North Delhi Power Limited

Under Ground Distribution System

Cable Group
Corporate Operation Services

North Delhi Power Limited

ROLE OF CABLE GROUP UNDER COS

CABLE FAULT LOCATION

CABLE FAULT RECTIFICATION

IDENTIFICATION OF SICK CABLES

REDUCTION OF CABLE FAULTS TO A BARE MINIMUM.

CABLE FAULT ANALYSIS.

INTRODUCTION OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES

North Delhi Power Limited

WHY CABLES :

CONCERN

VISUAL
2.5
MAGNETIC FIELD
2.5
LAND DEPRICIATION 2.2
ELECTRIC FIELD EFF. 2.1
GROUND OPERATION 1.7
SECURIRTY OF SUPP. 1.6

RATING O/H

RATING CABLE
0.2
1.1
1.0
0.0
1.1
0.4

CABLE DEFINED

North Delhi Power Limited

THE NAME CABLE IS GIVEN TO LONG

CURRENT CARRYING DEVICES THAT CARRY
THEIR OWN INSULATION AND AND PRESENT AN
OUTER EARTHED SURFACE.

North Delhi Power Limited

EARLY CABLES 1881 STREET PIPES

CABLES CLASSIFIED

North Delhi Power Limited

VOLTAGE LEVEL
LV HV- EHV
INSULATION
PVC -PILC -XLPE
CORES
SINGLE CORE -MULTICORE
CONSTRUCTION
SOLID- PRESSURE CABLES -ABC
SPECIAL FEATURES
TR XLPE

Network in NDPL

Grid Stations

North Delhi Power Limited

11kV substations
Distribution Transformer (Including HVDS)

55
3500
12000

66kV OH line circuit km

170

66kV UG line circuit km

50

33kV OH line circuit km

33kV UG line circuit km
11kV UG circuit km

170
160
1600

North Delhi Power Limited

Type of Cables

Solid Cables-No control is maintained over internal pressure,

which is liable to fall below atmospheric pressure, during normal
working condition. e.g. PILC , XLPE,PVC cables
PILC Paper Insulated Lead Covered
XLPE Cross Linked Polyethylene
PVC Polyvinyl chloride

Pressure Cables Insulation is maintained at a pressure in

excess of atmospheric under all service conditions.e.g.oil filled
cables, low and high gas pressure cables

Construction of cables

North Delhi Power Limited

Paper Insulated Cable

Belted individual
conductors have paper
insulation and a belt of paper
insulation is wrapped over
the cores.
Screened individual
conductors have paper
insulation and a metallic
screen

Construction of Belted/PILCA cables

North Delhi Power Limited

Conductor Copper or Aluminium, stranded,sector shaped

Insulation over core Impregnated Paper insulation lapped over each
conductor
Fillers placed in between the cores.Made of Jute
Insulation over all cores Belted paper insulation lapped over all the cores
Lead sheath To protect the paper insulation from foreign elements and
mechanical shock
Bedding Protects the lead sheath against corrosion. Consists of bitumen
compound and impregnated cotton tapes.
Armour Provides mechanical strength to the cable. Made of steel tape or
round galvanised wire
Serving protects the armour from corrosion. Made of Jute yarns coated with
bitumen compound

Conductor Screening

North Delhi Power Limited

Maximum electrical stress occurs at the surface of

the conductors. In case of stranded conductors
where the surface of the conductor is not smooth
stresses will be very high. To eliminate this, semi
conducting layer is applied on the conductor called
Conductor screening

Insulation Screen

North Delhi Power Limited

Tangential forces sets up stresses along the layers of

insulation which weakens them. To offset this, semi
conducting material along with metal screen is used
over the insulation which converts the tangential
stress to radial stress.

