Juan Martinez Vega is Professor at Paul Sabatier University, Toulouse, France. He is the author/co-author of more than 200 papers. His particular fields of interest are dielectric and mechanical properties of polymeric materials, ageing and end of life models.

“Students, engineers, and materials scientists will find this book to be a good comprehensive resource for learning about the fundamental material property characteristics of dielelectric materials.”  (IEEE Electrical Insulation Magazine, 1 July 2014)

• PART 1. GENERAL PHYSICS PHENOMENA 1Chapter 1. Physics of Dielectrics 3Guy BLAISE and Daniel TREHEUX1.1. Definitions 31.2. Different types of polarization 41.3. Macroscopic aspects of the polarization 81.4. Bibliography 16Chapter 2. Physics of Charged Dielectrics: Mobility and Charge Trapping 17Guy BLAISE and Daniel TREHEUX2.1. Introduction 172.2. Localization of a charge in an “ideally perfect” and pure polarizable medium 182.3. Localization and trapping of carriers in a real material 262.4. Detrapping 332.5. Bibliography 35Chapter 3. Conduction Mechanisms and Numerical Modeling of Transport in Organic Insulators: Trends and Perspectives 37Fulbert BAUDOIN, Christian LAURENT, Séverine LE ROY and Gilbert TEYSSEDRE3.1. Introduction 373.2. Molecular modeling applied to polymers 403.3. Macroscopic models 513.4. Trends and perspectives 633.5. Conclusions 683.6. Bibliography 69Chapter 4. Dielectric Relaxation in Polymeric Materials 79Eric DANTRAS, Jérôme MENEGOTTO, Philippe DEMONT and Colette LACABANNE4.1. Introduction 794.2. Dynamics of polarization mechanisms 794.3. Orientation polarization in the time domain 814.4. Orientation polarization in the frequency domain 834.5. Temperature dependence 874.6. Relaxation modes of amorphous polymers 924.7. Relaxation modes of semi-crystalline polymers 964.8. Conclusion 984.9. Bibliography 99Chapter 5. Electrification 101Gérard TOUCHARD5.1. Introduction 1015.2. Electrification of solid bodies by separation/contact 1015.3. Electrification of solid particles 1085.4. Conclusion 1155.5. Bibliography 115PART 2. PHENOMENA ASSOCIATED WITH ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS – AGEING 117Chapter 6. Space Charges: Definition, History, Measurement 119Alain TOUREILLE, Petru NOTINGHER, Jérôme CASTELLON and Serge AGNEL6.1. Introduction 1196.2. History 1206.3. Space charge measurement methods in solid insulators 1236.4. Trends and perspectives 1296.5. Bibliography 130Chapter 7. Dielectric Materials under Electron Irradiation in a Scanning Electron Microscope 135Omar JBARA, Slim FAKHFAKH, Sébastien RONDOT and Dominique MOUZE7.1. Introduction 1357.2. Fundamental aspects of electron irradiation of solids 1367.3. Physics of insulators 1417.4. Applications: measurement of the trapped charge or the surface potential 1537.5. Conclusion 1597.6. Bibliography 160Chapter 8. Precursory Phenomena and Dielectric Breakdown of Solids 165Christian MAYOUX, Nadine LAHOUD, Laurent BOUDOU and Juan MARTINEZ-VEGA8.1. Introduction 1658.2. Electrical breakdown 1668.3. Precursory phenomena 1688.4. Conclusion 1798.5. Bibliography 180Chapter 9. Models for Ageing of Electrical Insulation: Trends and Perspectives 189Nadine LAHOUD, Laurent BOUDOU, Christian MAYOUX and Juan MARTINEZ-VEGA9.1. Introduction 1899.2. Kinetic approach according to Zhurkov 1909.3. Thermodynamic approach according to Crine 1959.4. Microscopic approach according to Dissado–Mazzanti–Montanari 2009.5. Conclusions and perspectives 2069.6. Bibliography 207PART 3. CHARACTERIZATION METHODS AND MEASUREMENT 209Chapter 10. Response of an Insulating Material to an Electric Charge: Measurement and Modeling 211Philippe MOLINIÉ10.1. Introduction 21110.2. Standard experiments 21210.3. Basic electrostatic equations 21310.4. Dipolar polarization 21510.5. Intrinsic conduction 21810.6. Space charge, injection and charge transport 22010.7. Which model for which material? 