= =
Conductivity factor is calculated from the ratio of conductivity evaluated from the polarisation
and depolarisation currents at 30 and 60 seconds. With this method of analysis it is possible to
avoid the use of parameter that is temperature and geometry dependent. In addition CF is
independent of the charging voltage. Another way of interpreting CF is to consider the
conductivity at 30 s as the conductivity that is related to the condition of the oil in insulation.
A new method of interpreting the dielectric response measured data in time domain is
presented. The method employees the slope of conductivity. It is a non-temperature dependent
approach in a similar way as polarisation index method. In addition it avoids the use of geometry
capacitance and allows measurement at any charging voltage. The result obtained look promising
as it shows good trend in a similar way as the tan minimum. However, more investigation is
required in order to define the range of CF for Very good, Good, Poor, and Bad cable.
2.6 Dielectric response as diagnostic tool for power cable system Laboratory
and On-site measurement
Bolarin Oyegoke. Dielectric response as diagnostic tool for power cable system- On-site
measurement results and data analysis TKK-SJT-62 Report. 2003.
Diagnostics and testing of high voltage cable systems 13
Dielectric response (DR) is an advanced tool for insulation diagnosis. Insulation deterioration
and degradation change the DR. Measurement of DR at different frequencies or, in time domain
with different time parameters, give some picture of insulation condition. The major problem
associated with medium voltage XLPE cables is deterioration by water trees, and it sometimes is
the main reason for insulation failures in XLPE cables in long service. Increased moisture
content will be harmful to the oil-paper insulated cables. The polarisation index and the
conductivity factor are two diagnostic parameters used in the present studies to evaluate the
condition of oil-paper cables with respect to moisture content. For detecting water tree
deterioration in polymer insulated cables diagnostic criteria based on the current magnitude,
current trend, DC conductivity level and non-linearity of the DR with respect to the charging
voltage have been used. In addition a new method discharge rate (DCR) that is based on
discharge phenomenon is proposed for diagnosis of polymer cable with respect to water tree
contain in its insulation. Measurement of one parameter may not be sufficient to reveal the status
of the cable insulation. Therefore combination of several methods may be necessary to
adequately and accurately diagnosed oil-paper, XLPE and mixed cables. Further research is
needed for more detailed conclusions regarding the capability and limitation of PI and other
criteria used in the present work to diagnose the cable insulation.
Cable types HPLKVJ and PYLKVJ are oldest of all oil-paper cables still in service at 20 kV
network. They are found with very high PI value. It is doubtful if the PI limit defined from
experimental work on APYAKMM can be applied to these cable types. However, these cable
appear to be good condition since none has PI less than 1.
Furthermore, it is interesting to see that cable types PLKVJ are also the oldest types of oil-
paper cable still in operation at 10 kV network. Most of them has PI value higher than 4.
Therefore it is doubtful here as well if PI technique define for APYAKMM cables is an
appropriate way to diagnose this type of cables.
Most of the tested oil-paper cables are in good or excellent condition meaning that PI is
greater than 2. However, cables with PI between 1 and 2 need further investigation in a near
future. Diagnosis of cable insulation condition using dielectric response method could be
improved if several methods are combined.
On-site measured data on polymer insulated (XLPE) cables and its analysis shows no clear
evidence of degradation due to water tree. Possibility of other degradation phenomenon e.g.
thermal degradation cannot be ruled out. However, the currently studied method can not detect
such degradation phenomenon
Test set-up and other factors such as temperature, joint and charging time has been studied at
laboratory level. Measurement results indicate that effect these factor plays a crucial role in data
interpretation.
2.7 Selectivity of DAC and VLF Voltages in After Laying Tests of Extruded
MV Cable Systems. Literature review
Bolarin Oyegoke, Petri Hyvnen, Martti Aro, Ning Gao and Michael Danikas 2003 Selectivity
of DAC and VLF Voltages in After Laying Tests of Extruded MV Cable Systems. Literature
14 Diagnostics and testing of high voltage cable systems
review, Revised manuscript submitted to IEEE Transactions on Dielectric and Electrical
Insulation.
The purpose of high-voltage after-laying tests on cable systems on-site is to check the quality
of installation. The tests on extruded MV cable systems usually include voltage tests with PD and
tan measurements.
Selectivity of DAC and VLF voltages in after-laying testing depends on different test
parameters. PD process depends on type and frequency of the test voltage and hence, the
breakdown voltage is different. The withstand voltage of XLPE cable insulation decreases
linearly with increasing frequency in log scale.
