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CABLE FAULTS

Cable fault refers to something that occurs and current cant flow smoothly. It is due to an open circuit or short circuit causing the current flow to be of a high value. Most faults are caused by dampness in the paper insulation of the cable due to porous or otherwise damaged lead sheath. The causes of damage to the lead sheath are: crystallization of the lead through vibration; chemical action on the lead when buried in the earth and insufficiently protected; mechanical damage.

CABLE FAULTS
In summary, what makes insulation go bad include: mechanical damage Vibration Excessive heat or cold Dirt Oil corrosive vapors Moisture or humidity. These enemies of insulation are at work as time goes on combined with the electrical stresses that exist. As pin holes or cracks develop, moisture and foreign matter penetrate the surfaces of the insulation, providing a low resistance path for leakage current.

CABLE FAULTS
Once started, the different enemies tend to aid each other, permitting excessive current through the insulation. Sometimes the drop in insulation resistance is sudden, as when equipment is flooded. Usually, however, it drops gradually, giving plenty of warning, if checked periodically. Such checks permit planned reconditioning before service failure. If there are no checks, a motor with poor insulation, for example, will become dangerous to touch when voltage is applied, subject to burn out. What was good insulation has become a partial conductor.

CABLE FAULTS
Equipment to determine cable fault is ohmmeter. Beside that, a few test can be done to determine cable faults such as: 1. Continuity Test 2. Insulation Resistance Test

TYPES OF CABLE FAULTS


The faults which are most likely to occur in the cables are: Ground or Earth Faults (Break-down of cable insulation) When the insulation of the cable gets damaged, the current starts flowing from core to earth or to cable sheath. Short Circuit Faults When the insulation between two cables or between two cores of a multicore cable gets damaged, the current starts flowing from one cable to another cable or from one core to another core of a multicore cable directly (without passing through load)

TYPES OF CABLE FAULTS


Open Circuit Faults When the conductor of a cable is broken or joint is pulled out and there is no current in the cable.

PROCEDURE TO FIND CABLE FAULT


1. Testing (Analysis of fault) a. Continuity Test open circuit faults b. Insulation Test short circuit faults 2. Locating cable fault from terminal cables. To find length of faults from testing station. 3. Confirmation fault point. To find actual location faults. 4. Repair the fault

CABLE FAULTS TEST


Continuity Test Continuity test is the checking for open circuit of cable faults. Usually, this test uses a bell and battery or multimeter. This test is divided into two types: 1. Short alignment 2. Long alignment

CABLE FAULTS TEST

Short alignment

Short alignment for Continuity Test

Uses a bell and battery. This test is used for conduit types. For testing CC1 cables, a connection is made between C and C1 through a bell and battery. If a bell rings, the cable is in continues condition, and the cable is marked with C1 If the bell is not ringing, the cable is not in continues condition. For A and B cables, the same method is used to test the cable condition.

Long Alignment

CABLE FAULTS TEST

Long alignment for Continuity Test The method is suitable to use for long cable. For cable A, B and C, choose a pair of cable, for example cable A and B will be connected with tester while the end of the same cable with short circuited. If the test shows an open circuit, the end of the cable will be changed with another pair and the circuit tested again. If a low reading is detected, the cables are label with A1 or B1. Then, connect one of the cables with another cable eg cable A and B, and test with the same method.

Insulation Resistance Test

Insulation Resistance Test


Cable under test

Megger Insulation tester

Insulation Resistance between conductors and earth Insulation resistance between conductors

Insulation Resistance Test


Sometimes it is helpful to ground all conductors that are not part of the test. Why? ( Assignment)

Insulation Resistance Test


Purpose of IR is to prove the quality of the insulating materials used in the installation Insulation should be such that there is no possibility of earth leakage currents between conductors conductors and the general mass of earth. The test voltage is d.c not less than twice the normal voltage of the supply (r.m.s value) For test on medium-voltage circuits the test voltage need not exceed 500V d.c. The minimum accepted value of IR is one Megohm.

Insulation Resistance Test


IR value of an installation will not always remain the same. A good deal depends on the amount of moisture and dirt present at the time of testing. Deterioration of the insulation is usually due to: aging unsuitable operation conditions

Machine Testing Electrical Testing is an important factor in preventive maintenance. A breakdown however small: Cost money Replacement of equipment Loss of production Labour in rectifying the situation Fires often accompany breakdowns Risk of electric shocks to personnel Most Electrical failures are attributed to Faulty electrical installation

Machine Testing
Periodic testing of machine has yielded valuable information for assessing trends in the condition of insulation Result of gradual deterioration of the insulation materials possibly initiated by mechanical damage which is further accelerated by the ingress of moisture and dirt into an imperfect dielectric.

Machine Testing
General observations on how Periodic Insulation Test can be interpreted together with the recommended Remedial Action
No. Condition 1 Fair to high values, well maintained 2 Fair to high values, with a downward tendency 3 Low values but well maintained 4 Low values, unsafe Action No action Locate and correct the fault

Condition is probably satisfactory Clean, dry out or otherwise raise the values before placing the equipment in service Test should be made at frequent intervals until the cause of the low value is located and corrected; or until values have become steady at lower level but safe for operation. If the value so low that the equipment is unsafe, remove it from service and thoroughly overhaul.