22610.8. Bibliography 227Chapter 11. Pulsed Electroacoustic Method: Evolution and Development Perspectives for Space Charge Measurement 229Virginie GRISERI11.1. Introduction 22911.2. Principle of the method 23011.3. Performance of the method 23811.4. Diverse measurement systems 23911.5. Development perspectives and conclusions 24611.6. Bibliography 246Chapter 12. FLIMM and FLAMM Methods: Localization of 3-D Space Charges at the Micrometer Scale 251Anca PETRE, Didier MARTY-DESSUS, Laurent BERQUEZ and Jean-Luc FRANCESCHI12.1. Introduction 25112.2. The FLIMM method 25212.3. The FLAMM method 25412.4. Modeling of the thermal gradient 25512.5. Mathematical deconvolution 25512.6. Results 25812.7. Conclusion 26712.8. Bibliography 267Chapter 13. Space Charge Measurement by the Laser-Induced Pressure Pulse Technique 271David MALEC13.1. Introduction 27113.2. History 27213.3. Establishment of fundamental equations for the determination of space charge distribution 27213.4. Experimental setup 27613.5. Performances and limitations 28213.6. Examples of use of the method 28313.7. Use of the LIPP method for surface charge measurement 28513.8. Perspectives 28513.9. Bibliography 285Chapter 14. The Thermal Step Method for Space Charge Measurements 289Alain TOUREILLE, Serge AGNEL, Petru NOTINGHER and Jérôme CASTELLON14.1. Introduction 28914.2. Principle of the thermal step method (TSM) 29014.3. Numerical resolution methods 29714.4. Experimental set-up 29914.5. Applications 30614.6. Conclusion 32114.7. Bibliography 322Chapter 15. Physico-Chemical Characterization Techniques of Dielectrics 325Christine MAYOUX and Christian MAYOUX15.1. Introduction 32515.2. Domains of application 32615.3. The materials themselves 33315.4. Conclusion 34015.5. Bibliography 341Chapter 16. Insulating Oils for Transformers 347Abderrahmane BEROUAL, Christophe PERRIER, Jean-Luc BESSEDE16.1. Introduction 34716.2. Generalities 34816.3. Mineral oils 35216.4. Synthetic esters or pentaerythritol ester 35716.5. Silicone oils or PDMS 36316.6. Halogenated hydrocarbons or PCB 36616.7. Natural esters or vegetable oils 36716.8. Security of employment of insulating oils 37016.9. Conclusion and perspectives 37316.10. Bibliography 374Chapter 17. Electrorheological Fluids 379Jean-Numa FOULC17.1. Introduction 37917.2. Electrorheology 38117.3. Mechanisms and modeling of the electrorheological effect 38717.4. The conduction model 39217.5. Giant electrorheological effect 39617.6. Conclusion 39717.7. Bibliography 397Chapter 18. Electrolytic Capacitors 403Pascal VENET18.1. Introduction 40318.2. Generalities 40418.3. Electrolytic capacitors 41018.4. Aluminum liquid electrolytic capacitors 41118.5. (Solid electrolyte) tantalum electrolytic capacitors 41418.6. Models and characteristics 41718.7. Failures of electrolytic capacitors 42618.8. Conclusion and perspectives 43118.9. Bibliography 432Chapter 19. Ion Exchange Membranes for Low Temperature Fuel Cells 435Vicente COMPAÑ MORENO and Evaristo RIANDE GARCIA19.1. Introduction 43519.2. Homogenous cation-exchange membranes 43819.3. Heterogenous ion exchange membranes 43919.4. Polymer/acid membranes 44119.5. Characterization of membranes 44219.6. Experimental characterization of ion exchange membranes 45719.7. Determination of membrane morphology using the SEM