| Abstract: | The degradation of crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) cable insulation during service, such as thermo-oxidation and water treeing may lead to a premature electrical breakdown of the XLPE insulation cables. Therefore,it is necessary to optimize the period of replacement to evenly distribute the replacement cost by ascertaining the deterioration degree. Estimation of the aging degree is at present the most important task for diagnosis of the residual lifetime of the power cable insulation. This paper presents a study on the changes in the dielectric properties of the thermally aged XLPE cables in the frequency range from 0.07～10 MHz. Based on electrical and physicochemical characterization, some new "dactylograms" for the thermally aged XLPE cable insulation have been proposed. |
