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Sensor Design for Leakage Current Measurement on ADSS Fiber-Optic Cable
George G. Karady, Qi Huang, Devarajan Srinivasan Monty Tuominen
Arizona State University Bonneville Power Administration
Manuel Reta-Hernndez
Universidad Autnoma de Zacatecas

Abstract: All-Dielectric-Self-Supporting (ADSS) fiber-optic cables
are installed on high voltage transmission lines for communication
purposes. When the cables become polluted and wet, a conductive
layer is formed on the cables, and leakage currents are induced on
their leading to dry-band arcing. A comparatively large number of
fiber-optic cable outages have been reported lately in UK near sea-
coasts, and it is believed the dry-band arcing is the responsible for
the damage.
Knowledge of the leakage current levels on the cable surface be-
fore dry-band arcing can be used to predict cable failure. Monitor-
ing the leakage current can also yield information on the aging of
the cable. This paper presents a review of three different current
sensors that can be used on ADSS cables, which include a simple
shunt resistor, an active Rogowski coil, and a double core sensor.
The frequency response and output characteristics of the different
sensors are presented. A current monitoring system is designed and
constructed for use with ADSS on high voltage transmission lines
using a shunt resistor as a sensor. The system is self-contained and
consists of a solar panel, data acquisition system and cellular com-
munications. The system has been tested and its performance is
presented.
Keywords: ADSS, fiber-optic cables, dry-band arcing, current sen-
sor, data acquisition
I. INTRODUCTION
A. Brief overview of dry-band arcing on ADSS cables
Utilities often install ADSS (All-Dielectric-Self-
Supporting) Fiber Optic on high voltage transmission lines,
usually installed 10-20 feet below the high voltage conduc-
tors [1][2]. A grounded armor rod assembly supports the
cable at each tower [2] with a corona coil used to suppress
corona at the ends of the armor rods [3]. When the cable gets
polluted and wet, there exists a capacitive coupling between
the transmission line and cable and between the cable surface
and the ground, and then high voltage is induced on the sur-
face of the cable. The voltage difference between the
grounded armor rod assembly and the induced voltage on the
cable drives a current along the surface of the cable. The
current dries the cable producing small dry-bands, which in-
terrupt the current. If the voltage, appearing across the dry-
band, is sufficiently large, an arc develops across the dry-
band. The heat generated by the dry-band arcing destroys the
cable jacket over time, leading to cable failure [4][5].
Literature reviews and experimental studies have shown
that dry band arcing occurs when the cable is wet and pol-
luted, the current before dry-band arcing is around 1 mA or
greater, and the longitudinal electric field is sufficiently large
to flashover the dry band [5]. Computer models have been
developed to calculate the voltage and current distributions of
the system [6][7]. These models allow prediction of dry-band
arcing on ADSS fiber-optic cables. Inputs to this model in-
clude the physical arrangement of the ADSS cable on the
high voltage lines and the level of pollution on the cable. The
induced currents and voltages depend on the pollution level.
The pollution level along the length of the ADSS cable in
/m is a difficult parameter to measure. An instrument has
been developed to perform spot measurements of pollution on
ADSS cables [8]. However, long term measurements at mu l-
tiple locations are expensive and not practical. Long-term
current measurements can be made on the ADSS cable with
relative ease and at a lower cost [7].
B. Rationale for current monitoring
Experience has shown that damage to the ADSS cable due
to dry-band arcing depends on the power frequency current
flowing through the cable before formation of the dry-bands.
Field measurements and experimental results show that this
current increases gradually over time as the cable ages, loses
hydrophobicity and accumulates pollution. When the current
reaches 1 mA or above, there is a high probability of dry-
band arcing related failure of the cable [5]. By monitoring
the rms value of the current, dry-band arcing failures can be
predicted. In addition, by monitoring the change in current
levels, important information on the life of the cable can be
determined. If the current waveform is acquired, its fre-
quency information can reveal the existence of dry-band arcs.
C. Requirements of the current monitoring system
A range of 0 mA to 10 mA, at a resolution of 0.1 mA, was
specified for the system. The typical currents on ADSS cable
jackets in the field vary from 0 mA to 6 mA. An exact cor-
relation between the current level and dry-band arcing dam-
age has not been established. Hence, a resolution of 0.1 mA
was considered sufficient. For the same reason, the maxi-
mum allowable error was set at 5%. The system should be
capable of measuring the RMS value of the power frequency
current. Figure 1 shows a typical block diagram of the cur-
rent monitoring system. The system should have data storage
capability. Since the system would be installed in a remote
location, it should have remote communication capability.
The system should provide its own power supply. The sys-
tem should be able to withstand the harsh outdoor environ-
ment in close proximity to high voltage transmission lines.
Designing a current sensor to measure mA range currents and
operate in high electric and magnetic fields is challenging. A
design constraint is to avoid modifications to the existing
structure. The sensor should be lightweight, compact and
5
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J ornadas de I nvestigacin
Universidad Autnoma de Zacatecas
25 al 29 de J unio del 2001 Trabajo: TI/ UI-07/ 086

