Study on Simulation Test of Thermal Breakdown of Power Cables

The thermal breakdown failure of power cables is different from other failures. It is mainly caused by the thermal effect during the operation of the cable, and the main cause of this breakdown failure is the water ingress defect of the cable. This paper aims to explore a simple detection method that can easily detect the thermal breakdown failure of power cables. This paper first made two models for the water ingress defect of power cables to simulate the water ingress defect of cables in real situations. Then, using the oscillation wave detection equipment, the two defect models were pressurized for detection, and the current rise waveform during the pressurization process was obtained and analyzed. The difference between the water-defective cable and the intact cable was obtained, which provided a reference for the detection method of thermal breakdown of power cables.