What are the protective measures for power cable faults?

Wire and cable play an important role in the infrastructure construction of our country. Power cables are commonly used in urban underground power grids, power station outgoing lines, internal power supply of industrial and mining enterprises, and underwater transmission lines crossing rivers and seas. They are composed of four parts: wire core, insulation layer, shielding layer, and protective layer. They are essential materials for transmitting power energy and are widely used in economic production. Once a cable fails, it not only threatens the safe and stable operation of the power grid, but also causes economic losses to enterprises. In severe cases, it can cause chain reactions of damage. Therefore, how to quickly troubleshoot, solve faults, and prevent the occurrence of faults has become a major concern in the current power industry

Protective measures for power cable faults

1. Choose suitable cables for different transmission lines

When laying transmission lines, power workers should choose economical and practical cables based on the surrounding environment of the line. Oil paper cable has a relatively early origin and a relatively complete production process. Its structure is simple and the production process is also relatively simple. However, it has a defect that the low melting point insulation oil is prone to heat flow. When laying under high voltage difference, the insulation oil of the cable will flow from high places to low places, causing the insulation layer at high places to dry up and reduce its own insulation performance. At low places, the increase in oil pressure can cause lead to cracking of the lead sheath, leading to faults. Therefore, the selection of cables is particularly important when laying transmission lines. Nowadays, cross-linked polyethylene insulated cables are generally used in power systems, which can avoid faults caused by high drop and expand the transmission capacity of cables.  

2. Enhance the professional skills of staff and reduce human caused malfunctions

The normal operation of a transmission line is entirely determined by the quality of cable engineering construction. If the quality meets the standards during construction and the operation mode is appropriate, it can ensure the safe, sustainable and stable operation of the circuit. We must provide technical training to cable construction and operation personnel in our daily work to improve their technical level and reduce the occurrence of human caused failures.  

3. Strengthen the supervision of load current

According to the operation regulations of power cables, it is not allowed to generate overload current during line operation, which will cause the temperature of the cable to rise. Once overloaded, the cable will age and affect its service life, reducing its insulation performance. Once there is a weak insulation performance in the circuit, breakdown accidents may occur. Therefore, we must strengthen the monitoring of current to avoid breakdown accidents caused by overload. 

4. Supervise the insulation performance of cables and strive to detect potential flashover faults in cables in a short period of time

Flashover faults in cables generally occur during preventive testing. Therefore, by conducting planned preventive tests on cables and enhancing monitoring of their insulation performance, we can detect faults during these tests and reduce their occurrence.  

5. Preventive measures for transmission line tripping faults

Line tripping is one of the frequent faults in transmission lines, which is generally caused by equipment itself, external environmental factors, or human factors of personnel. Once a tripping fault occurs in the transmission line, it will lead to the paralysis of the entire transmission line. If this fault is not detected and resolved in a timely manner, it will bring inconvenience to people’s normal lives and even cause varying degrees of economic losses to enterprises. Therefore, during daily patrols, it is necessary to carefully investigate and avoid tripping accidents as much as possible. We also need to conduct a detailed analysis of the operation of the line and the locations where faults are prone to occur, summarize the patterns of their occurrence, and take appropriate protective measures based on evidence to ensure the safe and stable operation of the line.  

6. When laying cables, avoid or protect against unfavorable environments

If there are corrosive substances such as acid and alkali or underground sewage in the surrounding environment where cable lines are laid, we need to consider whether it is possible to change the location for laying or take effective anti fouling measures before laying. To address this issue, our power designers are required to carefully investigate and inquire about the local pollution situation when surveying and laying power lines.  

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Kvtester Electronics Technology Co.,Ltd. is a high-tech enterprise specializing in power testing, testing, research and development, production, and sales of testing equipment. It has been engaged in the electrical testing industry for many years, and its products are of high quality. We welcome customers to come and purchase. Service hotline: 0086-27-81778799, to learn more, visit the official website: www.kvtester.com