technique 46919.8. Thermal stability 47019.9. Acknowledgements 47119.10. Bibliography 472Chapter 20. Semiconducting Organic Materials for Electroluminescent Devices and Photovoltaic Conversion 477Pascale JOLINAT and Isabelle SEGUY20.1. Brief history 47720.2. Origin of conduction in organic semiconductors 47920.3. Electrical and optical characteristics of organic semiconductors 48020.4. Application to electroluminescent devices 48220.5. Application to photovoltaic conversion 48620.6. The processing of organic semiconductors 48920.7. Conclusion 49120.8. Bibliography 491Chapter 21. Dielectric Coatings for the Thermal Control of Geostationary Satellites: Trends and Problems 495Stéphanie REMAURY21.1. Introduction 49521.2. Space environment 49621.3. The thermal control of space vehicles 50121.4. Electrostatic phenomena in materials 50321.5. Conclusion 51221.6. Bibliography 513Chapter 22. Recycling of Plastic Materials 515Pilar MARTINEZ and Eva VERDEJO22.1. Introduction 51522.2. Plastic materials 51622.3. Plastic residues 51922.4. Bibliography 529Chapter 23. Piezoelectric Polymers and their Applications 531Alain BERNES23.1. Introduction 53123.2. Piezoelectric polymeric materials 53223.3. Electro-active properties of piezoelectric polymers 53823.4. Piezoelectricity applications 54923.5. Transducers 55123.6. Conclusion 55623.7. Bibliography 556Chapter 24. Polymeric Insulators in the Electrical Engineering Industry: Examples of Applications, Constraints and Perspectives 559Jean-Luc BESSEDE24.1. Introduction 55924.2. Equipment 56024.3. Power transformer insulation 56524.4. Perspectives 56724.5. Conclusion 57024.6. Bibliography 570List of Authors 573Index 577

Juan Martinez Vega is Professor at Paul Sabatier University, Toulouse, France. He is the author/co-author of more than 200 papers. His particular fields of interest are dielectric and mechanical properties of polymeric materials, ageing and end of life models.

“Students, engineers, and materials scientists will find this book to be a good comprehensive resource for learning about the fundamental material property characteristics of dielelectric materials.”  (IEEE Electrical Insulation Magazine, 1 July 2014)

• PART 1. GENERAL PHYSICS PHENOMENA 1Chapter 1. Physics of Dielectrics 3Guy BLAISE and Daniel TREHEUX1.1. Definitions 31.2. Different types of polarization 41.3. Macroscopic aspects of the polarization 81.4. Bibliography 16Chapter 2. Physics of Charged Dielectrics: Mobility and Charge Trapping 17Guy BLAISE and Daniel TREHEUX2.1. Introduction 172.2. Localization of a charge in an “ideally perfect” and pure polarizable medium 182.3. Localization and trapping of carriers in a real material 262.4. Detrapping 332.5. Bibliography 35Chapter 3. Conduction Mechanisms and Numerical Modeling of Transport in Organic Insulators: Trends and Perspectives 37Fulbert BAUDOIN, Christian LAURENT, Séverine LE ROY and Gilbert TEYSSEDRE3.1. Introduction 373.2. Molecular modeling applied to polymers 403.3. Macroscopic models 513.4. Trends and perspectives 633.5. Conclusions 683.6. Bibliography 69Chapter 4. Dielectric Relaxation in Polymeric Materials 79Eric DANTRAS, Jérôme MENEGOTTO, Philippe DEMONT and Colette LACABANNE4.1. Introduction 794.2. Dynamics of polarization mechanisms 794.3. Orientation polarization in the time domain 814.4. Orientation polarization in the frequency domain 834.5. Temperature dependence 874.6. Relaxation modes of amorphous polymers 924.7. Relaxation modes of semi-crystalline polymers 964.8. Conclusion 984.9. Bibliography 99Chapter 5. Electrification 101Gérard TOUCHARD5.1. Introduction 