easy to install. The entire system should be capable of unat-
tended operation for at least 5 years.
Current
Sensor
Data
Acquisition
Data
Storage
Communication

Figure 1. Block diagram of current monitoring system
This paper presents the review of the current sensors and
the design of the data acquisition system.
II. CURRENT SENSOR REVIEW
Three different sensors were considered for use in the sys-
tem. These sensors include the simple shunt resistor, an ac-
tive Rogowski coil, and a double core CT. This section pre-
sents a review of the design considerations and performance
of the different sensors. The cost of the entire system is
dominated by the data acquisition and communication
equipment. The cost of each sensor presented here was less
than 5% of the total cost. Hence, the cost of the sensors was
not compared.
A. Simple shunt resistor
Using a simple shunt resistor for measuring the current is
very attractive. By selecting a low temperature coefficient of
resistance, high accuracy under large variations in tempera-
ture can be achieved. The sensor can operate from dc to
above 1 MHz. The only disadvantage of using a shunt resis-
tor is lack of isolation. This is not a problem for the system
as the armor rod assembly is grounded. The entire system
can be referenced to the grounded tower. A safety problem
could arise if the shunt is open-circuited due to a fault. Pro-
tection is provided using metal-oxide-varistors (MOV) or
other surge protection devices. Other advantages include
ease of installation and lack of external power supply.
B. Active Rogowski coil
A Rogowski coil is a toroid shaped winding placed around
the current path to be measured. Figure 2 shows a typical
Rogowski coil. The input current (i
1
) is the current to be
measured. The coil is an inductor that is mutually coupled to
the conductor being measured. The output signal (v
2
) is an
emf proportional to the rate of change of current. This is the
main difference between a current transformer and the
Rogowski coil [10]. The current can be measured by inte-
grating the output voltage of the Rogowski coil. The core
should have low relative permeability (usually air) to elimi-
nate saturation problems. The Rogowski coil provides isola-
tion from the signal being measured. Normally, the
Rogowski coil is used to detect large or impulse currents. For
mA current ranges, the main problems lie in amplifying the
low voltage signal and canceling of noise. These problems
are partially mitigated using a higher permeability core.
Rogowski coil has the advantages of small volume and easi-
ness to install.
For small currents, up to a few hundred mA, a high gain in-
tegration of the output voltage is necessary. This can be
achieved using a high-gain, low-offset differential integrator.
Hence, this sensor is also called an active Rogowski coil.
i
1
v
2

Figure 2. Rogowski coil
i
1
Signal
Generator
1.5 k
Integrating
Amplifier
v
o

Figure 3. Test circuit for active Rogowski coil
Figure 3 shows a test circuit used to determine the per-
formance of the Rogowski coil. A high permeability core
was used to build the Rogowski coil. A low permeability
core would distort the output waveform considerably even
with shielding. High permeability has the added advantage of
reducing the integrator gain requirements. A tradeoff is re-
quired in the design of number of turns. Larger number of
turns result in lower integrator gain, but reduce the frequency
response. The core dimensions were inner diameter = 17.8
mm, outer diameter = 35.6 mm, and thickness = 13.4 mm.
123 turns of 20 AWG enameled wire was wound on the coil.
The integrator gain was set at 6250.
Rogowski Coil
Output Characteristic
0
2
4
6
8
10
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0
Input Current (mA)
O
u
t
p
u
t

V
o
l
t
a
g
e

(
V
)Frequency = 60 Hz
Temperature = 30 C
Average Gain = 2.29 V/mA

Figure 4. Output characteristic of Rogowski coil
5
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J ornadas de I nvestigacin
Universidad Autnoma de Zacatecas
25 al 29 de J unio del 2001 Trabajo: TI/ UI-07/ 086

Rogowski Coil
Frequency Response
0
2
4
6
8
1 e+0 1 e+1 1 e+2 1 e+3 1 e+4 1 e+5 1 e+6 1 e+7
Frequency (Hz)
O
u
t
p
u
t

