High Voltage 'Non-Persistent' Fault Finding

Cable and Cable Fault Locating - Part 4

This is the last of a four part series on cable and fault locating technologies that are in common
use today. This installment addresses using high voltage surge generators also known as
'Thumpers'. The previous articles have centered on what are basically low voltage test methods,
cable locators, a-frames, and TDRs are all limited to between 5 and 50 volts. This means the
faults must be 'persistent' or always in a faulted state. In the electrical industry, there are some
faults that just don't show up under these conditions.

We often need thousands or tens of thousands of volts to make the fault fail. This is where the
thumper comes in. It is a portable source of high voltage. Common models put out 32 kV or
more but equally important to this specification is the amount of power that is available. More
power will make a louder noise and make certain faults show up. The need to build up and store
this power means most thumpers put out a DC voltage.

Thumpers have been around for the better part of the 20th century but as with all technology,
features and methods have improved for greater accuracy, easier use and interpretation of results.
The original thumpers were just that, they repeatedly connected the high voltage to the cable
under test (CUT). Linemen would walk along the path of the cable listening for the 'whumph'
(or sometimes a 'dtik' or a 'plunk') under ground. Different ground conditions, vehicle traffic
patterns and fault types can make these sounds hard to discern.

Faults aren't always the same, sometimes they happen with relatively little voltage, perhaps only
500v if the splice was wet. But when the water vaporizes because of the resulting arc, it now
may take 10 kV for that same breakdown to fail. To find the fault the voltage usually gets turned
up and up until the fault appears

Repeated thumping can have some unfortunate side effects to the CUT. Faults that require a
higher voltage to break down often subject the cable to voltages above the design voltage. While
the existing fault was located, other areas of the cable may have been weakened. Statistically,
thumped cables fail sooner. For this reason, thumping should be a last resort. Another
consideration of thumpers is that they are potentially very dangerous if used by unqualified
personnel. The entire CUT must be isolated and protected from contact with apparatus and
personnel.

Advancements in thumper systems started with better listening devices. Mechanical methods
like a stethoscope were the first techniques. Antennas and meters were added as the flow of
current makes an electro-magnetic (EM) field. In theory, most of the current is dissipated at the
fault and the current (and hence the EM field) is reduced past the fault. The effectiveness of this
technique is reduced when the fault is a short to another conductor in the same cable. The
current returns on the other conductor in the same magnitude and opposite direction and the EM
fields effectively cancel one another. Listening is still a good choice and all modern products
employ a mechanical microphone or geophone that is placed directly on the ground over the
cable. The amplifier and headphones connected to the microphone minimize the external noise
and make the thump easier to hear.
Safety systems were quickly integrated into thumpers. Self-discharge systems, grounding,
manual discharge hot-sticks, key switch lock outs and other techniques are implemented to
minimize the chances of injury. Like most aspects of line work though, there are still many ways
to get hurt. Get full training and follow all of the manufacturers and your companies' guidelines.

The next advancement was a visual 'pre-locator', making the thumper more like a high voltage
TDR. The pre-locator will usually show the fault with an accuracy better than 10% - 15%. This
will cut the distance the lineman needs to walk by 80-90%, allowing more attention to be paid to
the suspected area and the faults to be more easily located.

Remember that the theory of a TDR is that it transmits a pulse of energy that travels or
propagates along a cable. A portion of the energy will reflect back to the sending end whenever
it passes a relative change in the impedance of the cable. The time the reflections take to return
is proportional to the distance. If we know the approximate speed of the pulse in the cable and
multiply it by the time the reflection takes to return, the distance to the anomaly is easily
calculated. Most TDR instruments automatically do the math, displaying the distance in feet or
meters.

With thumpers there is a

large difference, that
being the impedance
change causing the
reflection is the arc of
electricity. The arc
doesn't happen the instant
the pulse gets to the fault,
it requires the air between
the conductors to ionize
and become conductive
and this can add several
milliseconds onto the
time. As you can see in
the picture to the right,
there is a long dead space
between the left cursor on
the launch pulse and the
first reflection. The actual distance to the fault from the launch end is the distance between any
two of the large successive peaks. The peaks are the one pulse bouncing back and forth from
launch to fault and back.
The next advancement in thumper technique and technology is commonly called the Secondary
Impulse Method (SIM). This was developed primarily to make trace interpretation easier. With
the high voltage pulses, the dynamics of the pulse and cable create many reflections that are part
of the cable and the fault may be difficult to detect. Using a low voltage TDR and the thumper
together in an integrated system, a low voltage TDR pulse is taken of the cable and stored in a
display memory. Then the thumper is triggered to send a HV pulse and while the arc is burning,
the TDR sends the same low voltage pulse which is overlaid upon the first trace. The arc is a
very low impedance point that causes the TDR pulse to reflect as it would with a short circuit
(which it is). The picture below shows the two traces displayed on top of one another with the
dashed cursor at the launch point and the solid cursor on the short indication. Now the distance
to the fault is easily read off as 134 meters.

Earlier we talked about the voltage and power available for the test. The formula for power is P
= C * V2 (power in Joules, C = capacitance and V = voltage) and the metric units are Joules.
This shows using lower voltage will result in the power decreasing by the square, so less is
available to ionize the air and support the thump arc. Newer thumpers have variable capacitance
that can be increased at lower voltages to maintain the same available power. It is entirely
possible that a fault that isn't apparent at a particular voltage will be detectable at a lower voltage
when there is more stored charge to sustain the arc. This has the advantage of less voltage stress
on the CUT.

Since the thumper has all this voltage generation, control and safety interlocks, most can be used
as a high voltage proof-tester or Hi-Pot as well. The system can be connected to an installed
cable or one undergoing a proactive reliability test. The output is enabled and stepped up to a
voltage above the normal working voltage of the cable and held for a set amount of time.
Success of this test usually means it is fit for service.

Advanced controls include amplification. Control over the vertical amplification of the
displayed trace allows smaller faults with weak reflections to be detected.

A screen zoom function is desirable to allow more accurate placement of a cursor when
measuring distances. The resolution of the screen will affect the accuracy of cursor placement
and the ability to zoom in to improve the resolution will give greater accuracy.

Two channels and/or memory settings give additional trouble-shooting ability. Due to their
design, or environment (temperature and moisture for example), some cables may show a 'noisy'
trace that is difficult to interpret. Comparing a trace from a non-arcing pulse to an arcing pulse
will often allow the fault to be detected.

Training. The best equipment manufactured will not give the required information if the
operators don't understand how to effectively use it. Make sure training and applications support
is available, included, and utilized when purchasing test equipment.

I would be very remiss if I ended this series without thanking Nick Garrioch of Eecol Electric in
Winnipeg for his help. I get along much better with the laws of physics than the laws of English.
If anyone has cable or cable fault locating questions, please e-mail me at the address below and I
will send you a reply. With your permission, I would like to share some of these situations in
future articles.

Gord Parker, C.E.T. is employed by Radiodetection as the western Canada Applications Specialist. Radiodetection
and divisions Pearpoint, TeleSpec, RiserBond, BicoTest, Dielectric, and Amprobe manufacture pipe and cable
locators, cable fault locating instruments, cable test and pressurization products, specialty Cathodic Protection
troubleshooting equipment and video camera inspection systems. He can be contacted at 403-281-1808 or
gord.parker@radiodetection.spx.com