Influence of Morphology on Tree Initiation and Growth in Polyethylene

Abstract

In this paper, low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) were used as samples. The forming process of spherulites was continuously observed at slow-cooling rate by means of polarized light microscope with a cooling and heating cell. Morphology parameters (crystallinity and crystallite thickness) were investigated by using infrared (IR) spectrophotometer and X-ray diffractorneter. When crystallinity increases, the reason why tree initiation voltage increases, the influence of crystallinity and crystallite thickness on tree shape, and the effect of different crystallite thickness of spherulite on space charge storage were studied and discussed.