1015.2. Electrification of solid bodies by separation/contact 1015.3. Electrification of solid particles 1085.4. Conclusion 1155.5. Bibliography 115PART 2. PHENOMENA ASSOCIATED WITH ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS – AGEING 117Chapter 6. Space Charges: Definition, History, Measurement 119Alain TOUREILLE, Petru NOTINGHER, Jérôme CASTELLON and Serge AGNEL6.1. Introduction 1196.2. History 1206.3. Space charge measurement methods in solid insulators 1236.4. Trends and perspectives 1296.5. Bibliography 130Chapter 7. Dielectric Materials under Electron Irradiation in a Scanning Electron Microscope 135Omar JBARA, Slim FAKHFAKH, Sébastien RONDOT and Dominique MOUZE7.1. Introduction 1357.2. Fundamental aspects of electron irradiation of solids 1367.3. Physics of insulators 1417.4. Applications: measurement of the trapped charge or the surface potential 1537.5. Conclusion 1597.6. Bibliography 160Chapter 8. Precursory Phenomena and Dielectric Breakdown of Solids 165Christian MAYOUX, Nadine LAHOUD, Laurent BOUDOU and Juan MARTINEZ-VEGA8.1. Introduction 1658.2. Electrical breakdown 1668.3. Precursory phenomena 1688.4. Conclusion 1798.5. Bibliography 180Chapter 9. Models for Ageing of Electrical Insulation: Trends and Perspectives 189Nadine LAHOUD, Laurent BOUDOU, Christian MAYOUX and Juan MARTINEZ-VEGA9.1. Introduction 1899.2. Kinetic approach according to Zhurkov 1909.3. Thermodynamic approach according to Crine 1959.4. Microscopic approach according to Dissado–Mazzanti–Montanari 2009.5. Conclusions and perspectives 2069.6. Bibliography 207PART 3. CHARACTERIZATION METHODS AND MEASUREMENT 209Chapter 10. Response of an Insulating Material to an Electric Charge: Measurement and Modeling 211Philippe MOLINIÉ10.1. Introduction 21110.2. Standard experiments 21210.3. Basic electrostatic equations 21310.4. Dipolar polarization 21510.5. Intrinsic conduction 21810.6. Space charge, injection and charge transport 22010.7. Which model for which material? 22610.8. Bibliography 227Chapter 11. Pulsed Electroacoustic Method: Evolution and Development Perspectives for Space Charge Measurement 229Virginie GRISERI11.1. Introduction 22911.2. Principle of the method 23011.3. Performance of the method 23811.4. Diverse measurement systems 23911.5. Development perspectives and conclusions 24611.6. Bibliography 246Chapter 12. FLIMM and FLAMM Methods: Localization of 3-D Space Charges at the Micrometer Scale 251Anca PETRE, Didier MARTY-DESSUS, Laurent BERQUEZ and Jean-Luc FRANCESCHI12.1. Introduction 25112.2. The FLIMM method 25212.3. The FLAMM method 25412.4. Modeling of the thermal gradient 25512.5. Mathematical deconvolution 25512.6. Results 25812.7. Conclusion 26712.8. Bibliography 267Chapter 13. Space Charge Measurement by the Laser-Induced Pressure Pulse Technique 271David MALEC13.1. Introduction 27113.2. History 27213.3. Establishment of fundamental equations for the determination of space charge distribution 27213.4. Experimental setup 27613.5. Performances and limitations 28213.6. Examples of use of the method 28313.7. Use of the LIPP method for surface charge measurement 28513.8. Perspectives 28513.9. Bibliography 285Chapter 14. The Thermal Step Method for Space Charge Measurements 289Alain TOUREILLE, Serge AGNEL, Petru NOTINGHER and Jérôme CASTELLON14.1. Introduction 28914.2. Principle of the thermal step method (TSM) 29014.3. Numerical resolution methods 29714.4. Experimental set-up 29914.5. Applications 30614.6. Conclusion 32114.7. Bibliography 322Chapter 15. Physico-Chemical Characterization Techniques of Dielectrics 325Christine MAYOUX and Christian