Insulation Condition Monitoring in High Voltage Power Cables using Partial Discharge Measurements

This paper deals with the study of the effects of thermal stress through partial discharge characteristics of 6/10kV XLPE insulated power cables. To study the effects of thermal stress through PD (Partial discharge) characteristics thermal aging is considered for healthy cable insulation. In this study, a cable under measurement is subjected to thermal aging or heating cycle. The measurement method followed is as per the specified method in the standard IEC: 60502-2 (2014). The experimental results are presented under the rated and at higher operating voltages of the cable. The analysis has been carried out and it is observed that due to the thermal aging effects on the cable insulation, the measured discharge quantity of PD is on the higher side. The results are presented for PD patterns of the specimen of cable sample considering the case of fresh sample and after the thermal stress. The PD patterns and the values obtained in both the cases shows dissimilarity, which can be utilized as samples for further PD pattern recognition.