MEASUREMENT AND CONTROL BY SOLID AND GAS PHASE RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY OF MANUFACTURING PROCESSES FOR CHEMICALLY CROSSLINKED POLYETHYLENE FORINSULATED ELECTRIC CABLES AND FOR OTHER PRODUCTS

摘要

Modifications are made to the hardware and software of Raman laser spectroscopic instruments to allow them be used to measure all the individua l concentrations of the byproducts of chemically crosslinked polyethylene. The modified instruments of the preferred embodiments are integrated into a production process for chemically crosslinked polyethylene insulated electric cables or for other products made of chemically crosslinked polyethylene. This allows in situ measurements of byproduct(s) concentration(s) to aid in control with the use of a computer of process temperature(s) and other control variables (e.g., peroxide concentration) as selected by a manufacturer. The measurements obtained by the improved and adapted instruments of the preferred embodiments are combined with mathematical models and sophisticated computer software or the standard recipes already in use in th e chemically crosslinked polyethylene cable manufacturing industry, to improve further the control of the chemically crosslinked polyethylene manufacturing process or to design novel manufacturing processes for not only insulated electric cable but also other products made of chemically crosslinked polyethylene such as, but not limited to, medical prosthetic devices and goo ds packaging.