MAYOUX15.1. Introduction 32515.2. Domains of application 32615.3. The materials themselves 33315.4. Conclusion 34015.5. Bibliography 341Chapter 16. Insulating Oils for Transformers 347Abderrahmane BEROUAL, Christophe PERRIER, Jean-Luc BESSEDE16.1. Introduction 34716.2. Generalities 34816.3. Mineral oils 35216.4. Synthetic esters or pentaerythritol ester 35716.5. Silicone oils or PDMS 36316.6. Halogenated hydrocarbons or PCB 36616.7. Natural esters or vegetable oils 36716.8. Security of employment of insulating oils 37016.9. Conclusion and perspectives 37316.10. Bibliography 374Chapter 17. Electrorheological Fluids 379Jean-Numa FOULC17.1. Introduction 37917.2. Electrorheology 38117.3. Mechanisms and modeling of the electrorheological effect 38717.4. The conduction model 39217.5. Giant electrorheological effect 39617.6. Conclusion 39717.7. Bibliography 397Chapter 18. Electrolytic Capacitors 403Pascal VENET18.1. Introduction 40318.2. Generalities 40418.3. Electrolytic capacitors 41018.4. Aluminum liquid electrolytic capacitors 41118.5. (Solid electrolyte) tantalum electrolytic capacitors 41418.6. Models and characteristics 41718.7. Failures of electrolytic capacitors 42618.8. Conclusion and perspectives 43118.9. Bibliography 432Chapter 19. Ion Exchange Membranes for Low Temperature Fuel Cells 435Vicente COMPAÑ MORENO and Evaristo RIANDE GARCIA19.1. Introduction 43519.2. Homogenous cation-exchange membranes 43819.3. Heterogenous ion exchange membranes 43919.4. Polymer/acid membranes 44119.5. Characterization of membranes 44219.6. Experimental characterization of ion exchange membranes 45719.7. Determination of membrane morphology using the SEM technique 46919.8. Thermal stability 47019.9. Acknowledgements 47119.10. Bibliography 472Chapter 20. Semiconducting Organic Materials for Electroluminescent Devices and Photovoltaic Conversion 477Pascale JOLINAT and Isabelle SEGUY20.1. Brief history 47720.2. Origin of conduction in organic semiconductors 47920.3. Electrical and optical characteristics of organic semiconductors 48020.4. Application to electroluminescent devices 48220.5. Application to photovoltaic conversion 48620.6. The processing of organic semiconductors 48920.7. Conclusion 49120.8. Bibliography 491Chapter 21. Dielectric Coatings for the Thermal Control of Geostationary Satellites: Trends and Problems 495Stéphanie REMAURY21.1. Introduction 49521.2. Space environment 49621.3. The thermal control of space vehicles 50121.4. Electrostatic phenomena in materials 50321.5. Conclusion 51221.6. Bibliography 513Chapter 22. Recycling of Plastic Materials 515Pilar MARTINEZ and Eva VERDEJO22.1. Introduction 51522.2. Plastic materials 51622.3. Plastic residues 51922.4. Bibliography 529Chapter 23. Piezoelectric Polymers and their Applications 531Alain BERNES23.1. Introduction 53123.2. Piezoelectric polymeric materials 53223.3. Electro-active properties of piezoelectric polymers 53823.4. Piezoelectricity applications 54923.5. Transducers 55123.6. Conclusion 55623.7. Bibliography 556Chapter 24. Polymeric Insulators in the Electrical Engineering Industry: Examples of Applications, Constraints and Perspectives 559Jean-Luc BESSEDE24.1. Introduction 55924.2. Equipment 56024.3. Power transformer insulation 56524.4. Perspectives 56724.5. Conclusion 57024.6. Bibliography 570List of Authors 573Index 577

Juan Martinez Vega is Professor at Paul Sabatier University, Toulouse, France. He is the author/co-author of more than 200 papers. His particular fields of interest are dielectric and mechanical properties of polymeric materials, ageing and end of life models.