Experimental studies with artificial XLPE cable model indicate that detection of defects with
DAC or VLF voltage can be done at a lower voltage than with DC. DAC voltage is sensitive in
detecting defects that cause a breakdown due to void discharge, while VLF is sensitive in
detecting defects that cause breakdown directly led by inception of electrical trees. Combination
of DAC and VLF will improve the defect detection capability during on-site after-laying tests of
extruded MV cable systems.
So far there are no standard test parameters for DAC and VLF tests in after-laying testing of
MV power cables and systems. However, there are suggestions and practices based on laboratory
research work.
General practice to simulate the weak points within insulation is applying needle-plane
electrode arrangement. However, recent report shows that the same can be done by a rod-plane
electrode configuration.
The breakdown behaviour of the rod-plane arrangement is similar to the breakdown behaviour
of the model cables as a function of frequency. However, extensive literature study shows very
different and partially contradictory information on the breakdown behaviour of XLPE cables at
different frequencies, depending also on test specimen. This contradiction may be due to
different needle size (radius) and gap distance to the centre conductor, different ways of
insertion, different insulation, humidity, shape and size of defect and so on. In addition, different
DAC types (OSI, OLI, unipolar, bipolar, damped or not damped) or different VLF types
(triangular, sinusoidal, cosine-rectangular, trapezium e.t.c.) may also cause some discrepancy in
the published results. The finding on the effect of test voltage confirmed the work reported in
1963, where it was discovered that test voltages of the same amplitude but different waveform
applied to a particular test object produced different result.
Using VLF 0.1 Hz voltages the breakdown voltage recorded for XLPE insulation with
different defects like knife-cut, insulating contaminants and conductive protrusions, falls within
0.8 and 1.9 times the breakdown voltage at the power frequency. For detecting these defects,
VLF 0.1 Hz test is selective. Artificial damages such as knife-cuts, drilled holes and needle
punctures in unaged XLPE and EP cables were detected with 0.1 Hz voltage at one-fifth to one-
half of the values required for DC voltage testing. On new cables (extruded and paper insulation)
5 shots at 2U
0
was proposed (recommended) with respect to a DAC complex discharge analyzing
method (CDA).
Using DAC, the breakdown voltage recorded for insulation with different defects like closed
void, conductive contaminants, insulating contaminants at rubber-XLPE interface or defects like
Diagnostics and testing of high voltage cable systems 15
water, conductive contaminant, insufficient compression of interface falls within 0.9 and 2 times
the breakdown voltage at 50 Hz.
At VFL 0.1 Hz tests a higher voltage may be required for detection of mechanical defects in
the insulating material depending on the shape and size of defect.
Tests with oscillating and VLF voltages have different sensitivity in detecting different kinds
of defects. For the purpose of obtaining good test results consideration should be given to the
combination of DAC and VLF. Their combinations with PD measurements will improve the
defect detecting capability and an improved test result will be obtained.
Results of investigation indicate that the behaviour of PD and breakdown phenomena are not
the same and depend on the characteristics and size of the defect, the state of the interface where
defect exists, the presence of moisture in cavities and applied voltage.
2.8 On-site partial discharge measurements on medium voltage cable systems.
Petri Hyvnen. Keskijnnitteisten maakaapelijrjestelmien osittaispurkausmittaukset kytt-
paikalla. On-site partial discharge measurements on medium voltage cable systems. Licentiate
thesis, Teknillinen korkeakoulu, 2003. Written in finnish TKK-SJT-60 Report.
Small local electrical discharges, which maybe harmful to the cable insulation can be
observed with partial, discharge measurement. Partial discharges degrade the insulation and can
cause total loss of electrical insulation properties of insulation material. On-site cable testing
with 50 Hz transformer is not economical. On-site tests can be performed using alternative
voltage stresses. Questions related to the selectivity of testing and partial discharge
measurements are complex problems. Findings reported in literature are partly contradictory. All
alternative voltage stresses except DC-voltage can be used while partial discharge measurements
are done. Results will be depend on used voltage stress. Straight forward comparison between
measurement result with different voltage stresses should not be done.
On-site tests were made using damped AC-voltage. The procedure of measurement and data
analysis presented in this work can be used as a basis for future assessment of cable insulation
condition. All measured polymer insulated cables seemed to be in good condition. No evidence
of degradation could be detected on XLPE-cables. Analysis of measurement result showed that
partial discharges observed on polymer cables are caused some external reasons. Main reason
seems to be SF
6
-switchgear which was connected to the measured cables during measurement.
10 kV oil-paper insulated APAKM and PLKVJ cables seem to be more degraded than 10 kV
APYAKMM cables. Insulation structure of these cables is different. Results of measurements on
20 kV oil-paper insulated cable does not indicate as clear weakening trend as 10 kV oil-paper
cables showed. In several cables partial discharges were located near measurement end
terminations. Lowered oil level in terminations could lead to this kind of behaviour. Checking of
termination condition should be done more frequently in future to avoid unexpected termination
failures.
