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Low Voltage Cable Condition Monitoring To Detect Global Degradation And Localization Techniques For Aging Management At Nuclear Power Plants

A cornerstone of aging management programs for commercial nuclear reactors is the condition monitoring techniques used to determine insulation degradation of cables. Improved condition monitoring methods has been the focus of research especially for low voltage cables. There are many effective methods available such as elongation at break, indenter modulus, oxidation induction, etc.

Product Number: ED22-17298-SG
Author: Andrew Mantey, Sarajit Banerjee, Pierre Simo, David Rouison, Jackson Bornath, Lindsay Vasilak
Publication Date: 2022
$20.00
$20.00
$20.00

A cornerstone of aging management programs for commercial nuclear reactors is the condition monitoring techniques used to determine insulation degradation of cables. Improved condition monitoring methods has been the focus of research especially for low voltage cables. There are many effective methods available such as elongation at break, indenter modulus, oxidation induction, etc. These techniques either require cable samples or access to the cable where the degradation is located which is difficult at best. Available electrical test techniques like insulation resistance and time and frequency domain reflectometry tests have limitations. This paper will explore a new test protocol that can be performed off-line from the end termination of a cable. The test methodology first applies dielectric spectroscopy and polarization depolarization tests to determine globally if a cable is degraded. If it is degraded, then advanced time domain reflectometry and frequency domain reflectometry are applied to determine if the cable has localized areas of degradation. The paper will provide some background information on the tests used but will mainly focus on field studies that have demonstrated the efficacy of this method.

A cornerstone of aging management programs for commercial nuclear reactors is the condition monitoring techniques used to determine insulation degradation of cables. Improved condition monitoring methods has been the focus of research especially for low voltage cables. There are many effective methods available such as elongation at break, indenter modulus, oxidation induction, etc. These techniques either require cable samples or access to the cable where the degradation is located which is difficult at best. Available electrical test techniques like insulation resistance and time and frequency domain reflectometry tests have limitations. This paper will explore a new test protocol that can be performed off-line from the end termination of a cable. The test methodology first applies dielectric spectroscopy and polarization depolarization tests to determine globally if a cable is degraded. If it is degraded, then advanced time domain reflectometry and frequency domain reflectometry are applied to determine if the cable has localized areas of degradation. The paper will provide some background information on the tests used but will mainly focus on field studies that have demonstrated the efficacy of this method.