Recent trends in high voltage cable accessories for extruded AC power cables

Alexander Eigner, M.Sc., Tyco Electronics Raychem GmbH, Ottobrunn, Germany Fency Anthony, Raychem RPG (P) Ltd, Gujarat, India

Abstract
Based on the fact that the majority of new cable circuits are using power cables with extruded insulation, the technology of the corresponding high voltage cable accessories has also moved from oil/paper to dry materials. Furthermore the development of the main accessories groups joints and terminations showed major improvement over the last years and represent today intensively developed and complex products. This article shows the current status of the technology of high voltage cable accessories and connectors. The current possibilities are shown and additionally trends and future product developments are discussed.

Introduction

Originally (approx. 1920s) stress control technology inside accessories was based on wrapped papers. For this, conductive papers were wrapped in such a way that the end of the semi conductive layer of the power cable represented a geometrical cone. This shape defines the electrical field distribution between earth and high voltage electrode and reduces the electrical stress down to uncritical levels. Today this taping technology is only in use where oil/paper cables are still in operation and not replaced yet. No doubt, this was the most appropriate design with regard to purely technical requirement. But the oil/paper cables and accessories usage is in decline and will become less important in future. This type of cable and accessories proved less optimal under the newly arising aspects of increased environmental constraints, minimised losses, installation ease, low maintenance and least cost. Nowadays the dominating cable insulation material is XLPE up to voltages of 550 kV. An example can be seen in picture 1; this shows the increase of XLPE cables between 1996 and 2006. Consequently the insulation material of cable accessories changed from impregnated to dry as well [1]. Today there are materials like EPR (Ethylene-Propylene-Rubber) or SIR (Silicone rubber) in use [2]. This technology implies some advantages compared to the former used oil/paper technology: Quality of stress control element is independent of jointer skills Every piece can be 100% electrically tested Geometry is predefined Easy to install

Based on these facts, this article will focus on highvoltage cable accessories for cables with extruded insulation and for AC networks only1.
600% 500% 400%
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300% 200% 100% 0% -100%

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Figure 1: Comparison of 1996 and 2006 data for underground cable in the range of 110 to 219 kV [3]

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In general there are three main groups of cable accessories: Terminations (sealing ends) Switchgear/Transformer terminations (equipment terminations) Joints

Terminations provide the function to enable a connection point to the conductor at the end of the power cable. This connection point is always in air but could be inside in a building or outside. Accordingly it is a
1 This paper was presented at the Central Board of Irrigation & Power conference 22-23rd January 2013 in New Delhi, India (Latest Trends and Best Practices in HV and EHV Cables System)

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Present high voltage cable accessories design

so called indoor or outdoor termination. If the termination ends inside a transformer or switchgear it is called equipment termination. A joint has the opposite function, not to be the end but rather to connect two power cables with each other in order to increase the total power cable length. The main component of every cable accessory is always the stress control element. If the voltage is higher then 72 kV then all available techniques are reduced onto the geometrical technology [4]. The higher stresses may not make effective the use of stress control tubes, rather the quantity of these tubes will be high and not practical. This element must control the electric field distribution inside the accessory and ensure that it does not exceed the material limits. At this the normal operation at rated voltage and also the occurrence of short impulses with much higher level must be considered.
100

Conductor Semiconductive screen Insulation material Metallic screen Armouring Oversheath

The specific setup of a high and extra high voltage power cable is not standardized and consequently every cable accessory has to be adopted on each cable design. This requires a certain flexibility of the design and system of the cable accessories. Prospectively this will become more important because more and more energy utilities do not insist on same manufacturer of the cable and accessory at the same time.

2.1 Terminations
Based on the fact that the majority of terminations are installed outdoors, the ambient conditions have a major impact on their performance. For this reason the insulator of the termination may be different with respect to creepage length and insulator length. The creepage length depends on the pollution level of the surroundings and the commonness of rain or cleaning [6]. This classification was changed in 2008. The class I-IV are now transformed into class a-e (very light to very heavy) with different levels compared to before. Further, the inclination of the installation has also a major effect on this. In contrast the insulator length is affected by the insulation level (BIL) of the energy network and the altitude at which the termination is installed [7].
E l e c tr i c fi e l d s tr e n g th - k V / m m

10

1 10 100 Rated voltage - kV 1000

Figure 2: Electric field inside a high voltage power cable Figure 2 shows the electric field levels inside a power cable which must be controlled at the end of the cable by the accessory. The red points show the electric field at rated voltage and for the inner and outer surface of the insulation respectively. Blue points are indicating the same but for impulse stress. The most critical value for cable accessories is the electric field at the outer surface at impulse voltage. This level defines the properties of the stress control element. Current trends in power cable manufacturing show that the insulation thickness will be reduced further. Especially power cables so called high stress cables - for rated voltages of 123 kV 170 kV show a very high operating and impulse electric stress level which can already be compared with the level of 500 kV cables. This increase has to be considered in cable accessory design and requires a verification of established cable accessory designs. Additionally all cable accessories have in common that they have to fit on the available cable construction. But the design of the power cable is highly depended on the intended use and the requirements of the customer and the basic elements such as insulation thickness or cable shielding may vary [5]:

