Cable Installation Research Articles

Real-time and Contactless Mold Thermal Monitoring: Improving Metallurgy, Quality and Productivity of Billets and Blooms

Today the mold thermal mapping technology is typically applied to the CCMs for slabs with solutions based on the installation of thermocouples (TC) or optical fibre cables (OFC), inserted into channels machined in the plate molds. The final installation is complex, since every single mold must be machined and the quantity of cables is considerable, making every mold change a complex and time-consuming activity. Extending TC or OFC application to billets and blooms would require invasive and expensive CNC machining of the curved mold tubes. In order to overcome these limits, Ergolines designed a new system based on contactless ultrasound technology which provides the real-time mold thermal map without the need to machine the copper, offering a new reliable tool also to the CCMs for small sections. By providing real-time data of the thermal distribution of the mold, Ergolines’ system can be fruitfully used by the technical personnel to improve the casting practice, the steel quality and the plant productivity.

Magnetic Force Simulation of Cables in Microgrid during Faults

In recent years, more and more electric utilities are using underground cables to distribute electric power rather than overhead transmission line. However, the cost of installation and maintenance of underground cables is very expensive. Thus, the proper design and damage prediction of cables are crucial. This paper is focused on the magnetic force waveforms simulation of cables under different types of faults using PSCAD and COMSOL. The results show that three-phase fault leads to the largest magnetic forces and the maximum magnitude of the forces in the x-direction is about 2.5 N. Also, the magnetic fields surrounding the cables are different depending on the arrangements of cables buried method. Although the magnitude is small, considering the long distance and long operating time of underground cables, the forces between cables can cause failures under some conditions. In the future, more types of faults such as high impedance fault and different protecting technologies can be studied.

Process-based balance of system cost modeling for offshore wind power plants in the United States

This paper describes the development of a process-based and open-source balance of system cost model that provides the capability to evaluate both existing and novel offshore wind technologies. Individual design and installation steps are represented with bottom-up engineering models that compute times and costs associated with the process; furthermore, operational constraints are assigned to each process so that delays caused by weather and presence of marine mammals may be accounted for in the overall project timeline. The model structure, assumptions, inputs, and results are vetted with industry partners and compared against actual projects for validation. Installation times show reasonable agreement with real data. Project cost sensitivities are investigated to compute the system-level impact of different design choices. First, individual vessel efficiencies are computed for varying numbers of installation vessels and weather time series to show the diminishing returns of more than two feeder barges. Then, array cable capital costs and installation times are determined for a representative project with different turbine sizes. These values quantify the cost-benefit tradeoffs and show a net-cost savings of decreasing numbers of turbines, increased turbine spacing, and fewer turbine terminations. These results demonstrate that the balance of system model features the accuracy, functionality, and accessibility to serve as the foundation for a wide range of analyses to identify cost reduction potentials for offshore wind energy in the United States.

Design Analysis and Evaluation of a W-Element Model for a Twisted-Pair Cable

Unlike the twisted pair cable's simple installation mechanism, evaluating a circuit equivalent and certifying it is not very convenient anymore. Although the best way to model transmission lines is to use the field solver software programs such as ANSYS Maxwell or HFSS, this procedure is very overwhelming and time-consuming. This paper presents a straightforward approach to extract a W-element model for the twisted pair cable based on its structural and electrical characteristics. The W-element model employs a novel state-of-the-art transmission line simulation method which is very fast, accurate and robust. Both system designers and cable manufacturers can easily exploit the presented equations and the derived models to predict the behavior of the balanced transmission lines with two conductors using simulators such as HSpice, etc. Nexans unshielded CAT6 twisted pair cable, one of the most common types of cables used in today's networks, is selected as a case study in this paper to verify the proposed model. A variety of simulations have been carried out to evaluate the performance and accuracy of the proposed model. Furthermore, the validity of the model is assessed against the real Fluke test results.

Evaluation of Underwater Cable Burying ROV through Sea Trial at East Sea

Underwater cable burying is one of main cable protection methods in the offshore cable installation. In this paper, the performance evaluation of an underwater cable burying robot, named URI-T, through the sea trial is addressed. URI-T, the first heavy-duty underwater robot for cable burying tasks developed in South Korea, is designed to perform burying tasks and maintenance tasks for underwater cables and small-size pipes at the sea bed of 2,500m water depth. URI-T includes water-jetting systems and cable detection sensors for cable burying tasks, and employes mainpulators and tools for cable maintenance tasks. The sea trial at the East Sea having 500m water depth was focused to verify the key performance indices: operation water depth, cable burying depth, cable burying speed, and forward speed. The cable maintenance ability was also examined by carrying out the cable cutting test and the cable gripping test. Moreover, applicability of URI-T is also evaluated by two times of cable burying experiments more than 100m distance. As a result, it was verified not only that URI-T satisfies the target performance indicies, but also that URI-T is applicable for the cable burying construction.

