Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 January 2011
The methods of thermally stimulated currents (TSC) together with low frequency dielectric spectroscopy (LFDS) are combined for the first time to study percolation phenomena. These take place within oil-resin mixtures which constitute conductor/insulator-like composite systems. Each of these techniques is shown to describe selectively one of two different kinds of relaxation processes in the oil component: first, anelastic dipolar movements and second, the circulation of free charges. The separate qualitative interpretations of the combined TSC/LFDS experiments lead to convergent estimations of the percolation thresholds of the two basic materials in oil-resin mixtures. The latter appear as critical concentrations for which the dielectric relaxation processes either comply suddenly with compensation laws or pre-existing compensation phenomena change in nature.