| Summary: | The introduction of cable joints and optical repeaters into submarine telecommunication cable inevitably results in amalgamation regions in the polyethylene insulation. These amalgamation regions are known to increase the probability of high voltage breakdown, when compared with the bulk material. This increased risk has been attributed to the accumulation of space charge in the amalgamation regions[1,2]. Progressive dc testing on press moulded, and amalgamated injection moulded samples, which were subjected to varying amounts of electrical ageing were conducted. The morphology of the two sample types was investigated, and the variation in breakdown distributions and characteristic values over time are discussed with reference to the time varying space charge distribution.
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