Material progress toward recyclable insulation of power cables part 2: Polypropylene-based thermoplastic materials

Progress in the development of polyethylene (PE) based thermoplastic materials for power cable insulation has been reviewed in the first article on this subject [1]. New catalysis technique, copolymerization, blending, nanotechnology and additives have been used to tailor the electrical property of PE in the past few decades. However, these methods have brought about limited improvement in the thermomechanical property of PE. For instance, crosslinking reactions can improve the thermomechanical property of PE so that the cable operation temperature can be increased from 70°C to 90°C of low density polyethylene (LDPE) cables (Table 1); however, as discussed in the first article, crosslinking brings in undesirable effects. Apart from the ultra-low recyclability, the crosslinking and degassing also lead to potential safety concerns during cable installation and operation, in addition to long duration and high energy consumption needed for cable production. Since the beginning of the 21st century, polypropylene (PP) based thermoplastic insulation has attracted tremendous interests because of its high temperature stability and excellent recyclability. Compared with XLPE, PP possesses advantages of not only increased operating temperature higher than 110°C but also facile manufacturing processing with reduced cost, increased production efficiency and unlimited cable length, which are highly desirable in the power cable industry. As a promising future solution, PP based thermoplastic cable insulation starts to receive significant interest and attention from academia and industry [2]. However, conventional PP cannot be used directly as power cable insulation because of its high hardness, high crystallinity and low flexibility. In recent years, PP has been modified as thermoplastic cable insulation. This second article discusses the structure-property relationship of PP and reviews the progress on the development of PP based thermoplastic materials for power cable insulation.

Transmission Investment and Expansion Planning for Systems With High-Temperature Superconducting Cables

Growing electric power demand in densely populated metropolitan areas presents problems due to the lack of availability of space to build transmission lines and due to short-circuit current limits. One of the solutions to meet the increasing demand is high-temperature superconducting (HTS) cables, which have a sufficiently high capacity and can be installed in the limited space of existing ducts. However, since the characteristics of low-impedance HTS cables result in higher system short-circuit levels, fault current limiter (FCL) HTS cables have been developed to solve the fault current problem without an upgrade of the rating of the existing circuit breakers, which is typically necessary when new power facilities in the power system are installed. This paper investigates the impacts of the installation of HTS cables on optimal transmission expansion planning (TEP). A three-stage TEP framework (identification, system analysis, and optimization) is proposed to select between plain HTS or FCL-HTS cables, and to determine the locations of new transmission expansion lines. The TEP optimization problem is formulated using mixed integer linear programming with the big-M method. The simulation results showed that the benefits of installing the FCL-HTS cable can justify their high installation costs.

SOCIALIZATION OF THE RIGHT ELECTRIC USAGE TO PREVENT HAZARDOUS FIRE IN TUGU SELATAN VILLAGE, KOJA, NORTH JAKARTA

The use of electrical equipment that is not in accordance with the standards established by SNI (Standar Nasional Indonesia) and the installation of electrical equipment that is not in accordance with the provisions are still often found in people's homes, so that the threat of electric fire hazards will be possible. Data from the recapitulation of fire incidents in DKI Jakarta Province in 2018 revealed that the biggest cause of fire was due to electrical short circuit, as many as 494 fire incidents occurred in a total of 1667 residences. This is quite alarming because many of the fires are caused by the low quality and installation of cables in most people's homes and residents do not understand the dangers of using inappropriate electrical energy. To participate in assisting the government inconducting socialization about the right electricity usage to prevent fires, the PPM activities in the form of socialization and direct assistance to residents' homes. The purpose of this activity is so that in the future residents of the Tugu Selatan Village of North Jakarta are more concerned about the electrical installations andthe electrical equipment they use by following with specified standards. This activity is very useful for the residents, proven by their enthusiasm in participating in the extension program with questions about the correct use of electrical energy and people's curiosity in knowing how to save electricity usage at home and calculate the cost of using electricity in their homes.

Dynamic measurement of stay-cable force using digital image techniques

Conventional sensors, such as the accelerometers and velocimeters, are commonly applied to estimate the vibration of stay cables for the recognition of dynamic response. Such practice is relatively time-consuming and expensive due to the challenge from considerable amount of cabling work and installation of data acquisition logger. Two measurement methods based on digital image techniques, digital image processing (DIP) and digital image correlation (DIC), are adopted in this study to identify the cable force with capturing single and multiple points images by camera. To verify the reliability of the methods, the results are compared with accelerometer, and the relative deviations between the two methods and the accelerometers are within 5%. The multi-point vibration mode of stay cable using the digital image techniques was compared to numerical simulation for exploring the role of mode difference in cable force measurement. Experimental results show that the application of the digital image techniques in stay cable bridge is sustainable and advantageous and the differences between various digital image techniques are shown clearly.

