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<p>Polyethylene (PE) cables are widely used in power-grid transmission, but microcracks and electrical-tree defects inevitably accumulate under long-term electro–thermal stress, threatening dielectric reliability. Microcapsule-enabled self-healing PE composites offer an autonomous and low-waste strategy to arrest early-stage damage. Here, a coupled finite-element framework—3D tensile stress analysis, 2D XFEM crack–capsule interaction modeling, and 3D electrostatic field analysis—is established to quantify how poly(urea-formaldehyde) (PUF) microcapsule parameters (outer diameter, shell thickness, and shell Young’s modulus) jointly affect (i) microcapsule integrity under load, (ii) crack-triggered rupture probability, and (iii) electric-field distortion in PE insulation. A dimensionless multi-objective compromise function is introduced to balance these competing requirements and define engineering design windows. Increasing capsule diameter aggravates stress concentration and local electric-field hotspots but improves crack interception; increasing shell thickness mitigates both stress and peak field while reducing the triggering sensitivity of offset cracks. Considering fabrication dispersion, the recommended PUF microcapsule windows are an outer diameter of 90–105&#xa0;μm, a shell thickness of 3.2–4.2&#xa0;μm, and a shell Young’s modulus of 2.1–4 GPa. Microcapsules prepared accordingly show good morphological integrity. The study adopts ideal bonding and temperature/frequency-independent properties, and the crack path is idealized; thus, the results provide baseline design guidance for subsequent electro–thermal–mechanical and statistical validation.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>

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Coupled mechanical–fracture–electrostatic simulation and multi-objective optimization of PUF microcapsule parameters for self-healing PE insulation composites

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年6月17日

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  • Yanfang Zhang,
  • Yun Wang,
  • Huachao Xu,
  • Qiang Cao,
  • Zheng Sun

摘要

Polyethylene (PE) cables are widely used in power-grid transmission, but microcracks and electrical-tree defects inevitably accumulate under long-term electro–thermal stress, threatening dielectric reliability. Microcapsule-enabled self-healing PE composites offer an autonomous and low-waste strategy to arrest early-stage damage. Here, a coupled finite-element framework—3D tensile stress analysis, 2D XFEM crack–capsule interaction modeling, and 3D electrostatic field analysis—is established to quantify how poly(urea-formaldehyde) (PUF) microcapsule parameters (outer diameter, shell thickness, and shell Young’s modulus) jointly affect (i) microcapsule integrity under load, (ii) crack-triggered rupture probability, and (iii) electric-field distortion in PE insulation. A dimensionless multi-objective compromise function is introduced to balance these competing requirements and define engineering design windows. Increasing capsule diameter aggravates stress concentration and local electric-field hotspots but improves crack interception; increasing shell thickness mitigates both stress and peak field while reducing the triggering sensitivity of offset cracks. Considering fabrication dispersion, the recommended PUF microcapsule windows are an outer diameter of 90–105 μm, a shell thickness of 3.2–4.2 μm, and a shell Young’s modulus of 2.1–4 GPa. Microcapsules prepared accordingly show good morphological integrity. The study adopts ideal bonding and temperature/frequency-independent properties, and the crack path is idealized; thus, the results provide baseline design guidance for subsequent electro–thermal–mechanical and statistical validation.

Graphical abstract