Effects of Dried Days on Properties of Seawater and Freshwater Flooded CSPE in NPPs

Accelerated thermal aging of chlorosulfonated polyethylene (CSPE) was performed for 0 days, 80.82 days, and 161.63 days at 100℃, which is equivalent to 0 y, 40 y, and 80 y of aging, respectively, at 50℃. After freshwater flooding, the volume electrical resistivity of CSPE was highest after 180 days of drying, and its insulating property recovered when dried for more than 300 days. The dielectric constant of the CSPE was not measured after seawater flooding. The dielectric constant of the accelerated thermally aged CSPE was higher after freshwater flooding than that before seawater flooding. The bright, open pores of CSPE were converted into dark, closed pores after seawater flooding, and the dark, closed pores of the accelerated thermally aged CSPE samples were partly converted into bright, open pores after freshwater flooding. The apparent density of CSPE increased slightly whereas its elongation at break (EAB) decreased until 80 y of accelerated thermal aging before seawater flooding. The peak binding energies of oxygen in the non-accelerated and accelerated thermally aged CSPE for 40 y and 80 y were shifted by more than 1.0 eV after seawater and freshwater flooding. The CH2 content in the non-accelerated and accelerated thermally aged CSPE for 40 y and 80 y after seawater flooding for 5 days was lower than that before seawater flooding whereas atoms such as Cl, O, Pb, Al, Si, Sb, and S that are related to conducting ions such as Na⁺, Cl^-, Mg²⁺, SO4 ^2-, and K⁺ were relatively increased.