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This work presents the development, validation, and sensitivity analyses of a portable device capable of performing high-frequency dielectric spectroscopy tests on site. After a brief introduction on the operation principle and the description of the impact of frequency on dielectric spectroscopy, the article presents the results of tests on reference samples confirming good agreement with expected values. The frequency region in which the device operates, 1–200 kHz, was chosen because of its correlation with oxidative species of polymeric compound. The sensitivity analyses were performed measuring the dielectric response of low voltage cables with different aged lengths. The outcome of these tests is twofold. On the one hand, they confirm the suitability of the technique for aging evaluation, and, on the other hand, they allow the assessment of the minimum aged length (damage ratio) which causes appreciable variations on the obtained dielectric spectrum. This quantity was found to be ~35% of the total cable length.

The low voltage cables in the nuclear power plant have the same importance as veins have in the human body. Since, the cables inside the containment are under a number of environmental stress, out which the thermal and radiation stresses are important and become more effective with the presence of oxygen. These stresses cause the degradation of the insulation and hence may lead to insulation failure. To study the behavior of the cables under the nuclear power plant environmental stress, the cables are subjected to accelerated aging tests in laboratories which helps in determining their withstand capacity and degradation behavior in the harsh thermal-radiation environment. In this paper, the accelerated aging tests conditions are discussed with the focus on the role of certain uncertainty factors which effect the aging markers during the condition monitoring of the insulation material of cable after the accelerated aging tests. This review has been put into a framework to better understand the aging process in the low voltage nuclear power plant cables. In the conclusion part, some future directions in the field of the thermal-radiation multi-stress accelerated aging tests and condition monitoring techniques are also identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the climate emergency, new uses are plugged to low voltage (LV) electrical networks. The development of self-consumption complicates the LV grid operation, and force distribution system operators (DSOs) to better model and characterize their networks. DSOs mainly use a three-conductor model (3 CM) to compute power flows, and consider error margins of 2% for voltage profiles to reflect their model inaccuracy. The characteristics of the future LV grids call into question these margins, and the models used. In this paper, a four-conductor model (4 CM), and an additional model named 4 CMext, that considers external parameters (i.e., cable temperature, ground electrical resistivity, and value/number of the earthing resistances) are proposed. The best model for cable characterization and voltage profile calculation is chosen; the 4 CMext is more adapted for the characterization, and corresponds with the finite element model, with an error margin of 4%, experimental measurements of 15%, and French cable manufacturer data of 0.5%. For the voltage profile, the 4 CMext provides a more detailed view of the critical cases that could lead to a violation of the limits of the EN 50160 standard than 3 CM and 4 CM. Violations of high or low voltages are underestimated by two to six times by the 3 CM and 4 CM. Not considering external parameters can lead to a voltage profile error of above 3%. In this paper, we recommend that DSOs use the 4 CMext to represent LV networks, which would allow LV networks to be used closer to their physical limits, and avoid or postpone network reinforcements.

This work presents the development, validation, and sensitivity analyses of a portable device capable of performing high-frequency dielectric spectroscopy tests on site. After a brief introduction on the operation principle and the description of the impact of frequency on dielectric spectroscopy, the article presents the results of tests on reference samples confirming good agreement with expected values. The frequency region in which the device operates, 1–200 kHz, was chosen because of its correlation with oxidative species of polymeric compound. The sensitivity analyses were performed measuring the dielectric response of low voltage cables with different aged lengths. The outcome of these tests is twofold. On the one hand, they confirm the suitability of the technique for aging evaluation, and, on the other hand, they allow the assessment of the minimum aged length (damage ratio) which causes appreciable variations on the obtained dielectric spectrum. This quantity was found to be ~35% of the total cable length. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the climate emergency, new uses are plugged to low voltage (LV) electrical networks. The development of self-consumption complicates the LV grid operation, and force distribution system operators (DSOs) to better model and characterize their networks. DSOs mainly use a three-conductor model (3 CM) to compute power flows, and consider error margins of 2% for voltage profiles to reflect their model inaccuracy. The characteristics of the future LV grids call into question these margins, and the models used. In this paper, a four-conductor model (4 CM), and an additional model named 4 CMext, that considers external parameters (i.e., cable temperature, ground electrical resistivity, and value/number of the earthing resistances) are proposed. The best model for cable characterization and voltage profile calculation is chosen; the 4 CMext is more adapted for the characterization, and corresponds with the finite element model, with an error margin of 4%, experimental measurements of 15%, and French cable manufacturer data of 0.5%. For the voltage profile, the 4 CMext provides a more detailed view of the critical cases that could lead to a violation of the limits of the EN 50160 standard than 3 CM and 4 CM. Violations of high or low voltages are underestimated by two to six times by the 3 CM and 4 CM. Not considering external parameters can lead to a voltage profile error of above 3%. In this paper, we recommend that DSOs use the 4 CMext to represent LV networks, which would allow LV networks to be used closer to their physical limits, and avoid or postpone network reinforcements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]