Bipolar model for electrical breakdown in polyethylene materials under dc high electrical fields

•Our bipolar transport model is applied to study the electrical breakdown phenomenon.•Previous theoretical models are based on statistical aspects to study this phenomenon.•Best choice of the parameters of our model allows us to obtain the original results.•Electrical breakdown is indicated by the abrupt increase of the external current.•Many factors influence the breakdown: applied field, temperature and charge mobility.

In this paper, we have applied our bipolar transport model for studying the charge dynamics in the insulating polyethylene materials, from nano to micro -scales and under dc high applied field. We have also applied the model for studying the electrical breakdown phenomenon for these mentioned scales. The principal results are dedicated to the evolution of the external current in low density polyethylene samples. Under notable dc high applied field, the electrical pre-breakdown phenomenon is indicated by an abrupt increase that occurs during the steady state of the external current.