Ra. Hartlein et al., EFFECTS OF VOLTAGE SURGES ON EXTRUDED DIELECTRIC CABLE LIFE - PROJECTUPDATE, IEEE transactions on power delivery, 9(2), 1994, pp. 611-619
Electric utility engineers have commented [1], [2] that extruded distr
ibution cables frequently fail during or shortly after a thunder storm
. These engineers also comment that failures often reoccur on cable ci
rcuits where previous failures were located with a thumper. Linemen at
Georgia Power often make similar comments. To investigate this observ
ation, crosslinked (XLPE) and tree retardant crosslinked (TRXLPE) cabl
e designs were subjected to accelerated water treeing tests. Samples w
ere subjected to simulated lightning surges or simulated thumping surg
es. Crosslinked cables removed after 15 years of service operation wer
e also subjected to these surges. The results show that, in some cases
, lightning surges do reduce extruded distribution cable life. Also, h
igh level thumping surges appear to reduce cable life once cables are
well aged.