Simulation-based fault characterization of shearer trailing cables using a distributed multi-conductor model

• A simulation framework is established for fault analysis of shearer trailing cables. • Electrical responses of power, control, and ground cores are systematically compared. • Different cable faults exhibit clearly distinguishable transient response patterns. • Ground core signals enable effective detection of weak insulation-related faults. • The study supports feature extraction for engineering fault diagnosis systems. Shearer trailing cables operate under severe mechanical and electrical stresses in underground mining environments, where diverse insulation- and conductor-related faults frequently occur. To systematically investigate the electrical response characteristics associated with typical cable failures, this study develops a distributed multi-conductor simulation model of an MCP-0.66/1.14 mining cable, explicitly representing power, control, and grounding cores. Seven representative fault types—including single-phase grounding, inter-core short circuit, partial discharge, control-core misfiring, capacitive leakage, bending-induced contact degradation, and open-circuit disconnection—are implemented as controllable fault submodules within the simulation framework. Transient voltage and current responses are analyzed to extract fault-dependent electrical signatures. The results show that different fault mechanisms produce clearly distinguishable response patterns across cable cores. Grounding and short-circuit faults lead to abrupt voltage collapse and phase imbalance in power cores, while partial discharge and capacitive leakage primarily generate localized high-frequency disturbances in control and ground cores. Contact degradation due to bending induces simultaneous multi-core voltage fluctuations and current surges, whereas open-circuit faults are characterized by zero-current plateaus and floating voltages. The ground core is found to be particularly sensitive to weak leakage and discharge-related faults. These simulation results establish a direct mapping between fault mechanisms and measurable electrical responses, providing a reproducible diagnostic framework for fault identification, feature dataset construction, and the development of condition monitoring and diagnostic methods for underground shearer cable systems.