Figure 3: Self supporting oil filled outdoor termination with composite insulator (cut-out and tower installed) All these factors must be taken into consideration regardless of the insulator material composite or porce-

lain. Both types are in use but the trend goes towards composite for the following reasons: Safety in case of a critical event; Non-brittle; Shatterproof Ease of handling Less weight Shorter lead times More flexible design Hydrophobic UV Stable High pollution resistance Good di-electric properties Resistance to PD Hardly inflammable Less necessity for washing

gear/Transformer termination. Further, the notable features of the Dry Outdoor terminations make it more attractive for use: Dry interface, no oil filling; void-free epoxy makes an ideal insulation. Self-supporting Pre-fabricated and factory tested silicone rubber stress cone Torque-controlled multi-contact conductor bolt Reduced length of cable to be prepared Fast and simple installation combing GIS plug-in technology with polymeric insulators No special tools required for installation Isolated cable gland for sectionalisation Long creepage length of insulator Installation at various angles

In case of a wet outdoor termination the interior of the self-supporting termination is most likely filled with liquid silicone oil which prevents on the one hand internal discharges due to a high electric field and on the other hand it keeps the moisture level low. Especially in areas where the temperature is changing strongly, the filled silicone oil prevents internal condensation thereby averting breakdown. Another benefit is that silicone oils do not need to be heated on site and the performance in case of minor moisture ingress is better than for butylene oil. This also makes it relatively easy to install. A major advantage of this type of termination is that it can be installed on the transmission tower itself thereby saving precious space normally taken up by a gantry. The other type of self supporting outdoor termination does not need any liquid or gel in order to provide the same function. In this case the inner insulation is a specially shaped stress cone which is compressed against the inner wall of the termination entry. Inside the electrical contact is provided by a spring system which connects the plug-in part with the inner bushing of the outdoor termination. The material which is the inner component is made of resin completely and provides the necessary rigidity. The plug-in functionality of this type of termination is comparable to dry equipment terminations and allows operation at every angle. The design is available for operation under severe environmental conditions. Polymeric insulated cables of various designs can be adopted with respect to shielding and metal sheath. The polymeric housing with long creepage length covers extreme pollution levels. Its mechanical performance is similar to conventional oil-filled terminations with composite housing. The termination is easily separable. Due to relatively short cable dimensions of the plug-in, the time required to install the terminations is very short and can be reduced further in case of short cable links by pre-installing the plug-in on the shopfloor. The plugin is similar to the one used for the Dry Switch-

Figure 4: Self supporting dry outdoor terminations with composite insulator Another variant in the dry termination family is the Dry Flexible type. It is typically available for 126 kV system voltage. The important features include: It is a single piece termination body with premoulded stress cone on the inside and sheds on the outside. Creepages of up to 4590 mm can be obtained. It is lighter in weight (typically about 35 kg!) Ease of installation and faster assembly Maintenance free in service It can be installed at any position

Figure 5: Dry flexible equipment termination

Figure 6: Oil filled equipment termination and dry equipment termination with IEC adapter Additionally the stress control element of the dry equipment termination has a special shape. This shape matches the inner geometry of the resin insulator. In installed status the stress control element is pressed against the insulator so that the interface is free of any void or air and no electrical discharges can occur. For this the spring is designed in such a way as to ensure enough compression force of this system for all operation conditions and a life time of 30 years. On the other hand this shows that insulator and stress control element will fit to each other only using of two different suppliers for both parts is not possible.

2.2 Switchgear / Transformer terminations

If the cable does not end in air but inside a device then another type of sealing end is used. Compared to the outdoor termination the main components still exist but the hollow core insulator is replaced by a resin insulator with a different geometry. This geometry is made according to IEC 62271-209 which specifies the outer shape of this insulator and guarantees that this part will fit in every standardised switchgear or transformer housing. Same as for outdoor terminations two types of equipment terminations exist: oil filled and dry version. Both types provide the same main functionality but with the dry version additional features are present: Separable connection; Plug in type termination Independent testing of switchgear and cable possible No oil filling required inside the termination, hence no waiting or settling time Shorter length of cable preparation Smaller size and lighter weight of termination Epoxy insulator can be fitted by GIS/transformer manufacturer itself IEC adapter will match height of existing oil filled termination Dimension complies as per IEC 62271-209.

2.3 Joints
Similar to the previous accessories, two different joint designs are present today. The single piece and the three piece design. Single piece joints (see figure 5, left sample) consist of one body only. The stress control of both cable ends and the insulation against the earth potential is integrated in one single piece. This minimises the interfaces on which the jointer has to pay attention. But compared to a multi piece design the forces which arise during an installation are higher. Consequently for single piece joints push on tools are likely to be required.

These are the reasons why the quantity of oil filled equipment terminations is decreasing whereas the dry version increases. It is expected that the oil filled version will play only a minor role in future.