Tests on artificially damaged termination clearly indicated that test with nominal voltage is
not enough to detect harmful installation faults. Only a few faults could be detected with nominal
voltage stress. Tests with twice-nominal voltage stress including partial discharge measurement
16 Diagnostics and testing of high voltage cable systems
could find almost all installation faults studied in this work. Acoustical partial discharge
detection system can be used to point out accurate location of fault in cable accessories.
Sensitivity of the acoustical system was 50 pC. Sensitivity depend on type of termination or joint.
2.9 Condition assessment of MV power cables based on practical
measurements
Petri Hyvnen, Bolarin Oyegoke , Martti Aro. Condition assessment of MV power cables based
on practical measurements. Accepted to be presented in NORD-IS-2003, 11-13-6-2003,
Tampere.
Knowledge of the condition of cable networks is very important to the cable network owner.
However condition assessment of cable networks is extremely hard without any specially
designed diagnostic measurements. Many times condition assessment of MV power cable system
is based on only results from one diagnostics measurement. The most commonly used and well
known method is measurement of insulation resistance. This paper presents measurement results
from on-site measurement program on oil-paper cables. It shows clearly that reliability of only
one diagnostic method for instance dielectric response is not sufficient. This is because dielectric
response and partial discharge measurement results give different condition class. It is therefore
recommended in this paper that final decision of the cable insulation condition should be based
on combined result of the dielectric response and partial discharge measurement.
Cable 1 is oil-paper insulated 10 kV (U
0
=5.8 kV) core type cable. Length of the cable is
1866 m. Cross section is 240 mm
2
. Cable system contains five joints. Capacitances of phases L1,
L2 and L3 are 1171, 1160 and 1162 nF. Partial discharge measurement, dielectric response
measurement and combined results are shown in table 1 below.
Table 1 PD, DR and combined results of Cable 1
Phase PD-result DR-result PD+DR result Action
L1 Good Good Good No action
L2 Good Good Good No action
L3 Good Poor Poor Attention
Cable 2 is oil-paper insulated 10 kV (U
0
=5.8 kV) belt type cable. Length of the cable is
200 m. Cross section is 50 mm
2
. Capacitances of phases L1, L2 and L3 are 52 nF. Partial
discharge measurement, dielectric response measurement and combined results are shown in
table 2.
Table 2 PD, DR and combined results of Cable 2.
Phase PD-result DR-result PD+DR result Action
L1 Bad Good Bad Immediately action needed
L2 Bad Good Bad Immediately action needed
L3 Good Good Good No action
PD measurement is powerful diagnostic tool that can be used to observe, recognise and locate
harmful local defects along cable system. However, PD measurement cannot detect local defect
in form of moisture within the cable insulation. DR measurement can detect increase moisture
content in oil-paper cable system. A good oil-paper cable free of moisture from dielectric
response measurement point of view may indicate considerable PD level. Also a PD free cable
Diagnostics and testing of high voltage cable systems 17
may as well show spectacular increase in moisture content. Consequently, as practical examples
show both methods, DR and PD measurements are needed to perform comprehensive
classification of cable status.
2.10 Diagnosing the Condition of Medium Voltage Covered Counductors
Janne Vehanen, Petri Hyvnen. Pllystetyn keskijnniteavojohdon kunnon diagnosointi.
Diagnosing the Condition of Medium Voltage Covered Counductors. Written in finnish. TKK-
SJT-61 Report.
This report discusses the problems concerned medium voltage covered conductor lines, along
with their extent and severeness. Also, methods in diagnosing their condition are shown.
In the type of line, an aluminium alloy conductor is covered with polymeric insulation. The
purpose of the system is to reduce the spacing between conductors and, on the other hand, to
decrease failure density and improve safety compared to conventional bare conductor lines.
The basis of this work are damages in covered conductors found by some grid companies and
their concernes in the durabitily of its insulation. New problems have arised, including punctures
in insulation and inexplicable breakings of conductors.
In the study, the construction of the covered conductor lines with their benefits and problems
are introduced. In addition CC-lines are compared with different types of lines. Also the aging of
insulators and some unexpected problems occurred in use is discussed. Subsequently, methods in
condition diagnosing are presented.
The results of the tests and measurements performed on samples of CC-lines show that the
problem is extensive. Punctures are common and they grow easily. Partial discharge tests, using
damped AC-voltage, proved to be an effective measurement method for evaluating the condition
of the CC-lines insulation.
The measurements in this report were carried out in the high voltage institute of Helsinki
University of Technology in spring 2003.
