Abstract
The effect of short-term (3- and 6-h-long) periodic thermal aging was investigated at three different temperatures on PVC cables and PVC films. Three different temperatures (110, 125, and 140 °C) were used for aging PVC cables and one (110 °C) for PVC films. PVC films were prepared for the investigation containing 0, 30, 40, and 50 weight percent of dioctyl phthalate plasticizer (DOP). The effect of short-term thermal aging was monitored by electrical (dielectric spectrum and voltage response measurement) and mechanical (Shore D hardness) methods. From the loss factor measurements, different deducted quantities were calculated and compared with Shore D hardness, which has been shown to be a parameter reflecting the effect of short-term thermal aging on PVC insulation. The measurements revealed that Shore D hardness is not the best property for monitoring aging. Instead, increasing dissipated power and the shifting behavior of tan δ–frequency curves proved to be the best phenomena for assessing the impact of thermal aging. Simple deducted quantities may provide a basis for following short-term thermal aging.
Highlights
Due to strict regulations, the market share of low-smoke halogen-free cables is rapidly increasing.polyvinyl chloride (PVC)-insulated low-voltage (LV) cables are still prominent for electrical distribution and the safe operation of nuclear power plants (NPPs) [1,2,3]
New challenges brought about by distributed generation and novel appliances connected to the LV distribution grid increase the need to extend these techniques to LV distribution cables
As in [11,18,19], the hardness hardness of the jacket after an initial drop increases, and this behavior can be inspected at each aging of the jacket after an initial drop increases, and this behavior can be inspected at each aging temperature
Summary
The market share of low-smoke halogen-free cables is rapidly increasing.polyvinyl chloride (PVC)-insulated low-voltage (LV) cables are still prominent for electrical distribution and the safe operation of nuclear power plants (NPPs) [1,2,3]. Condition monitoring and an understanding of the degradation processes due to short-term thermal stress for low-voltage cables have been of interest to the nuclear industry because of qualification requirements [4,5]. Connecting appliances to the low-voltage grid due to reverse power flow may cause the aggregated load to surpass the cable’s rated capacity in a way that might be undetected by a protecting fuse. These short-term overloads lead to temperature elevation above rated operating limits, which may lead to damage that can decrease the lifetime of cables [3,6]. If the temperature is followed using smart meters and the correlation with aging is known, a better condition monitoring system can be created [7], increasing the reliability of the LV distribution cable networks
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