Abstract
IN a paper read by D. B. Irvin before the Institution of Electrical Engineers in London on November 8, the performance, over the period of twelve years ended 1943, of the cable terminations on the British Grid system at voltages between 3·3 kV. and 132 kV. is reviewed, and the causes of breakdown are examined. For the period under review, termination failures account for approximately 40 per cent of the total cable circuit faults and they are classified as follows: design 39, workmanship 2, design or workmanship 18, maintenance 9, and system conditions 12. Failures on 6·6, 11 and 33 kV. circuits predominate. The failures attributed to design and workmanship were mainly due to imperfect stress control, inadequate internal clearances, compound migration, and presence of moisture; the incidence of these is discussed in the paper. The fundamental characteristics required of a cable termination are: (a) ability to withstand the electrical stresses associated with normal and emergency conditions of the voltage of the system and the occasional high-voltage impulses to which it will be subjected in service; (b) ability to carry the maximum rated current of the circuit and the maximum fault current of short duration to which the circuit is liable; (c) retention of its initial electrical and mechanical qualities without deterioration, during the statutory life of the cable circuit in which it is incorporated; and (d) economic cost to the user. Sectional drawings are included showing improved designs of sealing ends for various sizes and types of cables for voltages ranging from 3·3 to 132 kV., and the salient features of these are discussed briefly.
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Performance of Cable Terminations. Nature 155, 44 (1945). https://doi.org/10.1038/155044b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/155044b0