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The Good, The Bad and The Ugly Cable Insulation

Edvard

The G o o d , The Bad and The Ug ly Cab le Ins ulatio n

Insulation Fundamentals
T he f undamental understanding of cable insulation propertiesf orms the f oundation f or assessment of cable operability. T hese same f undamentals provide the basis f or evaluating whether various electricaland physical testsand measurements are meaningf ul, cost-ef f ective, and warranted, and are a basis f or evaluation of present or conventional cable test practices against the critical properties of concern f or: Cable operability Lif e extension Retention of the original environmental qualif ication, and T he adequacy of environmental qualif ication.

General Properties of Insulation

T he electrical properties of concern f or cable insulations are dielectric loss properties(resistivity, insulation resistance, dielectric constant and permittivity) and dielectric endurance properties(dielectric strength, breakdown strength, and ability to withstand corona attack).

Although these properties are important f or higher voltageand other specialty applications, many of them lose their importance f or the low-voltage cabling used in thermal/nuclear power plants. It is demonstrated that the signif icance of mechanical and thermal properties depend upon the application of the cable. Insulation resistance measurements are commonly used to evaluate insulation systems. For shielded cable, insulation resistance is directly related to the volume resistivity of the cable. For unshielded cable, the insulation resistance has a complex relationship to volume and surf ace resistivity because there is no shield f or a return path.

Good Cable Insulation

When voltage is impressed across any insulation system, some current leaks into, through, and around the insulation. When testing with DC high-voltage, capacitive charging current, insulation absorption current, insulation leakage current, and by-pass current are all present to some degree. For the purposes of this article on cable f ault locating, only leakage currentthrough the insulation will be considered. For shielded cable, insulation is used to limit current leakage between the phase conductor and ground or between two conductors of dif f ering potential. As long as the leakage current does not exceed a specif ic design limit, the cable is judged good and is able to deliver electrical energy to a load ef f iciently. Cable insulation may be considered good when leakage current is negligiblebut since there is no perf ect insulator even good insulation allows some small amount of leakage current measured in microamperes. See Figure 1. T he electrical equivalent circuit of a good run of cable is shown in Figure 2. If the insulation were perf ect, the parallel resistance RPwould not exist and the insulation would appear as strictly capacitance. Since no insulation is perf ect, the parallel or insulation resistance exists.

Fig ure 1 - Cab le G o o d ins ulatio n

T his is the resistance measured during a test using a Megger Insulation Tester. Current f lowing through this resistance is measured when perf orming a DC Hipot Testas shown in Figure 1. T he combined inductance (L), series resistance (RS), capacitance (C) and parallel resistance (RP) as shown in Figure 2is def ined as the characteristic impedance (Z0) of the cable.

When Cable Insulation Is Bad?

When the magnitude of the leakage current exceeds the design limit, the cable will no longer deliver energy ef f iciently. See Figure 3.

Why A Cable Becomes Bad?

All

Damag e d und e rg ro und e le c tric al c ab le

insulation deteriorates naturally with age, especially when exposed to elevated temperature due to high loading and even when it is not physically damaged. In this case, there is a distributed f low of leakage current during a test or while energized. Many substances such as water, oil and chemicals can contaminate and shorten the lif e of insulation and cause serious problems. Cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE)insulation is subject to a condition termed treeing . It has been f ound that the presence of moisture containing contaminants, irregular surf aces or protrusions into the insulation plus electrical stress provides the proper environment f or inception and growth of these trees within the polyethylene material. Testing indicates that the AC breakdown strength of these treed cables is dramatically reduced. Damage caused by lightning, f ire, or overheating may require replacement of the cable to restore service.

When at some local point in a cable, insulation has deteriorated to a degree that a breakdown occurs allowing a surge of current to ground , the cable is ref erred to as a f aulted cable and the position of maximum leakage may be considered a catastrophic insulation f ailure. See Figure 4. At this location the insulation or parallel resistance has been drastically reduced and a spark gap has developed. See Figure 5. Occasionally a series f ault shown in Figure 6can develop due to a blown open phase conductor caused by high f ault current, a dig-in or a f ailed splice.

Fig ure 2 - Eq uivale nt c irc uit o f g o o d c ab le

Fig ure 3 - Cab le b ad ins ulatio n

The Ugly Cable Insulation

In the matter of f act, there is no ugly cable insulation . It can be either good or bad. Every condition between is considered as bad.

Fig ure 4 - G ro und o r s hunt fault o n the c ab le

Hipot Cable Test ing Part -1 (VIDEO)

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Hipot Cable Test ing Part -2 (VIDEO)

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Fig ure 5 - Fault re g io n s imp lifie d d iag ram

Fault Finding Solutions Megger

Fig ure 6 - O p e n o r s e rie s fault o n the c ab le