). This is called time-temperature shifting and
the class of materials that exhibit this behavior is denoted as thermorheologically
simple materials (TSM). Equation (1) changes now according to
! t " # d"
! (t) = E $ (t) − $ (# ) d# , (2)
0 d#
where the reduced time $ is dened by
! t " #
$ (t) = a T (# ) d# . (3)
0

In equation (3) the shift factor a depends on the instantaneous temperature. Mate-
rials in the TSM category are amorphous polymers like e.g. polymethylmethacry-
late (Muki and Sternberg, 1961; Lee and Rogers, 1965).
In general it can be said that polymeric materials whose behavior can not be
described by equation (2) fall into the category of thermorheologically complex
materials (TCM). For a class of TCM materials, master curves can be formed
by applying both horizontal and vertical shifts to the relaxation curves (Harper

5
and Weitsman, 1985; Uesaka et al., 1989; Popelar et al., 1990). In this case the
constitutive equation can be written as
" #! t " # d"
! (t) = A T (t), % (t) E $ (t) − $ (# ) d# , (4)
0 d#
" #
where A T (t), % (t) is the vertical shift factor which depends on temperature and
other material parameters represented by % (t). Equation (3) also changes to
! t " #
$ (t) = a T (# ), % (# ) d# , (5)
0

in order to incorporate dependence of the horizontal shift factor a on other param-

eters. For paper, the need of vertical shifting has been attributed to the inuence
of moisture content, which enters as a parameter into the shift function, (Uesaka
et al., 1989). For semi-crystalline polymers like polyethylene it is believed that
changes in crystallinity with temperature cause the need for both horizontal and
vertical shifting of relaxation curves (Tobolsky and McLoughlin, 1955; Tobolsky,
1960; Popelar et al., 1990).
As described by several textbooks on the subject (Flügge, 1967; Tschoegl,
1989), there are many ways to mathematically represent viscoelastic behavior.
A common, traditional way is the use of “spring and dashpot” models, like the
generalized Maxwell or Kelvin models. For any of these models, the constitutive
equation can take the form of a differential equation consisting of terms which
are derivatives of stress or strain (Flügge, 1967). The resulting expression for the
relaxation modulus, a series of exponential terms, is also known as a Prony series.
An example where this has been applied to describe relaxation of polyethylene
can be found in a paper by Popelar et al. (1990). A drawback of these models can
be the large number of parameters involved.
For some materials the relaxation modulus appears to be proportional to time
raised to some fractional power, at least in a certain nite time interval. Such
observations are the basis of power law and fractional derivate models. According
to the simplest form of power law model, the relaxation modulus can be expressed
by $ %−m
t
E(t) = E0 , 0 < m < 1, (6)
t0
where E0 and m are material parameters, whereas t0 can be chosen arbitrarily.
According to fractional derivative models, integer order derivatives of the gen-
eralized Maxwell or Kelvin models are replaced by fractional order derivatives
(Bagley, 1989). Mainly applied in modeling of dynamic problems (Adolfsson and
Enelund, 2003), these models have a theoretical basis developed from molecular
theory (Bagley and Torvik, 1983; McKenna and Gaylord, 1988).

6
5.2 Non-linear viscoelastic models
Whereas some polymers show a large linear region others, like most types of PE
and XLPE, exhibit non-linear behavior from a very low strain. For this reason a
non-linear constitutive equation is necessary for accurate models.
Non-linear viscoelastic constitutive models, just as the linear viscoelastic mod-
els, are based on the idea that stress depends on the entire deformation history, or,
alternatively, that strain depends on the entire stress history. The different mod-
els can be categorized under three major types: the multiple integral, the single
integral and the differential equation formulation.
A constitutive model, proposed by Green and Rivlin (1957), utilizes a mul-
tiple integral formulation. Detailed accounts of non-linear viscoelasticity based
on multiple integral models are given by e.g. Lockett (1972) and Haddad (1995).
Although theoretically general enough to describe most kinds of viscoelastic be-
havior, these types of mathematical models are inconvenient in practice due to the
difculties associated with the experimental determination of the large numbers
of necessary parameters.
Less general, but still applicable to a wide range of polymers, single integral
formulations of the constitutive behavior are more accessible in terms of experi-
mental characterization. One such model is due, in its original form, to Schapery
(1969). The transient part of the constitutive equation incorporates strain depen-
dence into the linear viscoelastic equations according to
! t " # d (" h2 (" ))
! (t) = h1 (" ) E $ (t) − $ (# ) d# , (7)
0 d#
where ! t
$ (t) = a (T (# ), q(# ); " (# )) d# (8)
0
denes the reduced time and h1 , h2 are material properties that depend on strain.
A strain dependence may also be found for the shift factor, a, which generally
depends on temperature T . Non-linear viscoelastic behavior found in some epoxy
adhesives is facilitated by incorporating dependence of the shift factor on free vol-
ume (Popelar and Liechti, 1997). Other authors (Knauss and Emri, 1987; Losi and
Knauss, 1992) introduced other state variables, here represented by q, to account
for different effects. E.g. the effects of physical aging on the mechanical behavior
of certain semi-crystalline polymers are quantied in this way by the free volume
(Losi and Knauss, 1992).
Numerous papers are available on the application of Schapery type models
both in nite element formulations and experimental studies. A selection shows
that among the studied materials are both amorphous polymers (Lai and Bakker,
1996; Haj-Ali and Muliana, 2004) and semi-crystalline polymers (Rand et al.,