3 Acknowledgements
National Technology Agency (TEKES), Foundation for development of electrical power
engineering (SVK-pooli), Pirelli Cables and Systems, Fortum companies and City Electrical
Company Group EK-12 are thanked for funding of the project. The project board and especially
the chairman Mr Lauri Nyyssnen are thanked for very constructive guidance and support for
fluent progress of the project.
4 List of symbols and abbreviations
AC alternative current
APYAKMMH-insulated 10 or 20 kV oil-paper cable
CC covered conductor
CDA complex discharge analysis
CF conductivity factor
18 Diagnostics and testing of high voltage cable systems
DAC damped alternative voltage
DC direct current
DCR discharge rate
DD dielectric discharge
DI degradation index
DR dielectric response
EP ethylenepropylene
HPLKVJ H-insulated 20 kV oil-paper cable
HUT helsinki university of technology
IRC isothermal relaxation current
MV medium voltage
OLI oscillating lightning impulse
OSI oscillating switching impulse
PD partial discharge
PE polyethylene
PI polarisation index
PLKVJ belt insulated 10 kV oil-paper cable
ppm parts per million
PYLKVJ H-insulated 20 kV oil-paper cable
Q absorption charge
SF
6
sulphurhexafluoride
tan loss factor
TF transfer function
THD total harmonic distortion
TUT tampere university of technology
WG work group
VLF very low frequency
XLPE cross linked polyethylene
5 Definition of basic quantities
i(t), i
dp
(t) depolarisation current
conductivity
R resistance
I current
i
p
(t) polarisation current
U
0
nominal phase to ground voltage
6 List of KaDiat-project publications
[1] Oyegoke, Hyvnen, Aro. Dielectric Response Measurement as Diagnostic Tool for
Power Cable Systems. Wire & Cable technical symposium. Chicago, USA, June 2002.
5p. 2002.
Diagnostics and testing of high voltage cable systems 19
[2] Oyegoke, Hyvnen, Aro. Dielectric Response Measurement as Diagnostic Tool for
Power Cable Systems. Wire Journal International. April 2003 p 106 110. 2003.
[3] Bolarin Oyegoke, Petri Hyvnen, Martti Aro, Ning Gao. Application of dielectric
response measurement on power cable systems. Literature review. Paper accepted for
publication in IEEE Transactions on Dielectric and Electrical Insulation.
[4] B. S. Oyegoke, P. O. Hyvnen, and M. M Aro. Diagnostics of MV XLPE power cable
systems using polarisation and depolarisation current measurement method. Accepted to
be presented in ISH 2003, The Netherlands. 4p. 2003.
[5] B. S. Oyegoke, P. O. Hyvnen, M. M. Aro. Detecting degree of water treeing in XLPE
power cable systems using polarisation and depolarisation current method. Accepted to
be presented in ISH 2003, The Netherlands. 4p. 2003.
[6] Bolarin Oyegoke, Petri Hyvnen, Martti Aro. Experience with the application of time
domain dielectric response method in condition assessment of distribution oil-paper.
Accepted to be presented in NORD-IS 2003, Tampere Finland. 8p. 2003.
[7] Bolarin Oyegoke. On-site and Laboratory Measurements of Dielectric Response on
Medium Voltage Cable Systems. Measurements and data analysis. TKK-SJT-62 Report.
16p. 2003.
[8] Bolarin Oyegoke, Petri Hyvnen, Martti Aro, Ning Gao and Michael Danikas.
Selectivity of DAC and VLF Voltages in After Laying Tests of Extruded MV Cable
Systems. Literature review. Manuscript submitted to IEEE Transactions on Dielectric
and Electrical Insulation.
[9] Petri Hyvnen. Keskijnnitteisten maakaapelijrjestelmien osittaispurkausmittaukset
kyttpaikalla. On-site partial discharge measurements on medium voltage cable
systems. Licentiate thesis, Teknillinen korkeakoulu, 2003. Written in finnish. TKK-SJT-
60 Report. 96p. 2003.
[10] Petri Hyvnen, Bolarin Oyegoke, Martti Aro Condition assessment of MV power cables
based on practical measurements. Accepted to be presented in NORD-IS 2003, Tampere
Finland. 8 p. 2003.
[11] Janne Vehanen, Petri Hyvnen. Pllystetyn keskijnniteavojohdon kunnon
diagnosointi. Tutkimusraportti TKK 2003. Written in finnish. TKK-SJT-61 Report.
42p. 2003.
[12] Petri Hyvnen, Bolarin Oyegoke, Martti Aro. Diagnostics and testing of high voltage
cable systems. Suurjnnitekaapelien eristysten diagnostiikat ja testaus (KaDiat). Final
report. TKK-SJT-63 Report. 19p. 2003.