Analysis of the reliability of the power cable of an electric-centrifugal pump unit

The article is devoted to assessing the reliability of the cable line installation of an electric-centrifugal pump. Based on the analysis of the time between failures, the probability of failure-free operation of the cable line of the ESP installation was calculated to determine the time of scheduled repair.

Realization of a multihop wireless controlled sensor and actuator network for cable installation

Abstract Long and heavy cables need to be laid during the construction of plant. The present-day cable installation system drives the cables through by power assistance in order to reduce physical stress on the workers. However, the system cannot pull a long and heavy cable sequentially at the desired timing of the tension triggered onto the cable head by the worker. To solve this problem, we propose a multihop wireless controlled system that works to push the cable at a time set by instruction packets delivered according to the applied tension. This paper explains the design and adoption of a multihop wireless controlled sensor and actuator network into the cable installation system.

Implementation of Quasi-Real-Time Rating Software to Monitor 525 kV Cable Systems

In 1999, BC Hydro installed optical fibers in the fluid channel of 525 kV self-contained fluid-filled submarine cables originally installed in the 1980s that connect substations in the Vancouver area of British Columbia, Canada, for the purposes of monitoring temperatures. In combination with this work, a real-time monitoring was used to collect load data and measured temperatures in an effort to optimize the ratings of the cables. The dynamic thermal circuit rating system developed by the Electric Power Research Institute was applied to the 525 kV cables as part of a project to modify the system for support of the unique characteristics of the cable system installation. Specifically, the submarine cables utilize a parallel pipe water cooling system for the shore zones. This paper describes the software modifications that were implemented to enhance the dynamic rating system to model the unique characteristics of the 525 kV cable system and discusses how recorded data collected over several seasons were used to verify and refine the cable rating model. The resulting evaluation showed good agreement of the dynamic rating system calculations with measured results and helped the utility better understand the ratings on these circuits and permitted the utility to perform simulations to evaluate various loading conditions.

DETERMINATION OF THE QUANTITY OF COMBUSTIBLE MATERIAL IN CABLE PRODUCTS IN THE PROCESS OF FIRE SAFETY TESTING

Introduction. In order to protect objects from dangerous manifestations of fire of cable products, electrical lines are designed and projected in accordance with the fire-protection requirements and the normative documents. Purpose. The purpose of this article is to analyze this problem in several areas concerning the situation with a systematic approach to the technical regulation in Ukraine of such a sector of fire safety as the requirements for cable-wiring lines. Methods. Methods of research: calculations using a mathematical model; comparison of the results of the calculation, forecasting of the boundary parameters of the technical condition and monitoring of the cable material properties; examination, qualification, definition of indicators of fire safety of cables and wires in the composition of the electrical grids of buildings, structures, foundations and metal structures, taking into account laying conditions. Different methods for volume and mass calculating, fire tests of electrical and fiber optic cables were applicated. Tests of vertically arranged wires or cables laid in beams on the vertical propagation of the flame (Category A F / R, Category A, Category B) were conducted. Results. The experimental study of the installation parameters test and indicators of fire safety for cable-wiring products in their vertical laying that reduce the overall fire safety level of facility electric power operation were conducted. Critical analysis of the current state of development was done. The basis of the fire safety requirements for standardization of cable lines were formulated. The measures for testing methods implementation with description of these methods were proposed. Conclusion. Determination of the combustible material quantity by volume and by mass is not regulated in the current normative documents on fire safety, although this criterion is often used precisely when establishing requirements for fire safety: to buildings, cable installations, to the installation of fire automatics systems and to others. A method for calculating the volume of combustible material for determining the fire risk of cable-conductive products is proposed. The method can be used during designing of wiring lines and during their exploitation. Experimental researches of fire hazard indicators of cable-wiring products were conducted; their group of flame distribution was installed. The method of determining the quantity of combustible material by volume, by mass and with testing of mass loss of combustible material was applied.

Application of Augmented Reality in Satellite Cable Network Assembly

This paper reviews the traditional cable installation in assembly and integration process of satellite. An effective and accurate cable network assembly information transmission method from designers to operators is not formed, in the process of laying complex cables, operators need to frequently confirm cable laying status back and forth between satellite and computer stations, this can easily lead to cable routing error or cable fixing point selection error. In order to improve efficiency and quality of satellite cable installation, a cable assembly system based on AR technology is designed. The successful application of this system provides a new solution for satellite cable laying and marks a new step in the digital assembly capacity.