7
1996; Beijer and Spoormaker, 2002), as well as paper composites with polymer
resin (Nordin and Varna, 2005).
A somewhat different approach to the modeling of non-linear behavior is taken
by Xia et al. (2003) and Nitta and Suzuki (1998) who introduce non-linearity into
the relaxation kernel, by considering non-linear springs in generalized Kelvin or
Maxwell models. In one case the non-linearity or anharmonicity of the springs
is related to the Grüneisen constant which is a material parameter describing the
anharmonicity of molecular interaction.

6 Experimental characterization
Characterizing the time dependent constitutive behavior of polymers is a complex
task. Depending on the type of material several techniques can be used, however
the choice between methods is not trivial. It can depend on the type of polymer
but also on the type of behavior that is of interest e.g. short- or longtime behavior,
dynamic properties, etc. Care has to be taken to conduct the experiments in a con-
trolled environment as most polymers have mechanical properties which change
signicantly with temperature or even moisture. Material properties such as den-
sity or crystallinity may affect the mechanical behavior and need to be measured
before the mechanical tests. For the same reason the specimens may need to be
conditioned prior to experiments.

6.1 Physical properties

In the present study experiments were performed on different XLPE, as it was
expected to nd a dependence on some state parameters, as degree of crystallinity
or gel content, of the constitutive law. These different types of XLPE were char-
acterized with respect to gel content, density and fraction of crystalline material.
Details of these tests are presented in Paper A. The results are reproduced here in
Table 1. Degree of crystallinity was determined from both density measurements
with a density column and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).

6.2 Mechanical testing

For the mechanical characterization of XLPE a number of different tests were per-
formed of which the majority are reported in Paper A. Additional testing pertinent
to the characterization of the non-linear behavior is presented in Paper C.

8
 XLPE type A B C D E F
Gel content /wt.% 0.15 54.5 66.2 75.15 80.5 83.1
Density /(g/cm3) 0.9205 0.9186 0.9172 0.9155 0.9155 0.9152
Crystallinity (from density) /wt.% 49.09 47.73 46.76 45.60 45.55 45.38
Crystallinity (DSC) /wt.% 52.37 50.99 49.68 47.63 47.19 46.93

Table 1. Gel content, density and crystallinity for the types of XLPE
utilized in the present study.

3.5
XLPE Type A
3 XLPE Type B
XLPE Type C
2.5 XLPE Type D
XLPE Type E
K / GPa

2 XLPE Type F

1.5

0.5

0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
T / °C
Figure 3. Bulk modulus versus temperature for various types of XLPE
(cf. Table 1).

6.2.1 Pressure Volume Temperature (pVT) measurements

Bulk behavior of a material can be obtained in a so called pVT apparatus in which
a small sample of a material is surrounded by mercury and enclosed in a piezome-
ter cell. The cell is inside a pressure vessel where hydrostatic pressure can be
applied to it. At any constant temperature and pressure the change, relative to a
reference state, in specic volume is recorded after equilibrium is reached. These
measurements yielded both the bulk modulus and thermal expansion coefcient
of XLPE, shown here in Figures 3 and 4, respectively.

9
 × 10−3
1.4
1.2

1
0.8
& / ◦C

0.6
0.4
0.2

0
0 100 200 300
T / ◦C

Figure 4. Linear thermal expansion coefcient versus temperature for

XLPE at ambient pressure calculated from PVT measurements.

