THE TECHNOLOGICAL AND EXPLOITATIVE FACTORS OF LOCAL INCREASE OF ELECTRIC FIELD STRENGTH IN THE POWER CABLE OF COAXIAL DESIGN

Introduction. Reliability of high voltage power cables in the process of long-term operation is largely due to the intensity of polymeric insulation aging. It is now established that the aging of polyethylene, which is the main material for the insulation of high voltage power cables, under the action of the electric field is determined primarily by the presence of structural heterogeneity arising both during cable production and during use. The cable is always there deviations from the ideal structure, which manifest in a deviation of diameters of conductors from nominal values; in the arrangement of the conductor and the insulation is not strictly coaxially and eccentrically; in elliptic (oval) core and insulation; change in relative dielectric constant and thickness of insulation on cable length force the formation of low molecular weight products (including water) in the flow at the manufacturing stage crosslinked polyethylene insulation and moisture during operation. Such defects are structural, technological and operational irregularities, which lead to a local change in the electric field. Purpose. Analysis of the influence of the eccentricity, elliptic and spherical inclusions in the electric field distribution in the power cable of a coaxial design with cross-linked polyethylene insulation, based on numerical simulation. Methodology. The bases of the numerical method of calculation of the electrical field strength are Fredholm integral equations of the first and second kind (method of secondary sources) for an axially symmetric field. Analysis of the influence of irregularities, including water treeing, the shape of the sounding signal is made using the method of discrete resistive circuit inductance and capacitance of substitution with the initial conditions. Solving systems of linear algebraic equations nodal analysis performed by the sweep method. Results. The presence of the eccentricity and ellipticity in the construction of cable has different effects on the distribution of the electrical field strength at the conductor and the insulation. The electrical field strength is increased by 50 % in the core and 17 % - on the surface of the insulation at 10 % eccentricity between conductor and insulation. Availability elliptic insulation leads to a redistribution of the electric field: field strength at the surface of the insulation is 2 times higher electric field strength on the surface of the conductor. Water treeing spherical shape filled with water with a dielectric constant of 6.9, lead to a local increase of electric field intensity is 5 - 10 times. Originality. Simulation results show that the presence of water treeing concentrated with individual heterogeneity characteristic impedance causes a change in shape and duration of the probe signal rectangular. Practical value. Time domain reflectometer can be considered as one of the promising methods for diagnosing operational irregularities (ellipticity, eccentricity, water treeing) in power cables