Fair on high values previously well maintained but showing sudden drop

Machine Testing

When an apparatus is under test, the current flowing through has three components: Conductive leakage current (IL ) Capacitive charging leakage current (IC ) Polarization absorption leakage current (IA )

Machine Testing

Conductive leakage current (IL ) Conductive current is a small (micro-amp) amount of current that normally flows through insulation, between conductors or from a conductor to ground. This current increases as insulation deteriorates and becomes predominant after the absorption current (Figure 1 below) vanishes. Because it is fairly steady and time independent, this is the most important current for measuring insulation resistance.

Machine Testing

Capacitive charging leakage current (IC ) When two or more conductors are run together in a raceway, they act as a capacitor. Due to this capacitive effect, a leakage current flows through conductor insulation. This current lasts only for a few seconds as the dc voltage is applied and drops out after the insulation has been charged to its full test voltage.

Machine Testing

In low-capacitance equipment, the capacitive current is higher than conductive leakage current, but usually disappears by the time we start recording the data. Because of this, it is important to let the reading settle out before recording it. On the other hand, when testing high capacitance equipment the capacitive charging leakage current can last for a very long time before settling out.

Machine Testing
Polarization absorption leakage current (IA ) Absorption current is caused by the polarization of molecules within dielectric material. In low-capacitance equipment, the current is high for the first few seconds and decreases slowly to nearly zero. When dealing with high capacitance equipment or wet and contaminated insulation, there will be no decrease in the absorption current for a long time.

Machine Testing

Machine Testing

The total current representing the three component currents will decrease with time and will reach a steady value only if the absorption current component also becomes steady Because the capacitive charging current falls to a low value in a comparatively short time, the effect often can be attributed to absorption current components. It is the effect of this component which will give an assessment of the state of the dielectric. In order to make use of this phenomenon, Resistance Test are carried out.

Machine Testing

Types of insulation resistance tests. Proof test (Assignment) Short time/spot reading test (Assignment) Time resistance test. Step voltage test.

Machine Testing
Time resistance test. This test method is based on taking successive readings at fixed time intervals, and then plotting the readings. This is an especially effective method when moisture and other contaminants might be present. As noted earlier, absorption current starts out high and gradually decreases over time as voltage is applied. In a machine with healthy insulation, this trend will continue for several minutes and show an increasing level of resistance. (See Fig below). On the other hand, if the insulation is poor, the level of resistance will flatten out after an initial burst.(See Fig below).

Machine Testing

The best way to quantify the results of a time resistance test is through a dielectric absorption ratio. The dielectric absorption ratio consists of two time resistance readings. A commonly used set of intervals is a 60-second reading divided by a 30-second reading. Another frequently used set is a 10-minute reading divided by a 1-minute reading. This resulting value is referred to as the polarization index. The information summarized in the Table above providing general guidelines for interpreting dielectric absorption ratios.

Machine Testing
Step voltage test. A step voltage test involves testing the insulation at two or more voltages and comparing the results. Good insulation will show a relatively consistent resistance reading regardless of the voltage applied. On the other hand, when the resistance level drops as the voltage level increases, it's usually an indication that the insulation is aging, contaminated, or brittle. This occurs because small imperfections like pinholes and cracks reveal themselves under increased electrical stress. When performing a step voltage test, it's important that you start with the lowest test voltage and then move to a higher voltage level. Test duration is typically 60 seconds.

Direct Current Armature Faults

LOCALIZATION OF CABLE FAULT TEST


Simple and basic methods to localize cable fault: Murray loop test, Varley loop test Pulse Echo test These methods used basic equipment that are easily obtained. These tests are performed for the location of either an earth fault or short circuit fault in underground cable. Murray Loop test and Varley Loop Test employ the principle of Wheatstone bridge.

LOCALIZATION OF CABLE FAULT TEST


All the localisation tests normally involves some calculations of some kind and slide-rule accuracy is sufficient for tests on short length cables. Where cables are long, log tables or hand calculations are best for a really accurate pinpointing of the fault position. Most common fault in a cable is a fault to earth, affecting either one or more cores. Open circuit faults and short circuit faults are much less common. The first step in the fault location procedure is to determine the characteristic of the fault,

Murray Loop Test

Murray Loop Test Circuit. The circuit diagram to locate fault by Murray loop test method is shown in the figure above ( earth fault ). P and Q are two ratio arms consisting of resistors, G is a galvanometer, E is a battery and S1 is a battery key.

Murray Loop Test

Murray loop for location of ground fault.

A known good conductor is joined to the faulty conductor at a convenient point beyond the fault but at a known distance from the test connection. One terminal of the test battery is grounded. The resulting Wheatstone bridge is then balanced by adjusting RB until a null is obtained. Ratio RA/RB is then known. For a circuit having a uniform ratio of resistance with length, circuit resistance is directly proportional to circuit length

Murray Loop Test


2L-X

Fig. Murray loop for location of ground fault.

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