Figure 5. Photograph showing the experimental setup for the stress relax-
ation experiments.

10
6.2.2 Stress relaxation experiments
During stress relaxation experiments the strain is kept constant on a specimen
while the relaxation of the carried load is recorded. These tests are useful in de-
termining the shear relaxation modulus of a polymer. However, there are some
limitations to what it is possible to determine with such experiments. For exam-
ple, the instantaneous modulus is not accessible by any experiments. It is also not
possible in stress relaxation experiments to get the functions G(t) for the entire
time domain 0 ≤ t < ' but only for a nite domain called the experimental win-
dow of the measuring technique. There is a short-time limit, determined by the
eigenfrequency of the initial vibrations of the system or the performance of the
test machine, usually between 0.01 and 1 s. The long-time limit is determined by
the stability of the equipment and thermostating system, the thermal stability of
the specimen and not to forget the patience of the experimenter. In favorable cases
the time domain can be as wide as over eight magnitudes on the time scale, or 0.1
to 107 s.
There are two possibilities for the long time behavior of polymers, which can
be observed when experiments can be conducted over sufciently long times. One
possibility is viscoelastic behavior without ow, this can be found in cross-linked
polymeric systems, such as XLPE, and the other possibility is viscoelastic behav-
ior with ow, as seen in uncross-linked polymeric systems.
In the present work stress relaxation tests on XLPE were carried out for the
various combinations of temperature, strain and crystallinity shown in Table 2. As
it can be seen in Figure 5 the equipment consisted of a servo-hydraulic tensile test
machine and a simple enclosure with heating elements. The temperature range for
the experiments was chosen to cover the interval where residual stresses develop
during cooling. Similarly, the time frame was chosen to cover the time a power
cable would normally spend in the cooling stage of the manufacturing process.
Earlier measurements of residual strains in cable insulation by Paulsson and Patel
(2001), indicated residual strains below 10%. The strain levels for the current
experiments were chosen to cover this strain range as good as possible. Variation
of the crystallinity was achieved by selecting different grades of XLPE for the
experiments.
As it can be seen in the example of Figure 6 relaxation curves consisting of
two linear regions (when plotted in a log-log diagram) were found for XLPE.
For the constitutive modeling, a formulation based on equation (6) was adopted.
Analysis of the experimental results with respect to temperature and crystallinity
dependence can be found in Paper A, whereas strain dependence was explored in
Paper C.

11
 Temperature 23 ◦ C 40 ◦ C 60 ◦ C 78 ◦ C
Strain 1 %3 %5 %7 %1 %3 %5 %7 %1 %3 %5 %7 %1 %3 %5 %7 %
XLPE Type
A: 0.4 wt.% peroxide ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
B: 0.8 wt.% peroxide ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
C: 1.2 wt.% peroxide ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
D: 1.6 wt.% peroxide ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
E: 2.0 wt.% peroxide ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
F: 2.4 wt.% peroxide ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Table 2. Relaxation experiments. Each marker corresponds to at least two

tests at the appropriate conditions.

2
10
1% strain
Increasing strain
3% strain
5% strain
7% strain
G(t) / MPa

p1

p
2

1
10

!2 0 2 4
10 10 10 10
t /s
Figure 6. Relaxation curves for XLPE Type F (cf. Table 1) at 40 ◦ C.

12
6.2.3 Additional uniaxial tests
To be able to conrm the constitutive model based on the stress relaxation tests
described in Section 6.2.2 and to further characterize the non-linear material be-
havior, additional tests were performed according to the following:

• Stress relaxation tests with a transient temperature prole. These tests were
performed to conrm the validity of the proposed temperature and crys-
tallinity dependent constitutive model and can be found in Paper A.

• Two step stress relaxation experiments. During these experiments the strain
was increased to various levels in a second step during the relaxation tests.
These tests were used for developing the non-linear material model and are
presented in Paper C.

• Another type of test performed to check the validity of the non-linear con-
stitutive model was the uniaxial loading of a specimen with constant strain
rate. These tests were also included in Paper C.