V
o
l
t
a
g
e

(
V
)
Input Current = 3.1 mA
Temperature = 30 C
Bandwidth = 20 Hz to 50 kHz
Gain = 2.3 V/mA in bandwidth

Figure 5. Frequency response of Rogowski coil
Rogowski Coil
Temperature Response
5.90
5.95
6.00
6.05
6.10
6.15
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Temperature (
o
C)
O
u
t
p
u
t

V
o
l
t
a
g
e

(
V
)
Output Voltage ~ 6 V @ 25 C
Frequency = 60 Hz
% Change = -1.7 % to + 1 %
Temperature Coefficient = 2.7 mV/
o
C

Figure 6. Temperature characteristics of the Rogowski coil
Figure 4 through Figure 6 show the performance of the
Rogowski coil. As shown in Figure 4, a gain of 2.29 V/mA
was achieved. The Rogowski coil has a flat frequency re-
sponse from 20Hz to 50 kHz (Figure 5). The change in out-
put voltage is less than 2% when the temperature ranges from
0
o
C to 55
o
C (Figure 6). The temperature coefficient is 2.7
mV/
o
C.
The disadvantages of using the Rogowski coil include the
need for a stable dc power supply for the op-amp integrating
circuit. The amplifier design is cumbersome as stability re-
quirements have to be met and optimization is difficult. A
Rogowski coil will be difficult to install, as the amplifier
electronics have to be close to the armor rod assembly. A
split core design was investigated. The split core Rogowski
coil can be easily installed on the fiber-optic cable assembly
at the towers. However, the performance of this design was
unacceptable. This is mainly due to the fact that the air gap
inherent in a split-core design reduces the permeability
greatly.
C. Double core current transformer
The construction of the double core current transformer is
shown in Figure 7. Two high permeability cores are used.
The first core steps up the current in the ratio 1:N
1
. The sec-
ond core steps down the current by a ratio N
2
:1. The output
current is calculated by measuring the voltage across the re-
sistance R. Neglecting leakage inductances, the total gain is
given by:
2
1
1
o
N
R N
I
V
= (1)
Since no active integrator is required, the additional power
supply required for the Rogowski coil is eliminated. Offset
and stability problems are eliminated. The measured current
has to flow through a large number of turns. This is not a
problem, since the current is in the mA level and impedance
of the CT, seen by the current, is negligible compared to the
pollution level resistance. Temperature does not affect the
operation significantly.
N
1
N
2
I
1
I
2
I
3
R
V
o
+
-

Figure 7. Double core current transformer
A double core CT was built to give a gain of 539 with a
burden resistance R = 1 . Figure 8 gives the output charac-
teristics of the double core CT at 60 Hz. Figure 9 shows the
frequency response of the double core CT. The performance
of the CT is poor at high frequencies. The bandwidth of the
CT is restricted to 180 Hz to 780 Hz. Obviously, this sensor
cannot be used for measuring dry-band arcing. The error at
the power frequency (~ 4%) is within the specified 5% accu-
racy requirement but this constrains the design of the rest of
the system to be impractical. The design could be improved
using a higher permeability core. Installation requirements of
the double core CT are identical to the Rogowski coil. Split
cores cannot be used because of their low permeability. The
double core CT provides isolation similar to the Rogowski
coil. The added isolation permits using the sensor at loca-
tions other than the tower, if desired.
Double Core CT
Output Characteristics
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
1.4
1.6
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5
Iin (mA)
V
o
u
t

(
V
)
Average Gain = 0.535 V/mA (error = -0.6%)
Theoretical Gain = 0.539 V/mA (error = -1.3%)

Figure 8. Output characteristics of the double core CT
5
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J ornadas de I nvestigacin
Universidad Autnoma de Zacatecas
25 al 29 de J unio del 2001 Trabajo: TI/ UI-07/ 086

Double Core CT
Frequency Response
1.10
1.12
1.14
1.16
1.18
1.20
1.22
1.24
1.26
1.28
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
Frequency (Hz)
V
o
u
t

(
V
)
Iin ~ 2.27 mA
Bandwidth = 180 Hz to 780 Hz

Figure 9. Frequency response of the double core CT
Datalogger
Battery with
Charger
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
*
0
#
- - - - 6
Transceiver
M
o
d
e
m
Corona Coil
Fiber Optic
Cable
Armor Rods
Copper Braid
Fiber Glass
Board
Shunt R
MOV
Co-Axial
Cable
Antenna
Solar Panel
NEMA Type 4
Enclosure
Cellular Phone
& Transceiver

