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Application of the AC Superposition Method to Degradation Diagnosis of 22/33‐kV Class XLPE Cables
Author(s) -
KUMAZAWA TAKAO
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
electrical engineering in japan
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.136
H-Index - 28
eISSN - 1520-6416
pISSN - 0424-7760
DOI - 10.1002/eej.22809
Subject(s) - superposition principle , insulator (electricity) , materials science , voltage , residual , degradation (telecommunications) , electrical engineering , dielectric , composite material , electronic engineering , mathematics , engineering , optoelectronics , mathematical analysis , algorithm
SUMMARY Water trees in the insulator of XLPE cable may considerably reduce the dielectric breakdown voltage, thus being an important lifetime‐governing factor. The ac superposition method we have investigated is a new technique for hot‐line diagnosis of 6.6‐kV XLPE cables, and the diagnostic apparatus using this technique is now widely used in the distribution line field. In order to study the application of the ac superposition method to degradation diagnosis of 22/33‐kV class XLPE cables, we measured deterioration signals of the cables with water trees by a modification of the above diagnostic apparatus. The deterioration signals, hereafter called “ac superposition current”, were generated by an amplitude modulation effect due to the nonlinear resistance of water trees. Moreover, we evaluated the relationship between the ac superposition current and the ac breakdown voltage. It is difficult to judge whether a correlation between then is present or not because of the uneven distribution of the measured data. However, the ac superposition current tends to increase linearly with a decrease in the residual thickness of the insulator. For example, the ac superposition current was about 40 nA when the residual thickness decreased to 3 mm. Thus, we consider that the ac superposition method is effective for degradation diagnosis of 22/33‐kV class XLPE cables.