6.3 Constitutive model for XLPE

Based on the insight into the mechanical behavior of XLPE gained from experi-
ments, a constitutive model was formulated. Initially the inuence of temperature
and crystallinity on the mechanical behavior was explored in Paper A. This was
later extended to a non-linear model in Paper C. The non-linear viscoelastic model
is summarized below.
A useful observation was that both above and below its crystallization temper-
ature XLPE can be considered as incompressible. The shear relaxation modulus
Gr (t) at a chosen reference temperature and reference crystallinity was expressed
as & $ % $ %−p2 '
−p1
t t
Gr (t) = max c11 , c21 , (9)
t0 t0
where the parameters c11 ,p1 ,c21 and p2 were all experimentally determined. By
calculating shift factors A((T, (% ) and a((T, (% ) for each material state dened
by deviations (T and (% from the reference temperature and reference crys-
tallinity, respectively, the shear relaxation modulus can be determined at all states.
The equations for these shift factors can be found in both Paper A and Paper C.
The non-linear viscoelastic constitutive equation was formulated in a manner sim-
ilar to the Schapery model. The stress deviator si j was expressed as
! t
dei j
si j = 2A((T, (% )h("e f f ) Gr ($ (t) − $ (# )) d# , (10)
0 d#

13
where ei j denotes the strain deviator and the reduced time is dened as
! t
$ (t) = a ((T, (% ) d# . (11)
0

The material property h depends on the von Mises effective strain according to
(
2
"e f f = ei j ei j . (12)
3
As it can be seen in equation (10), strain dependence is separated from the tem-
perature and crystallinity dependence. For the strain dependent function h an
exponential strain dependence was found,

h(" ) = ce) " , (13)

where the parameters c and ) were evaluated from experiments, see Paper C. The
so determined value of parameter ) agreed with the value of the Grüneisen pa-
rameter for various polyethylenes, used in certain non-linear viscoelastic models
(Nitta and Suzuki, 1998; Wada et al., 1969; Rodriguez and Filisko, 1987)
It was also observed that the above viscoelastic material model can be used
below approximately 70 ◦ C. Above this temperatures it was found that an almost
immediate relaxation of stresses results in the material.

7 Process model
Utilizing the material model presented in the thesis, a mechanical model is for-
mulated for the XLPE cable insulation as it passes through the manufacturing
process. In Paper B and C the focus is on the part of the cooling stage where the
residual stresses develop in the insulation. Whereas Paper D targets the develop-
ment of residual strains and incorporates stages of the process starting from the
cross-linking of the polymer.
Considering the incompressibility of XLPE and also the circular symmetry of
the cable in the vertical manufacturing line, the problem can be greatly simplied,
which has been exploited in the modeling work. Strains of non-mechanical origin,
from e.g. thermal expansion and crystallization, are thus sufcient in determining
the strain components in the insulation.
With the knowledge of strain, the stress state can be determined from the con-
stitutive equations and the equilibrium equations. Details of the model are pre-
sented in Paper B, where the linear viscoelastic model is applied in the calcula-
tions. In Paper C the same framework is used, but the material model is changed

14
 2 2
1 1
0 0
!i j / MPa

!i j / MPa
-1 -1
-2 -2
-3 !r -3 !r
-4 !% -4 !%
!z !z
-5 -5
0.250 0.5 0.75 1 0
0.25 0.5 0.75 1
(r − ri ) / (ro − ri ) (r − ri ) / (ro − ri )
(a) Prediction by the linear viscoelastic ma- (b) Prediction by the non-linear viscoelastic
terial model. material model.

Figure 7. Predicted residual stress in the insulation.

to the non-linear viscoelastic model. Predictions of the residual stress in a cable

insulation by both models are presented in Figure 7.
An estimation of the residual strains in the insulation can be made if a sim-
ulation of unloading from the predicted residual stress state is made. This anal-
ysis can be found in Paper B. The obtained strain eld proved to be much lower
then experimentally observed residual strains in the insulation. This motivated
the modeling work presented in Paper D, where it is recognized that the resid-
ual strains originate at the time of cross-linking in the insulation. The strain is
locked at the time of cross-linking, which makes this strain state a reference state
to which the material returns to after sufcient relaxation. Results predicted this
way showed excellent agreement with experimental measurements as it can be
seen in Figure 8.