Figure 10. Current monitoring system for ADSS cables

III. SYSTEM CONSTRUCTION
The simple shunt resistor was chosen as the sensor. This
sensor provided the best accuracy, frequency response and
temperature performance as explained in section II a. A
MOV was connected in parallel to the shunt resistor for
safety reasons. One end of the shunt resistor is connected to
the grounded armor rod assembly. The entire system is refer-
enced to this ground. Figure 10 shows the construction of the
current monitoring system for ADSS cables. The resistor and
MOV are encapsulated with DAP

elastomeric outdoor seal-


ant for protection against the weather and installed within the
corona coil to suppress corona.
A co-axial cable is used to connect the sensor output to the
data acquisition system. The datalogger samples data at 720
samples per second. The system acquires three 60 Hz cycles
every second and stores the rms and peak value of the cur-
rent. Every hour, it also stores the acquired waveform data.
The datalogger has enough memory for two weeks of data
storage. A 36 W solar panel and sealed lead-acid battery with
a charger are used to power the system. A 3W analog cellu-
lar transceiver-modem is used to communicate with the data-
logger from a remote PC. The cellular system is also pow-
ered from the datalogger battery. The cellular system is only
turned on for a few hours every day to conserve power. The
remote PC has software that communicates with the datalog-
ger, downloads data, and performs data analysis. The maxi-
mum connection speed between the PC and datalogger is
9600 baud. The reliability of this system depends on cellular
coverage at the installation service.
IV. SYSTEM PERFORMANCE
The datalogger makes differential measurements in the
range 2.5 V, corresponding to 50 mA. A larger range (>
10mA) was chosen as a safety precaution to account for cur-
rent spikes. No significant change in accuracy was observed
by choosing this higher range. A series of tests were con-
ducted to evaluate the performance of the system. The results
of these tests are summarized in the following paragraphs.
A. Bandwidth
Figure 11 shows a typical current waveform during dry-
band arcing. Experimental studies have shown that most of
the damage is caused by steady 60 Hz-type arcing charac-
terized by Figure 11.
The datalogger samples data at 720 Hz and hence, informa-
tion up to the 6
th
harmonic can be acquired accurately. As
mentioned before, the power frequency current (without har-
monics) before the formation of the dry-band is the most im-
portant to predict dry-band arcing. By knowing how the rms
value of the 60 Hz current changes over time, imminent dry-
band arcing can be predicted.
B. Current measurement
The system was initially tested using a function generator.
Then a computer with LabVIEW

was used to generate a


series of test waveforms. These waveforms were input to the
system to test its operation in the presence of dry-band arc-
ing. Figure 12 shows the simulated waveform output by
LabVIEW

and the data acquired by the system. The simu-


lated waveform data was actual dry-band arcing data acquired
by LabVIEW

. The system does not perform satisfactorily in


the presence of high-frequency dry-band arcing current.
However, examining the acquired waveform data can provide
information on the existence of dry-band arcing.
Dry-band arcing was simulated in the laboratory and the
actual current was measured using the system. Figure 13
shows the waveforms acquired by the system during the test
at two different times. Figure 13 shows the sinusoidal wave-
form acquired when the cable was wet, and the arcing wave-
form acquired when dry-band arcing was present on the ca-
ble. The system was calibrated using the results of these
tests.
5
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J ornadas de I nvestigacin
Universidad Autnoma de Zacatecas
25 al 29 de J unio del 2001 Trabajo: TI/ UI-07/ 086

Typical Dry-Band Arcing Current
-15
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
0 20 40 60 80
Time (ms)
C
u
r
r
e
n
t

(
m
A
)

Figure 11. Typical current during dry-band arcing
Simulated Waveform
-0.4
-0.2
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
0 10 20 30 40 50
Time (ms)
V
o
l
t
a
g
e

(
V
)

(a)
Measured Waveform
-0.4
-0.2
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
0 10 20 30 40 50
Time (ms)
V
o
l
t
a
g
e

(
V
)

(b)
Figure 12. Performance of system, (a) simulated and (b) measured wave-
forms
Acquired Current Waveforms
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
0 10 20 30 40 50
Time (ms)
C
u
r
r
e
n
t

