Title :
Physical Science, Measurement and Instrumentation, Management and Education, IEE Proceedings A
Author :
Hinrichsen, P.F. ; Houdayer, A. ; Kajrys, G. ; Belhadfa, A. ; Kennedy, G. ; St.-Pierre, J. ; Crine, J.-P.
Author_Institution :
Lab. de Phys. Nucl., Montreal Univ., Que., Canada
fDate :
9/1/1990 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
A comparison of the sensitivity of neutron activation analysis (NAA) and micro-PIXE (proton-induced X-ray emission) for the detection of trace elements in small localised defects, such as water trees in polymeric insulation, is presented. For NAA, such very small samples severely limit the sensitivity, while PIXE with a focused proton beam (micro-PIXE) is sensitive to a wide range of elements and can make detailed mappings of the impurity distributions. The results obtained with both NAA and micro-PIXE for a large bow-tie water tree, grown in a field-aged XLPE cable, are compared and the relative merits of the two techniques are discussed.
Keywords :
X-ray chemical analysis; cable insulation; insulation testing; ion microprobe analysis; neutron activation analysis; organic insulating materials; XLPE cables; cross-linked polyethylene; detection of trace elements; impurity detection; insulation testing; micro-PIXE; neutron activation analysis; organic insulation; polymeric insulation; proton-induced X-ray emission; water trees;
Journal_Title :
Physical Science, Measurement and Instrumentation, Management and Education, IEE Proceedings A
