Breakdown Performance of Compound Structure of
Semi-conductive Layer and Insulating Layer for
Submarine Cable
1st Guochang Li
Institute of Advanced 2nd Mingyue liu
Electrical Materials Institute of Advanced
Qingdao University of Science Electrical Materials
and Technology Qingdao University of Science
Qingdao, China and Technology
Qingdao, China
5th Naiyi Li 6th Yanhui Wei*
State Grid Zhejiang Electric Institute of Advanced
Power Co., Ltd. Electrical Materials
Research Institute Qingdao University of Science
Hangzhou, China and Technology
Qingdao, China
weiyhui@126.com
Abstract—Submarine power transmission project has been
recognized as one of the most complicated and difficult large-
scale projects. Submarine cable as an important part of the
power transmission project, its breakdown performance is very
important, but there are few reports about breakdown
performance of submarine cable. In this work, breakdown
performance of compound structure of semi-conductive layer
and insulating layer for submarine cable is studied. Firstly,
compound structure samples of semi-conductive layer and
XLPE insulating layer used for AC submarine cable are
fabricated by the hot-melt welding method, and semi-conductive
specimens with different carbon black (CB) contents are
fabricated for experimental comparison. The morphology,
resistivity of semi-conductive shielding layer and breakdown
strength of semi-conductive layer and insulating layer are
measured separately. In the temperature range of 30-100 ℃, the
resistance of the semi conducting shield increases, reaching the
maximum value of 94.2 Ω·cm at 100 ℃. Moreover, the
resistivity of the semi-conductive shielding layer is relatively
large as a whole. The scanning image shows that there are large
carbon blocks in the semi conducting shielding layer of
submarine cable. At room temperature, breakdown strength of
compound structure of semi-conductive layer and the insulation
layer is 107 kV/mm. The maximum compound structure
breakdown strength of CB/LDPE/EVA semi-conductive layer
and the insulation layer is 111.2 kV/mm. With the increase of
CB content, breakdown strength of the compound structure of
CB/LDPE/EVA semi-conductive layer and the insulation layer
increases. The work has important guiding significance for the
breakdown fault analysis of submarine cable.
Keywords—submarine cable, semi-conductive shielding layer,
resistivity, breakdown field strength， compound structure
I. INTRODUCTION
In recent years, with the development of power
transmission and transformation technology at home and
abroad, the cross-sea transmission technology, the submarine
cable manufacturing technology and the submarine cable
engineering technology have been developing continuously
This work was supported by State Grid Zhejiang Electric Power Co., Ltd.
Research Institute(5211DS19002Z)
978-1-7281-5511-1/20/$31.00 ©2020 IEEE
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3rd Xuejing Li 4th Wuhao Huang
Institute of Advanced State Grid Zhejiang Electric
Electrical Materials Power Co., Ltd.
Qingdao University of Science Research Institute
and Technology Hangzhou, China
Qingdao, China
7th Qingquan Lei
Institute of Advanced
Electrical Materials
Qingdao University of Science
and Technology
Qingdao, China
Lei_qingquan@sina.com
under the promotion of economic integration, energy
optimization and environmental impact reduction [1-3]. Since
1954, when the world's first 100 kV, 98 km dc submarine oil-
filled cable was laid between the Swedish island of Gotland
and the mainland for commercial operation [4], a considerable
number of submarine cables have been laid in the world, and
the submarine cable project has become increasingly
important.
The insulation layer of submarine cables has also
developed from oil-paper insulation material to XLPE
insulation material [5,6], but the research on semi-conductive
shielding material is very few. Semi-conductive shielding
layer plays the role of homogenizing electric field in cable and
makes the connection between conductor and insulating layer
closer. Semi-conductive shielding layer is an indispensable
part of cable [7,8].
At present, the world's trans-sea power transmission
projects are dominated by ac submarine cables for short
distances and dc submarine cables for long distances [9]. This
paper takes AC submarine cable as the research object, the
resistivity properties of semi-conductive shielding layer for
commercial cables are studied. At the same time, the
breakdown test of the compound structure sample of semi-
conductive shielding layer and insulation layer of commercial
cables was prepared to provide a reference for understanding
the overall insulation of AC submarine cables.
II. SAMPLE PREPARATION AND MICROSCOPIC ANALYSIS
In this paper, the influence of different CB content of AC
high-voltage semi-conducting shielding materials on the cable
is discussed by comparing the semi conducting shielding
materials of AC high-voltage cable (Laboratory preparation)
and commercial submarine cable. The semi conducting
shielding material of AC high voltage cable is mainly
composed of Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA), Carbon Black
(CB) particles and additives. Finally, the semi-conducting
compound samples with CB content of 20%, 25% and 30%
were prepared.
 Firstly, the semi-conducting base material EVA and
different mass fractions CB particles with the additives of
antioxidant, cross-linking agent and cross-linking assistant are
put into the internal mixer to melt blend at 130℃；Secondly,
the semiconducting layer films were prepared by the flat
vulcanization mechanism (1) Preheat at 110℃ and 0 MPa for
4min; (2) Forming at 110℃ and 10 MPa for 6min; (3) The
curing process was carried out at 130℃ and 10 MPa for 15min;
Ultimately, the semi-conducting layer samples with different
CB content were obtained by cooling for 10 min at 10 MPa.
The compound structure of semi-conducting layer and
insulating layer is prepared by hot fusion, and the insulating
layer is made of commercial submarine cable insulating
material. Firstly, the semi-conducting layer sample and the
insulating layer sample are preheated at 120℃, then heated at
120℃ and 10 MPa for 4 min, and finally cooled to room
temperature to obtain the semi-conducting layer insulating
layer compound structure sample.
Scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to observe
the microstructure of the sample. Immerse the sample in liquid
nitrogen, and then take it out and break it quickly. Finally, the
section after spraying gold was observed under SEM. Fig. 1
(a)-(c) is the SEM diagram of the semi-conducting layer with
different CB content, (d) is the SEM diagram of the compound
sample of the semi-conducting layer and the insulating layer
of 25 wt% CB, (e) is the SEM diagram of the semi-conducting
layer of commercial submarine cable, (f) is the SEM diagram
of the compound sample of the semi-conducting layer and the
insulating layer of submarine cable, and Fig. 2 is the element
analysis diagram of the semi-conducting shielding layer of
submarine cable.