8 Discussion and outlook

As set out in the Introduction the goal of this thesis was to provide a modeling tool
which can be utilized in optimization of the manufacturing process with regards to
the residual stress and strain of the cable insulation. This has been largely achieved
during the course of the work. The experimental investigation of XLPE that was
initially performed provides a rm foundation for the modeling work. The consti-
tutive equations incorporate crystallinity and temperature dependent parameters.
This has the benet that the model can be coupled to heat transfer and crystalliza-
tion models for the same process. However, this also requires accurate models to
be available for these latter problems.
The experimental and modeling work together led to important ndings, namely
that different mechanisms are important in the stress buildup and strain buildup

15
 "iRj

0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1

(r − ri ) / (ro − ri )

Figure 8. Experimental (Lethagen, 2006) and predicted residual strain in

the insulation. Circular, square and triangular symbols denote experimen-
tally determined " rR , "AB
R , and " R , respectively. Filled symbols refer to
z
measurements on the convex side and open symbols refer to the concave
side. Model predictions are represented by curves in the gure.

16
in the insulation. Stress development takes place mainly during cooling and is
governed by the viscoelastic laws formulated in this thesis. Strain development
has to be modeled starting from a reference state at the moment of cross-linking
and onward through the manufacturing process.
Calculations were performed based on a heat transfer model which provided
realistic temperature data. But a correspondingly accurate model was not available
for the crystallization problem. As a result the degree of crystallinity of XLPE
undergoing cooling had to be estimated based on experimental data. A realistic
model for the crystallization of XLPE would certainly contribute to the overall
accuracy of the results.
Stress and strain predictions are inuenced by the crystallization process in yet
another way, as the volume strain is made up by a temperature and a crystallinity
dependent part. Currently these two parts are not treated separately, instead exper-
imental results are used for an estimation of the total thermo-chemical expansion.
The current machanical model allows however for an easy incorporation of this
separation of strains if a crystallization model will be available in the future.
The process model was formulated with not only the accuracy of the predic-
tions but also with the speed and ease of execution in mind. It is implemented
in scripts which require small computer resources and can be run without expert
knowledge.
Areas that were not investigated in this work include defect formation in the
insulation during manufacturing and predictions of the cable geometry. These
issues could be important for the electrical properties of a cable, and could be
implemented in the future by using the constitutive model presented in this thesis.
Another possibility for future studies is in the estimation of shrink-back. A
more accurate model can be formulated by considering shear stresses that develop
between the insulation and the cable. This could be modeled by e.g. a shear-lag
model.

17
9 Summary of appended papers
Paper A: Viscoelastic model of cross-linked polyethylene includ-
ing effects of temperature and crystallinity
Characterization of the mechanical behavior of cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE)
commonly used in high voltage cable insulation was performed by an extensive
set of isothermal uniaxial tensile relaxation tests. The relaxation experiments were
complemented by pressure volume temperature experiments as well as density
and crystallinity measurements. Based on the experimental results, a viscoelastic
power law model with four parameters was formulated, incorporating temperature
and crystallinity dependence. It was found that a master curve can be developed
by both horizontal and vertical shifting of the relaxation curves. The model was
evaluated by making comparisons of the predicted stress responses with the mea-
sured responses in relaxation tests with transient temperature histories.

Paper B: Prediction of residual stresses in cross-linked polyethy-

lene cable insulation
Modeling of the manufacturing process of high voltage power cables is performed
with the aim of predicting residual stresses in the cable insulation. A viscoelas-
tic power law type constitutive model is used which incorporates temperature and
crystallinity dependence of the parameters. Thus the mechanical problem is cou-
pled to the heat transfer and crystallization problems allowing for incorporation
of different models. In order to illustrate the effects of relaxation, a comparison to
a thermo-elastic material model is made.

Paper C: A non-linear viscoelastic constitutive model for XLPE

and its application in residual stress prediction for high voltage
cable insulation
A non-linear constitutive model, based on the Schapery non-linear viscoelastic
model, was developed from stress relaxation experiments on cross-linked polyethy-
lene (XLPE). Experiments with varying load histories were used for validation of
the constitutive relations. The main application area for XLPE is as insulation
for high voltage power cables, where residual stresses may inuence the electrical
properties of the material. Therefore modeling of the manufacturing process was
also performed with the aim of predicting residual stresses in the cable insulation.

18
Paper D: Residual strains in XLPE high voltage cable insulation
The residual strains in XLPE high voltage cable insulation are modeled in this
study. It is found that strains originating at cross-linking of the molecules play a
signicant role for buildup of residual strains. Detailed calculations are made for
the case of the vertical continuous process line. Also, an estimate is made for the
“shrink-back” of the cable insulation. The results are compared to experimental
measurements of residual strain in cable insulation.

19
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