Conductor Identification Using Acoustic Signal Method

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Electrotechnical services spend a significant amount of time on cable tracing and conductor identification operations. Although the operation of conductor identification seems an easy job and a deeply researched topic, it may turn out to be time-consuming due to the large quantity of unidentified conductors (cables) and the certain stipulation that conductors should be de-energized and have uninsulated parts. This paper proposes a method based on the use of an acoustic signal as a carrier, making it possible to facilitate the identification process and significantly speed up the identification process. For the proposed method, mathematical modeling of the sound propagation in conductors and insulation is detailed. The sound pressure level subject to identified conductor length, conductor cross-section and insulation type was calculated on the basis of the model. The performed calculations revealed remarkable capabilities of the acoustic method for identifying conductors in comparison with other methods. So, the difference in sound pressure level is only 3.65% for distances from the identification point to the signal source of 5 m and 100 m, 0.42% between the minimum and maximum cross sections of conductors (1 mm2 and 25 mm2, respectively) and 0.22% between conductors with polyethylene and PVC insulations. The prototype of conductor identification device was assembled in a way that practically confirmed the theoretical research with the average percentage of discrepancy of about 1.44%. In addition, the paper analyzes the conductor identification operation constituents to justify the application of the acoustic method by comparison with other identification methods.