STUDY OF SURFACE DISCHARGES ON CABLE TERMINATION

Cable system breakdowns are mostly caused by some defect on cable terminations or joints. One of critical failure occurred in a photovoltaic power plant located in the Czech Republic where the cable channel with cable terminations was exposed to poor environmental conditions. The large amount of dust was accumulated on the cable surface and busbar components. The penetrating humidity, into the cable channel, condensed on its surface when the cable was unloaded. Probably, this effect was the reason of surface discharges initiation and propagation on the cable terminations. The insulation material of terminations was long-time stressed and finally the rapid degradation was accelerated. The breakdown occurred at the end and the high fault current caused the total destruction of medium voltage…