Fig. 1 SEM images of semi-conductive shielding layer with different carbon black content and SEM images of compound structure of semi-conductive
layer and insulation layer. (a) 20% C B; (b) 25% CB; (c) 30% CB; (d) compound structure of semi-conducting layer and insulation layer; (e) semi-
conducting shielding layer of commercial submarine cable; (f) compound structure of semi-conducting layer and insulation layer of commercial
submarine cable
holes, and the distribution of CB in the matrix is more obvious;
with the increase of CB content, the dispersion of CB particles
in the matrix is better, but there is local unevenness. It can be
seen from Figure 1 (e) that there are a large number of massive
particles in the semi-conductive layer of the submarine cable.
We have carried out element analysis, and the results are
shown in Figure 2. The massive particle is 100% C element
(called carbon block), with the length in the range of 6-18 μm
and the thickness in the range of 2-5 μm. Fig. 1 (d) (f) is the
sample after hot-melt bonding. It can be seen that the interface
is closely contacted, one side of the semi-conductive layer is
not smooth, and the surface of the insulation layer is smooth.
III. ELECTRICAL PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS
A. Resistivity Characteristics of Semi-conducting layer
The semi-conductive rubber resistance tester was used to
Fig 2. Element analysis diagram of semi-conducting shielding test the resistivity of the semi-conductive layer, the sample
layer of submarine cable length was 115 mm, the width was 50 mm, and the test
In Fig. 1 (a) - (c), the highlight is CB particles. In 20wt% temperature was 30 – 100 ℃. The test results are shown in the
CB semi-conductive shielding layer, there are many large-size figure.

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 probability is 63.2%, kV/mm; β is the shape parameter, which
represents the dispersion degree of test results. The larger the
value is, the smaller the data dispersion is. According to the
breakdown probability distribution function F(i,n) obtained by
IEEE 930-2004 standard:
i-0.
(i,n) ≈ ×100% 
n+0.25

Where: I is the sample number; n is the sample capacity.

As shown in the figure.

