The multi-stress aging of 15 kV EPR power cables.

摘要

This research is focused on the multi-stress aging phenomena and lifetime estimation of 15 kV EPR cable. In order to gain the suitable parameters for the lifetime estimation, the aging study on the EPR cable samples as well as on the cable layers' dielectrics samples was carried out at the High Voltage Laboratory of Mississippi State University.;During the multi-stress aging study of 15 kV EPR cable samples, the EPR cable samples underwent electrical stress, thermal stress, and environmental effects. The aging time for the EPR cables varied from 650 hrs to 1300 hrs. An empirical aging model describing the cables' lifetime was derived from the partial discharge measurements results.;The aging study on the EPR cable layers' dielectrics was achieved as well. The EPR insulation material samples were aged by combined electrical and thermal stress, while the material samples of inner semi-conducting layer, outer semi-conducting layer, and outer low-density polyethylene (LDPE) jacket were aged by thermal stress. The measurement data was used for the newly proposed lifetime estimation method.;A new lifetime estimation method was introduced for the EPR cables. The method assumed that the failures of cables results from the expansion of voids/cavities initiated from the defects in the EPR insulation layer. The proposed lifetime estimation method applied the finite element method (FEM) to solve the electric field distribution inside the EPR cable with the existence of voids/cavities. The parameters were derived from the aging study on the EPR insulation material samples. Assuming the voids/cavities would expand in the direction of the maximum electric field stress, the lifetime of the EPR cables was then estimated through the iteration. The introduced method helped to establish a relationship between the aging study of insulation material samples and the aging of EPR cable samples, which was long missing in the past studies. It also provided a new way to assess the reliability of the EPR cable.