(
m
A
)
Arcing Sinusoidal

Figure 13. Current waveforms acquired by system
C. Corona Test
The system was setup as shown in Figure 10, and tested for
corona. An energized conductor was placed at a distance of
35 cm from the setup. The conductor was energized at 100
kV. A night vision, optical sensor was used to detect corona.
No corona was observed on or near the sensor when the co-
rona ring is in place.
D. Long Term Outdoor Performance
The system was installed outdoors for three weeks at Ari-
zona State University. A function generator was used to pro-
vide input to the system. This setup was used to test the solar
panel, battery charger, communication system, and long term
stability of the system under high temperature conditions.
The ambient temperature reached 46
o
C.
The communication system performed satisfactorily. Data
was downloaded every day. The communication equipment
presents the greatest load on the power supply. The solar
panel was able to keep the battery fully charged for the entire
duration of the test. A 20 m long co-ax cable was used to
connect the sensor to the system. This was done to ensure
that the NEMA 4 enclosure (Figure 10) could be installed, if
required, at the base of the transmission tower, away from the
high voltage. The maximum error for the entire test was re-
corded at 1.5%, well within the 5% specification.
E. Software
The data acquis ition system consists of communications
software that is used to download data to remote computers.
The data collection process can be automated and the com-
munication software has built -in error checking and correc-
tion. The data from the datalogger is stored as a coma sepa-
rated ASCII file and can be analyzed using any commercial
software. A Visual Basic

macro was written for Excel

to
facilitate the analysis.
5
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J ornadas de I nvestigacin
Universidad Autnoma de Zacatecas
25 al 29 de J unio del 2001 Trabajo: TI/ UI-07/ 086

V. CONCLUSIONS
Dry-band arcing on ADSS cables can be predicted by
monitoring the current on the cables. The growth of current
over time will provide information on the aging of the cable.
The existence of dry-band arcing can be determined by exa m-
ining the current waveforms.
This paper reviews three different current sensors for
measuring the dry-band arcing on ADSS cables: the
simple shunt resistor, the active Rogowski coil, and the
double core CT.
The cost of the system is dominated by the data acquis i-
tion and communications equipment. Hence, the choice
of a current sensor is independent of cost.
A current monitoring system was built and tested at
Arizona State University. The shunt resistor was cho-
sen because of its simplicity and good performance.
The system can measure currents at the tower only,
since one end of the resistor has to be grounded. A
MOV is connected in parallel with the resistor for pro-
tection.
A commercial datalogger was used to acquire and store
the data. Communications to the datalogger is achieved
through a cellular connection. A solar panel and re-
chargeable battery are used to power the entire system.
The system operates reliably in outdoor environments.
Future work could focus on the following aspects:
1. High frequency current measurement
2. Real time digital signal processing of the dry-band arc-
ing current
3. Further research on current sensors e.g. fiber-optic sen-
sors
VI. REFERENCES
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aerial cable link on 110 kV line, 1984 CIGRE Confer-
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[2] Rowland, K. Craddock, et.al., The development of a
metal-free, self supporting optical cables for use on long
span high-voltage overhead power lines, Proceedings
of the 36th IWCS, Arlington, 1987, pp. 449-456.
[3] Jurdens, H. Haag, R. Buchwald, Experience with opti-
cal fiber aerial cables on high tension power lines,
1988 CIGRE Conference, Paris, Paper 22-11.
[4] Berkers, J. M. Wetzer, Electrical stresses on a self-
supporting metal-free cable in high voltage networks,
Proceedings of the 5
th
DMMA, Canterbury, June 1988,
IEE Conference publication No 286, pp. 69-72.
[5] C.N. Carter, Dry band electrical activity on optical
cables separately strung on overhead power lines, Pro-
ceedings of the 37
th
IWCS, Reno, November 1988, pp.
117-121.
[6] G Karady, D. Srinivasan, M. Tuominen, Computer
simulation of fiber-optic cable failures due to dry-band
arcing, Proceedings of the 1999 Power Engineering
Society Summer Meeting, July 1999, 99SM-127.
[7] C.N. Carter, M.A. Waldron, Mathematical model of
dry-band arcing on self supporting, all-dielectric, optical
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ings-C, Vol. 139, No. 3, May 1992, pp. 185-196.
[8] K.S. Edwards, P.D. Pedrow, R.G. Olsen, Portable
ADSS surface contamination meter, Conference on
Electrical Insulation and Dielectric Phenomena, Annual
Report 1999, vol. 1, 1999, pp. 158 -161.
[9] N.R. Haigh, S.M. Rowland, A.J. Taha, C.N. Carter, A
fully instrumented installation and trial of a novel all-
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th
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[10] A.M. Luciano, M.Savastano, Wide band transformer
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