Fig 3. Resistivity of semi-conductive shielding layer

As can be seen from fig. 3, the resistivity of semi-
conductive shielding layer increases with the increase of
temperature. After 80 ℃, it gradually increases sharply,
followed by the positive temperature coefficient (PTC) [10-12]
effect. This is because at low temperatures, carbon black
particles can form a stable conducting network. As the
temperature increases, the matrix gradually begins to expand
and the conductive network is destroyed, resulting in the
increase of resistivity. It can also be seen from fig 3 that the
resistivity decreases with the increase of CB content, because
the increase of CB particles can form a rich and stable
conductive network. (a)
On the whole from the Fig. 3, the resistivity of the
submarine cable semi-conducting layer is relatively large, but
the growth is relatively slow. At 100 ℃, the resistivity begin
decreases, and the maximum resistivity is 94.2 Ω·cm. When
the temperature reaches 100℃, the matrix is slightly molten,
the carbon blocks are more evenly distributed, the conductive
network is increased, and the resistivity decreases.
B. Breakdown Characteristics of Compound Structure of
Semi-conducting Layer and Insulating Layer
The semi-conductive layer and insulating layer compound
structure samples (of which the thickness of the semi-
conductive layer is 0.3 mm and the thickness of the insulating
layer is 0.15 mm) were prepared by means of hot fusion to
measure the breakdown characteristics of the compound
structure. As the resistivity of the semi-conductive layer is
very small compared with the insulation layer, the voltage
shared by the semi-conductive layer is very small for the (b)
compound structure of the semi-conductive layer and the Fig 4. Breakdown strength of sample (a) breakdown strength of commercial
thickness of the semi-conductive layer can be ignored. submarine cable insulation layer; (b) breakdown strength of compound
structure of semi-conductive layer and insulation layer
Therefore, the breakdown field strength in the data analysis is
calculated according to the thickness of the insulation layer. According to fig 4(a), at room temperature, the AC
breakdown field strength of commercial submarine cable
According to IEC60243-1-1998 standard, the boosting insulation layer at room temperature is 124.9 kV/mm. It can
speed is 1 kV/s, and the breakdown times of each sample with be seen from fig 4(b) that the breakdown strength of
different CB content are 5-10. The two-parameter Weibull compound structure of semi-conductive layer and insulation
distribution is used to analyze the data, and the relation layer of commercial submarine cable at room temperature is
between the two-parameter Weibull distribution function and 107.0 kV/mm, and that of compound structure of semi-
the dielectric breakdown field strength is as follows: conductive layer and insulation layer with 20 wt% CB, 25 wt%
CB and 30 wt% CB is 104.1 kV/mm, 107.4 kV/mm and 111.2
（ ; , ）=1-exp −（ ）  kV/mm respectively. By comparing the breakdown strength
of the insulating layer with that of the compound structure, it
Where: Eb is the measured value of breakdown field can be seen that the breakdown field strength of the compound
strength of the material, kV/mm. α is the scale parameter, structure decreases, but the overall decrease is not large, which
which is the breakdown field strength when the breakdown

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shows that the compound structure has good matching
performance.
At room temperature, the breakdown strength of the
compound structure increases with the increase of carbon
black. Moreover, the breakdown strength of the semi-
conducting shield insulating layer of 25 wt% CB is almost
equal to that of the semi-conducting shield insulating layer of
commercial submarine cable, while the breakdown strength of
the semi-conducting shield insulating layer of 30 wt% CB is
greater than that of the semi-conducting shield insulating layer
of commercial submarine cable. The possible reason is that the
content of carbon black effects the number of carriers, and the
number of carriers increased, which make collision ionization
easier.
IV. CONCLUSION
（ 1 ） With the increase of carbon black content, the
resistivity of semi-conducting shield decreases gradually.
Because the more carbon black particles, the more conductive
network. With the increase of carbon black content, the
resistivity of semi-conducting shield decreases gradually.
Because the more carbon black particles, the more conductive
network.
（2）According to the breakdown experiment at room
temperature, the compound structure of semi-conducting
shielding layer and insulating layer has better matching
performance. Moreover, with the increase of carbon black
content, the breakdown field strength of the compound
structure increases gradually. The breakdown strength of 25
wt% CB compound structure is almost equal to that of
commercial submarine cable. At the same time, it shows that
the carbon black particles have a certain influence on the
breakdown field strength of the semi-conducting shield
insulating layer.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This work was supported by State Grid Zhejiang Electric
Power Co., Ltd. Research Institute(5211DS19002Z) ‘The
long-term operation characteristics and condition evaluation
of AC submarine cable’ .
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