“Students, engineers, and materials scientists will find this book to be a good comprehensive resource for learning about the fundamental material property characteristics of dielelectric materials.”  (IEEE Electrical Insulation Magazine, 1 July 2014)

• PART 1. GENERAL PHYSICS PHENOMENA 1Chapter 1. Physics of Dielectrics 3Guy BLAISE and Daniel TREHEUX1.1. Definitions 31.2. Different types of polarization 41.3. Macroscopic aspects of the polarization 81.4. Bibliography 16Chapter 2. Physics of Charged Dielectrics: Mobility and Charge Trapping 17Guy BLAISE and Daniel TREHEUX2.1. Introduction 172.2. Localization of a charge in an “ideally perfect” and pure polarizable medium 182.3. Localization and trapping of carriers in a real material 262.4. Detrapping 332.5. Bibliography 35Chapter 3. Conduction Mechanisms and Numerical Modeling of Transport in Organic Insulators: Trends and Perspectives 37Fulbert BAUDOIN, Christian LAURENT, Séverine LE ROY and Gilbert TEYSSEDRE3.1. Introduction 373.2. Molecular modeling applied to polymers 403.3. Macroscopic models 513.4. Trends and perspectives 633.5. Conclusions 683.6. Bibliography 69Chapter 4. Dielectric Relaxation in Polymeric Materials 79Eric DANTRAS, Jérôme MENEGOTTO, Philippe DEMONT and Colette LACABANNE4.1. Introduction 794.2. Dynamics of polarization mechanisms 794.3. Orientation polarization in the time domain 814.4. Orientation polarization in the frequency domain 834.5. Temperature dependence 874.6. Relaxation modes of amorphous polymers 924.7. Relaxation modes of semi-crystalline polymers 964.8. Conclusion 984.9. Bibliography 99Chapter 5. Electrification 101Gérard TOUCHARD5.1. Introduction 1015.2. Electrification of solid bodies by separation/contact 1015.3. Electrification of solid particles 1085.4. Conclusion 1155.5. Bibliography 115PART 2. PHENOMENA ASSOCIATED WITH ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS – AGEING 117Chapter 6. Space Charges: Definition, History, Measurement 119Alain TOUREILLE, Petru NOTINGHER, Jérôme CASTELLON and Serge AGNEL6.1. Introduction 1196.2. History 1206.3. Space charge measurement methods in solid insulators 1236.4. Trends and perspectives 1296.5. Bibliography 130Chapter 7. Dielectric Materials under Electron Irradiation in a Scanning Electron Microscope 135Omar JBARA, Slim FAKHFAKH, Sébastien RONDOT and Dominique MOUZE7.1. Introduction 1357.2. Fundamental aspects of electron irradiation of solids 1367.3. Physics of insulators 1417.4. Applications: measurement of the trapped charge or the surface potential 1537.5. Conclusion 1597.6. Bibliography 160Chapter 8. Precursory Phenomena and Dielectric Breakdown of Solids 165Christian MAYOUX, Nadine LAHOUD, Laurent BOUDOU and Juan MARTINEZ-VEGA8.1. Introduction 1658.2. Electrical breakdown 1668.3. Precursory phenomena 1688.4. Conclusion 1798.5. Bibliography 180Chapter 9. Models for Ageing of Electrical Insulation: Trends and Perspectives 189Nadine LAHOUD, Laurent BOUDOU, Christian MAYOUX and Juan MARTINEZ-VEGA9.1. Introduction 1899.2. Kinetic approach according to Zhurkov 1909.3. Thermodynamic approach according to Crine 1959.4. Microscopic approach according to Dissado–Mazzanti–Montanari 2009.5. Conclusions and perspectives 2069.6. Bibliography 207PART 3. CHARACTERIZATION METHODS AND MEASUREMENT 209Chapter 10. Response of an Insulating Material to an Electric Charge: Measurement and Modeling 211Philippe MOLINIÉ10.1. Introduction 21110.2. Standard experiments 21210.3. Basic electrostatic equations 21310.4. Dipolar polarization 21510.5. Intrinsic conduction 21810.6. Space charge, injection and charge transport 22010.7. Which model for which material? 22610.8. Bibliography 227Chapter 11. Pulsed Electroacoustic Method: Evolution and Development Perspectives for Space Charge Measurement 229Virginie GRISERI11.1. Introduction 22911.2. Principle of the method 23011.3. Performance of the method 23811.4. Diverse measurement systems 23911.5. Development perspectives and conclusions 24611.6. Bibliography 246Chapter 12. FLIMM and FLAMM Methods: Localization of 3-D Space Charges at the Micrometer Scale 251Anca PETRE, Didier MARTY-DESSUS, Laurent BERQUEZ and Jean-Luc FRANCESCHI12.1. Introduction 25112.2. The FLIMM method 25212.3. The FLAMM method 25412.4. Modeling of the thermal gradient 25512.5. Mathematical