Screening

North Delhi Power Limited

Tangential stress converted to radial stress

Screening

North Delhi Power Limited

PILC
Kraft paper as conductor
screen
Metallic screen over each
core. Copper woven fabric
tape binds all the cores and
is in contact with the lead
sheath

XLPE
Semi conducting layer as
conductor screen
Semi conducting layer and
metallic screen

North Delhi Power Limited

Disadvantages of PILC

Heavy due to lead sheathing

Less flexibility
Poor resistance to vibration
Difficulty in sealing and jointing

Construction of XLPE cable

North Delhi Power Limited

Conductor
Semi-conducting Conductor
Screen
Insulation
Semi-conducting Insulation
Screen
Metallic Screen
Inner Sheath
Armour
Outer Sheath

Relative Electric Properties

North Delhi Power Limited

Characteristics

Max continuous
conductor temp

PVC

PILC

XLPE

6070C

65- 80C

90C

Max conductor temp

on over load

95C

100C

130C

Max conductor temp

during short ckt

150C

200C

250C

Construction of 66 XLPE cable

North Delhi Power Limited

Conductor
Semi-conducting Conductor
Screen
Insulation
Semi-conducting Insulation
Screen
Semi-conducting water blocking
tape
Lead sheath
Non conducting water blocking
tape
Copper wire
Outer Sheath

North Delhi Power Limited

ABC 11KV

North Delhi Power Limited

Minimum permissible Bending Radius

PILC

PVC & XLPE

1C

3C

1C

3C

Upto 1.1kv

20D

15D

15D

12D

1.1kv to 11kv

20D

15D

15D

15D

Above 11kv

25D

20D

20D

15D

North Delhi Power Limited

Proper bending radius is necessary

North Delhi Power Limited

Bending radius is necessary to take care during fault repair

Max no of faults occurred close to joints

Bending radius is necessary to take care during fault repair

61.5 C
60
ar1

55
50

North Delhi Power Limited

45
40

35.1 C

Abnormal Temp. 62.5 Deg C

due to sharp bend/ Mech.
Stress at joint

Current Rating for HV and EHV cables

PILC

Cable type

North Delhi Power Limited

Size of cable

11kv

Rated
Current
in Amp

XLPE
Derated
Current in
Amp

Rated
Current
in Amp

Derated Current
in Amp

3x150

190

143

240

182

3x240

250

188

315

240

3x300

280

211

360

274

11kv

1X1000

585

445

685

550

33kv

3x300

290

215

352

264

3x400

332

249

402

301

560

450

66kv

1x630

North Delhi Power Limited

Current Rating for LT XLPE Cables

No. of
cores

Size

Rated Current

Derated Current

25

95

85

50

133

120

150

249

185

300

365

275

Factors considered for Derating

North Delhi Power Limited

Cable Depth
Variation in Ground & Ambient Temp
Thermal Soil Resistivity
Spacing between cables
Installation condition

Infrared Thermography for Predictive Maintenance

Cables

60.4 C

North Delhi Power Limited

60

40

20

sp1

3.4 C

Temp rise detected at insulation

semicon cut back, due to
absence of stress pad

North Delhi Power Limited

Partial discharge at Screen edge

North Delhi Power Limited

Stress Control in Heat Shrink

technique

North Delhi Power Limited

Stress control in Premoulded Design

North Delhi Power Limited

Infrared Thermography for Predictive Maintenance

Stress at core crossing in 3 core
Cable

North Delhi Power Limited

sp2

47.3 C
46
44
42

sp1

40
38
36
34
32
30
28.3 C

33KV O/D XL Cable Termination (WP2- A. Vihar)

Date of Scanning: 23rd July 2007
Time of Scanning: 12.30HRS
Ambient Temperature: 35 C
Load: 220A
Max. Temperature captured at R ph cable core 48.1 C

50.7 C
50
ar1

North Delhi Power Limited

45

40

35
34.1 C

Air jacket formed between

insulation sleeve & cable
insulation due to improper
shrinking of sleeve.
Dust particles deposited on
inner side of the sleeve.
During Termination
installation, dust free zone
was not created.

Infrared Thermography for Predictive Maintenance

Single core cable
Name of Grid: 33KV SGT Nagar
Date of Scanning: 26th May 2005
Time of Scanning: 16.40HRS
Ambient Temperature: 40 C

North Delhi Power Limited

Details of Hot Spots observed during scanning

Location: Tr.2
Sp1:L.V Cable earth connection Max. Temp. 86.2C
Nature of problem: Hot spot at cable earth connection

Load: 170 Amps.

Investigation: Earth braid was bolted at Tr. and touching to the panel at other end.

