Investigations of a mechanically failed cable insulation used in indoor conditions

This paper presents the investigation work on different polymeric materials used as insulation materials of conductors in a multicore instrumentation cable. Among differently colored materials, only the white one presented cracks after a few years of use. Isothermal and non-isothermal DSC measurements were performed on initial (non-used) and aged (in service used or laboratory aged) materials as well as on raw materials in order to characterize their stability and the ageing state after storage, use in service or laboratory ageing. As shown by the oxidation induction time values, a pronounced antioxidant loss occurred for all materials during storage or service; plus a strong effect of the ambient light on stability was observed for the white insulation material. Around 3% of filler, consisting mainly of TiO2 particles (as revealed by SEM-XRF elemental analysis), was found in the white material. The higher degradability of the white material can be related to both the photocatalytic effect of the TiO2 particles and rapid loss of stabilizers.