Revision as of 09:14, 1 July 2024

Abstract

Dielectric materials, which are commonly used in capacitors, could increase energy storage density on a per volume basis in film capacitors compared to current technologies accommodating ever-increasing power demands. Recent work in this area has brought about dramatic increases in the dielectric permittivity and moderate increases in dielectric loss, leading to increased material performance on a per volume basis. However, little is known about the aging and breakdown of these materials, which could decrease the performance of these films over time due to decaying dielectric loss and energy storage density. A basic study of the aging of two different state-of-the-art dielectric materials, 3M's Very High Bond (VHB) 4910, commonly used in actuator applications, and bi-axially oriented polypropylene (BOPP), commonly used in large wound film capacitators, is completed. Accelerated life tests using distilled water are conducted to simulate the aging of these materials in a marine environment. An acceleration factor is determined by diffusion studies of distilled water into the materials. Aminabhavi’s and Crank’s methods are used and compared to compute the diffusion coefficient. The two methods produce identical activation energies and, in turn, acceleration factors. The success of this work could actively exhibit the promise of these materials in microelectronic uses.

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