Crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) cables are now widely used in power transmission. Due to various factors, XLPE cables are unavoidable to produce defects during installation, transportation and use. These defects can easily cause partial discharge and even lead to cable breakdown accidents, which can cause great losses. [1] In this paper, three typical defects in XLPE cables are studied: air gap defect inside XLPE insulation, metal spike defect on the surface of insulation layer and metal particle defect on the main insulation surface. Electric field simulation is carried out by COMSOL finite element software. Three corresponding cable models under 132kV DC voltage are established, and the simulation analysis of electric field strength is carried out. The field strength distributions for different defects are obtained. The results show that the overall electric field strength of the insulation defect decreases with the distance from the surface of the cable insulation layer. However, the distortion of the electric field strength at the defect is different according to the location and size of the insulation defect. It needs to be simulated under different conditions.

Lei Tao. Field Strength Simulation of Typical Defects in XLPE Cable. Academic Journal of Engineering and Technology Science (2022) Vol. 5, Issue 3: 20-26. https://doi.org/10.25236/AJETS.2022.050304.

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