2.4 Connectors for high-voltage cable accessories

All cable accessories have one element in common which is the connector. This part provides the function to connect two cables to each other or a fixed connection point for other high-voltage equipment like termination and overhead line. Due to the fact that there are several cable conductor constructions available, many different connector technologies are present. The today most used technologies are: Compression Mechanical Welding

Figure 7: Single and three piece joint Three piece joints (see figure 5, right sample) have for each stress control element a separate adapter and one main insulation body. At installation all three parts will be put together. Up to 145 kV this can be done normally without any special tooling. At 170 kV the compression forces [8] for a proper interface will become sufficiently high that a pulling tool will be required. Having separate adapters gives the possibility to accommodate size transitions between cables with different cross sections e.g. 300mm2 to 630mm2. Therefore the same main body will be used but different adapters will be assembled on each side. Another positive argument for the three piece design is the lack of need for parking length on the power cable. In this case all parts are installed directly and the step of protecting the parking length after joint body installation is removed. The resultant joint will have shorter length as compared to a single piece joint.

These connectors must provide current carrying capacity in case of normal operation and short circuit events as well as to fit into each cable accessory. In both cases the temperature of the connector should be below the cable temperature. For this a low contact resistance, no creep and a high thermal capacity are necessary [9]. These days for each conductor a different connector does exist but this makes production, storage and installation difficult. For this reason all connector manufacturers are working towards one connector which can work on different conductor materials (e.g. copper and aluminium), conductor constructions (e.g. stranded, solid, Milliken) and should be range taking. From the technical point of view the mechanical connector technology is most promising because most of these points are covered already today. Additionally this type of connector has a fixed shape which will remain before and after installation. Compression connectors change their length during compression. Welding technology neither change length nor shape significantly. There are in-situ moulded joints available where one even cannot see that it is a joint (Japanese technology).

3. Summary
The design electric field stress of high-voltage power cables will continue to increase due to economic and technological reasons. One the one hand high-voltage cable accessories have to work under these higher stresses but on the other hand they are facing decreasing installation know-how. This requires highly developed and proven high-voltage cable accessories. This process is ongoing and will take place for the next years in order to adopt the current high voltage cable accessories for the requirements of the futures power networks. Needless to say, the cost-benefit analysis favours the Dry type equipment terminations and Dry type outdoor terminations. The advantages are also more to reap and are widely becoming popu-

Figure 8: Three piece joint

lar amongst users. Similarly, the use of 3-piece joints is increasing especially due to its inherent advantage of being used to join cables with different conductor sizes, ease of installation and shorter installed length.

International conference on renewable energies and power quality, 2006, Palma de Mallorca.

4. Literature
[1] A. Eigner and M. Garbarski Tyco Electronics Raychem high voltage cable accessories for extruded power cables - Status and trends, XVII Konferencji Szkoleniowo-Technicznej; Elektroenergetyczne linie kablowe i napowietrzne; KABEL 2010, Zakopane, Poland. [2] J. Kindersberger, Silikonelastomere fr Kabelgarnituren, Isolatoren und berspannungsableitern Profil einer Werkstofffamilie, ETGFachtagung Silikonelastomere, 2003, pp. 19. [3] CIGRE working group B1.07, Statistics of AC underground cables in power networks, December 2007, ISBN 978-2-85873026-1. [4] A. Eigner, S. Semino: Feldsteuertechnologien bei Kabelgarnituren berblick und Stand der Technik , Elektrizitaetswirtschaft, Heft 15/2008, Seite 56 - 58, Germany. [5] J. Kaumanns and G. Schrder Bedeutung von Grenzflchen bei Design, Entwicklung, Prfung und Inbetriebnahme von HochspannungsKabelgarnituren, ETG-Fachtagung Grenzflchen in elektrischen Isoliersystemen, 2005, pp. 201206, ISBN 3-8007-2879-6. [6] IEC Standard 60815-3, Selection and dimensioning of high-voltage insulators intended for use in polluted conditions Part 3: Polymer insulators for a.c. systems, October 2008, ISBN 2-8318-1015-6. [7] IEC Standard 60071, Insulation co-ordination, December 1996, CEI/IEC 71-2: 1996. [8] A. Eigner and S. Semino Ermittlung des Anpressdrucks von Silikonisolierungen und dessen Einfluss auf das Isoliervermgen von Grenzflchen, ETG-Fachtagung Grenzflchen in elektrischen Isoliersystemen, 2008, pp. 193 196, ISBN 978-3-8007-3116-9. [9] IEC Standard 61238-1, Compression and mechanical connectors for power cables for rated voltages up to 30 kV (Um = 36 kV) - Part 1: Test methods and requirements, May 2003, ISBN 0580-42751. [10] IEC Standard 60287-1, Current rating equations (100 % load factor) and calculation of losses General Part 1, November 2001, ISBN 28318-5992-1. [11] J.R. Riba Ruiz1 and X. Alabern Morera, Effects of the circulating sheath currents in the magnetic field generated by an underground power line,