Degradation of Insulation
at the point of hot spot

ABC Failure

North Delhi Power Limited

Name of Feeder: 11KV ABC L.B College Satyawati Mkt. (KPM Zone 509)
Ambient Temperature: 31 C
Sp1: Max. Temp. 70.4C
Load: 90 Amps.
Nature of problem: Corona discharge on 11KV ABC Cable
Investigation: The metallic screens of ABC cable are not grounded at the end terminations.

73.5 C
60

sp1

40

20

0
-6.3 C

Fault Location in Cables

North Delhi Power Limited

Steps of fault location:

Testing:- To identify cable defects & types of faults.

Pre location:- To determine the distance of the fault.
Pinpointing:- To pinpoint the location of the cable fault
Cable tracing:- To trace the route of the cable.
Cable Identification:- To identify the required cable.

Fault Location in Cables

North Delhi Power Limited

Methods of Cable Testing:Methods

Instruments

Insulation Resistance

Megger

Voltage Testing

DC-voltage tester
AC-voltage tester
(For test object with small capacitance)

Fault Location in Cables

North Delhi Power Limited

Insulation Resistance Measurement:To Test of the ohmic resistance between two different
conductors (i.e. Phase to Earth & Phase to Phase)
For L.T Cables:- Phase to earth & Phase to phase to be
tested with 1KV Megger for 1min./ or till reading
stabilizes. Minimum IR value should be 50M.
For 11KV Cables:- Phase to earth & Phase to phase to
be tested with 2.5/5KV Megger for 1min./ or till
reading stabilizes. Minimum IR value should be
50M.

Fault Location in Cables

North Delhi Power Limited

Insulation Resistance Measurement:For 33KV Cables:- Phase to earth & Phase to phase to
be tested with 2.5/5KV Megger for 1min./ or till
reading stabilizes. Minimum IR value should be
100M.
For 66KV Cables:- Phase to earth & Phase to phase to
be tested with 2.5/5KV Megger for 1min./ or till
reading stabilizes. Minimum IR value should be
500M.

Fault Location in Cables

North Delhi Power Limited

Factor affecting Insulation Resistance :Due to Moisture entering in the cable

Due to deposit of dust/carbon particles at cable terminations.

Fault Location in Cables

Voltage Testing:North Delhi Power Limited

Testing of the insulation for break-down or high leakage

current.

DC-voltage Tester:- The cable may be HI-POTTED

only If IR value is found not satisfactory.
For LT cable:- Not applicable.
For 11KV Cable:- Each phase to be tested at 6.5KV for 5
min. with respect to ground and with other two
phases grounded. The cable must withstand the
test and leakage current should not exceed 2mA.

Fault Location in Cables

North Delhi Power Limited

DC-voltage Tester:For 33KV Cables:- Each phase to be tested at 19.5KV

for 5 min. with respect to ground and with other two
phases grounded. The cable must withstand the
test and leakage current should not exceed 1mA.
For 66KV Cables:- Each phase to be tested at 38KV for
5 min. with respect to ground and with other two
phases grounded. The cable must withstand the
test and leakage current should not exceed 1mA.

Fault Location in Cables

North Delhi Power Limited

Effect of Space Charges During DC Testing in

XLPE Insulation :XLPE insulation is a polymer, during manufacturing or
cable laid with damaged outer sheath, voids occur
in the insulation.
The negative test voltage injects electrons into the
dielectric & creates space charges around the
weak-spot in the cable insulation. This space
charge stays in the insulation after the test voltage
is shut off.

North Delhi Power Limited

Effect of moisture in the cable

North Delhi Power Limited

North Delhi Power Limited

Fault Location in Cables

Pre location:Arc Reflection Method:A high voltage pulse is applied to draw an arc at the place of
fault, thus making the fault low-resistive for a short time.
A test pulse is transmitted to this low-resistance fault and
reflected by the fault.

Fault Location in Cables

North Delhi Power Limited

Pinpointing:Acoustic Method:A pulse capacitor is charged with a high DC voltage and

discharged through a spark gap into the faulty
cable.
A disruptive discharge will occur at the place of fault
causing a noise which can be picked up by
Digiphone. The volume of discharge noise is
greatest directly above the cable fault.

North Delhi Power Limited

Thanks

North Delhi Power Limited

North Delhi Power Limited