Evaluation of Degradation of PET Film by Partial Discharge Method

Akinori Iguchi, Hideo Hirabayashi, Takahiro Hayashi, Kazushi Yamada, Hiroyuki Nishimura

Kyoto Institute of Technology, Kyoto, Japan.
Shinwa Sangyo Co., Ltd., Osaka, Japan; Kyoto Institute of Technology, Kyoto, Japan.

DOI: 10.4236/msa.2014.51005                

Abstract

Recently, the industry and productions have been rapidly developed by the advancement of science and technology. On the other hand, the dwindling natural resources and the global warming increasingly pose a severe problem to our life in near future. Indeed, solar photovoltaic (PV) has been attractive as one of the alternative energy resource to oil. However, some problems such as the reduction of electromotive force and the degradation of back-sheet influence the properties of the long-term life of the PV panel system. In this research, we used the high- and low-molecular-weight PET film in order to evaluate the effect of molecular weight for the hydrolysis of PET under the acceleration degradation test. As results, the mechanical properties of PET film were decreased with increasing the acceleration degradation time. In addition, it was found that the dielectric breakdown strength of PET film indicated the similar tendency with the mechanical properties. Accordingly, the non-destructive analytical technique, i.e. the partial discharge measurement makes it easy to evaluate the degradation of PET film without any damage or cut out for the film.

Keywords

PET Film; Back-Sheet; Partial Discharge Measurement; Degradation

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	N. Aleshin, H. J. Lee, S. H. Jhang, H. S. Kim, K. Akagi, and Y. W. Park, “Coulomb-Blockade Transport in QuasiOne-Dimensional Polymer Nanofibers,” Physical Review B, Vol. 72, No. 15, 2005, Article ID: 153202. http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.72.153202
[2]	E. J. Ra, K. H. An, K. K. Kim, S. Y. Jeong and Y. H. Lee, “Anisotropic Electrical Conductivity of MWCNT/PAN Nanofiber Paper,” Chemical Physics Letters, Vol. 413, No. 1-3, 2005, pp.188-193. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cplett.2005.07.061
[3]	X. Lu, Y. Zhao and C. Wang, “Fabrication of PbS Nanoparticles in Polymer-Fiber Matrices by Electrospinning,” Advanced Materials, Vol. 17, No. 20, 2005, pp. 2485-2488. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adma.200500196
[4]	Y. Hashimoto, Y. Hashimoto, K. Yamada and H. Hamada, “Effect of Heat Sealing Pressure on Mechanical Properties and Molecular Structure at Heat-sealed Parts of Poly(Lactic Acid) Plastic Film,” Society of Packaging Science and Technology, Vol. 21, No. 2, 2013, pp. 115-123.
[5]	“Nano Porous Films Processing of Polymer Films Based on Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance of Au Nanoparticles,” Journal of Laser Micro/Nanoengineering, Vol. 7, No. 3, 2012, pp. 260-263.
[6]	Y. Hashimoto, Y. Hashimoto, K. Yamada and K. Miyata, “Effect of LLDPE Contents on Heat Seal Properties for HDPE/LLDPE Blend Film,” Seikei―Kakou, Vol. 23, No. 11, 2011, pp. 691-697.
[7]	T.-Q. Nguyen, R. C. Kwong, M. E. Thompson and B. J. Schwartza, “Improving the Performance of Conjugated Polymer-Based Devices by Control of Interchain Interactions and Polymer Film Morphology,” Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 76, 2000, pp. 2454-2456. http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.126374
[8]	S. Thumsorn, K. Yamada, Y. W. Leong and H. Hamada, “Development of Cockleshell-Derived CaCO3 for Flame Retardancy of Recycled PET/Recycled PP Blend,” Materials Sciences and Applications, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2011, pp. 59-69. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/msa.2011.22009
[9]	N. Kunimune, K. Yamada, Y. W. Leong, S. Thumsorn and H. Hamada, “Influence of the Reactive Processing of Recycled Poly(ethylene terephthalate)/Poly(ethylene-coglycidyl methacrylate) Blends,” Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol. 120, No. 1, 2011, pp. 50-55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/app.32836
[10]	S. Thumsorn, K. Yamada, Y. W. Leong and H. Hamada, “Effect of Pellet Size and Compatibilization on Thermal Decomposition Kinetic of Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate/Recycled Polypropylene Blend,” Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol. 124, No. 2, 2012, pp. 1605-1613. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/app.35166
[11]	S. Thumsorn, K. Yamada, Y. W. Leong and H. Hamada, “Thermal Decomposition Kinetic and Flame Retardancy of CaCO3 Filled Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate/ Recycled Polypropylene Blend,” Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol. 127, No. 2, 2013, pp. 1245-1256. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/app.37673