Loss and recovery of hydrophobic property of XLPE filled with calcium carbonate

摘要

The loss and recovery of the hydrophobic property of cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) filled with calcium carbonate has been studied. The process of wettability of the surface and its dependence on the level of calcium carbonate filler was investigated by immersing in a saline water solution at a level of 1000μS/cm, temperatures from 25 to 98℃ and a duration of 50 hours. It was found that the contact angle decreased with increasing temperature and when filler was added to the formulation. The recovery of hydrophobicity depends on filler concentration and temperature. The XLPE maintained its hydrophobic property at 25℃ after exposure to air at 102℃ for 500h.