Lightning Propagation Analysis on Telecommunication Towers Above the Perfect Ground Using Full-Wave Time Domain PEEC Method

Lightning surge propagation on telecommunication towers is essential to lightning protection design. Analysis of very fast surges in a telecommunication tower requires a full-wave solution of Maxwell's equations. This paper proposes a full-wave time domain partial element equivalent circuit (PEEC) method considering the effect of ground to evaluate the surge currents and voltages on vertical structures. The PEEC of the formulation is provided by using the method of image. This method can take into account the attenuation of the lighting surges, and has the potential to be implemented as a new type of solution for general lightning surge analysis. The proposed method is validated numerically with the finite-difference time domain method, and is used to analyze the surge propagation on cables mounted on two typical grounded telecommunication towers. The simulation shows that both the location of cable installations and the type of towers have a significant influence on the lightning protection performance.

Real-Time Determination of Depth of Burial Profiles for Submarine Power Cables

The safe operation of submarine power cables at high load is of highest relevance for an economic and reliable operation of offshore wind farms and submarine interconnection systems. Burial of power cables at a certain minimum depth is often required for mechanical protection of the cable and to avoid too strong heating of the seafloor surface. The depth of burial (DoB) of those cables may vary over time by movements of sand and the cables themselves. Monitoring such changes so far requires, costly yearly surveys using submarine robots. In this study, we present a method to permanently analyze the DoB of submarine power cable formations by using distributed temperature sensing, electric load data, and thermal models of the submarine cable installation. An analysis of field data shows that our method has the capability to detect comparatively fast variations of DoB and also cable exposure events in real installations.

The effects of sand and pipes on the temperature distributions of the underground cable

With the proliferation of underground systems and technologies, the investigation of thermal fields in the soil has become a subject of great attention in the emerging technology of buried structures. In this work, the heat transfer mechanisms in underground cable installations have presented. This paper considers a system of the underground cable of 12/20 (24) kV single core cable with a copper conductor and XLPE insulation, located in three models were designated for the experiment, a cable was located in (sand, PVC pipe, and an aluminum pipe). Furthermore, its reviews the results were obtained from a laboratory model where a wooden box was used, and the cable was placed inside the box by burying the cable in three different designs and using the soil used in Iraq and obtained a good results and comparisons were made at each model.

The Research of Environment Condition and Sensitive Analysis for Laying Submarine Cable

Determining the installation conditions of submarine cables and evaluating the relevant parameters are important issues in the subject about laying of submarine cables. Based on the catenary theory and the lumped mass method, this paper adopts a simplified model to dynamically simulate the cable’s normal laying process. According to the 3 acceptance criteria, the method for determining the environment conditions of cable installation is clarified, and the sensitivity analysis for the main influence factors is conducted. Finally, it concluded the suitable environment conditions for normal laying of the submarine cable.

Voltages and AC Corrosion on Metallic Tubes in Umbilical Cables Caused by Magnetic Induction From Power Cable Charging Currents

Offshore umbilical cables often include both power cables and elements such as metallic tubes and signal cables. It was concluded from a recent failure of stainless tubes that ac corrosion was the cause of the failure. This paper describes how ac corrosion can lead to tube failure when a puncture exists in the insulating tube coating. The variation in power cable charging currents along the umbilical cable causes a nonzero voltage to exist in the tubes, even though they are grounded at both ends. If the current density associated with the puncture current is sufficiently high, ac corrosion will result. The current density is calculated as a function of the cable length and the variable speed drive operating frequency for three alternative power cable designs. Comparison with measured corrosion rates shows that ac corrosion can corrode a hole in the tube in weeks or months, depending on the cable design and length, and also on the electrical operating conditions. Analytical expressions and numerical procedures are presented, which can be used to determine whether a given umbilical cable installation involves the risk of ac corrosion. It is also shown that substantial heating effects in the puncture area can result in case of excessive harmonics in the supply voltage.

QUALITY METRIC DESIGN USING INTERNAL CONTROL METHOD TO CONTROL THE QUALITY OF FIBER OPTIC INSTALLATION PROJECT

To provide internet network, one of public Telecommunication provider in Indonesia conduct several project related to fiber optic cable installation such as the STO Modernization Feeder project. In every project implementation, the company is concerned with quality in order to remain competitive with competitors. Deliverable which meets the project quality will produce the product in accordance with the requirements. STO Garut Feeder Modernization Project was experiencing delays which is caused by the non-conformity project deliverable to project specification during monitoring & controlling phase. At project planning, the quality metric was not designed, which can be used as a guideline for vendor in carrying out the project task and to assist the process of quality control. Quality metric design is carried out using internal control methods that can identify possible errors in each project activity and critical success criteria that define a successful activity that will be performed. Result shows that only 67.1% statement (critical success criteria) form critical activity is implemented. This result can answer why the project delay because the activity on critical path is mostly re-worked due to non-conformity issues