deconvolution 25512.6. Results 25812.7. Conclusion 26712.8. Bibliography 267Chapter 13. Space Charge Measurement by the Laser-Induced Pressure Pulse Technique 271David MALEC13.1. Introduction 27113.2. History 27213.3. Establishment of fundamental equations for the determination of space charge distribution 27213.4. Experimental setup 27613.5. Performances and limitations 28213.6. Examples of use of the method 28313.7. Use of the LIPP method for surface charge measurement 28513.8. Perspectives 28513.9. Bibliography 285Chapter 14. The Thermal Step Method for Space Charge Measurements 289Alain TOUREILLE, Serge AGNEL, Petru NOTINGHER and Jérôme CASTELLON14.1. Introduction 28914.2. Principle of the thermal step method (TSM) 29014.3. Numerical resolution methods 29714.4. Experimental set-up 29914.5. Applications 30614.6. Conclusion 32114.7. Bibliography 322Chapter 15. Physico-Chemical Characterization Techniques of Dielectrics 325Christine MAYOUX and Christian MAYOUX15.1. Introduction 32515.2. Domains of application 32615.3. The materials themselves 33315.4. Conclusion 34015.5. Bibliography 341Chapter 16. Insulating Oils for Transformers 347Abderrahmane BEROUAL, Christophe PERRIER, Jean-Luc BESSEDE16.1. Introduction 34716.2. Generalities 34816.3. Mineral oils 35216.4. Synthetic esters or pentaerythritol ester 35716.5. Silicone oils or PDMS 36316.6. Halogenated hydrocarbons or PCB 36616.7. Natural esters or vegetable oils 36716.8. Security of employment of insulating oils 37016.9. Conclusion and perspectives 37316.10. Bibliography 374Chapter 17. Electrorheological Fluids 379Jean-Numa FOULC17.1. Introduction 37917.2. Electrorheology 38117.3. Mechanisms and modeling of the electrorheological effect 38717.4. The conduction model 39217.5. Giant electrorheological effect 39617.6. Conclusion 39717.7. Bibliography 397Chapter 18. Electrolytic Capacitors 403Pascal VENET18.1. Introduction 40318.2. Generalities 40418.3. Electrolytic capacitors 41018.4. Aluminum liquid electrolytic capacitors 41118.5. (Solid electrolyte) tantalum electrolytic capacitors 41418.6. Models and characteristics 41718.7. Failures of electrolytic capacitors 42618.8. Conclusion and perspectives 43118.9. Bibliography 432Chapter 19. Ion Exchange Membranes for Low Temperature Fuel Cells 435Vicente COMPAÑ MORENO and Evaristo RIANDE GARCIA19.1. Introduction 43519.2. Homogenous cation-exchange membranes 43819.3. Heterogenous ion exchange membranes 43919.4. Polymer/acid membranes 44119.5. Characterization of membranes 44219.6. Experimental characterization of ion exchange membranes 45719.7. Determination of membrane morphology using the SEM technique 46919.8. Thermal stability 47019.9. Acknowledgements 47119.10. Bibliography 472Chapter 20. Semiconducting Organic Materials for Electroluminescent Devices and Photovoltaic Conversion 477Pascale JOLINAT and Isabelle SEGUY20.1. Brief history 47720.2. Origin of conduction in organic semiconductors 47920.3. Electrical and optical characteristics of organic semiconductors 48020.4. Application to electroluminescent devices 48220.5. Application to photovoltaic conversion 48620.6. The processing of organic semiconductors 48920.7. Conclusion 49120.8. Bibliography 491Chapter 21. Dielectric Coatings for the Thermal Control of Geostationary Satellites: Trends and Problems 495Stéphanie REMAURY21.1. Introduction 49521.2. Space environment 49621.3. The thermal control of space vehicles 50121.4. Electrostatic phenomena in materials 50321.5. Conclusion 51221.6. Bibliography 513Chapter 22. Recycling of Plastic Materials 515Pilar MARTINEZ and Eva VERDEJO22.1. Introduction 51522.2. Plastic materials 51622.3. Plastic residues 51922.4. Bibliography 529Chapter 23. Piezoelectric Polymers and their Applications 531Alain BERNES23.1. Introduction 53123.2. Piezoelectric polymeric materials 53223.3. Electro-active properties of piezoelectric polymers 53823.4. Piezoelectricity applications 54923.5. Transducers 55123.6. Conclusion 55623.7. Bibliography 556Chapter 24. Polymeric Insulators in the Electrical Engineering Industry: Examples of Applications, Constraints and Perspectives 559Jean-Luc BESSEDE24.1. Introduction 55924.2. Equipment 56024.3. Power transformer insulation 56524.4. Perspectives 56724.5. Conclusion 57024.6. Bibliography 570List of Authors 573Index 577