IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, Vol. 11, No.

2, April 1996 635

Development of 500-kV XLPE Cables and Accessories

for Long-Distance Underground Transmission Lines
-- Part IV: Electrical Properties of 580-kV Extrusion Molded Joints --
Naoki Takeda ShouichirouIzumi Kazunari Asari
Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc. Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. The Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc.
Tokyo, Japan Nagoya, Japan Osaka, Japan

Atsushi Nakatani Hajime Noda Masayuki Yamaguchi Masayuki Tan

Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. The Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. Hitachi Cable, Ltd. Fujikura Ltd.
Osaka, Japan Tok:yo, Japan Hitachi, Japan Tokyo, Japan

Joints for 500-kV XLPE cable are now under development in

Japan to enable the long-distance transmission of high-capacity
power to urban areas. Basic research was carried out from 1989
to 1992 that determined joint type and design values. This
paper reports on the electric performance of the fabricated
joints. Various tests were conducted to evaluate the (c) Mold h e a t i n g 1 ,Mold kettle
performance and the design values. As a results of this
evaluation it was found that it was possible to realize joints for
S
500-kV XLPE cable. on
Field tests will be conducted as the final stage to confirm the
long-term performance of the system.

1. Introduction
500-kVXLPE cables are scheduled to be installed to urban Treated portion of cable screen ~$~t~~i;forcing
areas in order to cope with the growing demand for electric
power in recent years. Jointless 500-kV XLPE cable has
already been in practical use for underground transmission layer
ReinforciAg insulationUSemiconductor
cables in power generation stations [l], however its
application to long-distance power transmission lines tl :Thickness of reinforcing
requires development of highly reliable joints. Iin response insulation
to this need, we have conducted various basic research on t2:Thickness of cable
einforcing insulati o
extrusion molded joints (EMJ) [2]. Also, based on the data insulation
which was obtained in the basic research, actual-size EMJs
were designed and fabricated, their elecaical performance
was evaluated, and the validity of the design was c o n f i e d .

95 SM 485-3 PWRD A paper recommended and approved

by the IEEE Insulated Conductors Committee of the
IEEE Power Engineering Society f o r presentation at
the 1995 IEEE/PES Summer Meeting, July 23-25', 1995,
Portland, OR. Manuscript submitted January 3, 1995;
made available for prlnting May 3, 1995.
Figure 1: Fabrication process and structure of EMJ
This paper outlines the results of the basic research and
reports mainly on the results of the electrical tests and what
they mean. Basic research was undertaken independently by
three major electric power utilities and their designated cable
manufacturers. However, to improve efficiency in the
development, the results obtained have been shared and the
work pursued jointly.

0885-8977/96/$05.000 1995 IEEE

63 6
2. Structural design
2-1. Overview
Figure 1 presents the installation procedure and structure
of an EMJ. The same type of resin as the cable is extruded
into a mold on site using a small-size extrusion machine, and
the cable insulation and its reinforcing insulation are formed
integrally. The EMJ requires technology of cable
manufacturing at construction site.
2-2. Factors governing the performance
An EMJ, which is fabricated with the same material as the
XLPE cable can be expected to have superior insulation
performance. However in order to obtain higher reliability,
the factors that govern the insulation performance of an EMJ
must be evaluated and controlled. Table 1 lists the defects
that should be considered for fabrication of EMJ. Inspection
of the insulation layer of an EMJ reveals that the EM3 has
somewhat larger contaminants and semiconductor
protrusions as compared with XLPE cable. However
otherwise there are no great differences in voids in the
insulation layer, degree of crosslinking, residual strain, or
crystalline structure [2]. The factors governing the
performance of XLPE cable are the contaminants and
protrusions in the insulation layer [3]. These results suggest
that the factors governing the performance of an EMJ are, as
with cable, the contaminants and protrusions. This fact is
supported by a report that PPD tests on model EMJs show
that every breakdown originated from the contaminants [4].
Contaminants in Protrusion of
insulation conductor Screen
10 10
1 0' 10'
-:
e e
n : Cumulative counts of defects
contaminants o r voids (counts/mm')
semiconductors layer protrusions (counts/mm*)
Figure 2: Comparison of 275-kV EMJ and cable defects
Table 1: ENJ defeets
Although semiconductive protrusions sometimes occur on
the interface between cable and reinforcing insulation near
the edges of reinforcing insulation (Figure l), it is clear that
this can be suppressed by controlling the temperature
conditions during crosslinking [5]. Such unique defects are
not an important factor.
2-3. Design approach
For designing an EMJ, two important thicknesses,
reinforcing insulation portion and the treatment portion of
cable screen must be considered. The following is a
discussion on the design approach for each.
A. Reinforcing insulation
The thickness of the reinforcing insulation is placed so as
to withstand the voltage determined by the required life time;
specifically, the greater of the values given by formulas (1)
and (2) is adopted [SI.
- Insulation thickness required for
commercial-frequency voltage: t,,
- Insulation thickness required for
Lightning impulse voltage: t
LIWL x k,'xk,'xk3y
t. = (2)
EL,
where
Voids in insulation
V,: normal maxi" circuit voltage (550 kV)
LTWL: lightning impulse intensity (1425 kV)
k,, temperature coefficients
$I:
c:
k, degradation coefficients
b;, h':tolerances with respect to uncertain elements (1.1)
k,ELrrp:minimum insulation breakdown stress with
respect to commercial frequency and lightning impulse
e
e . Size (,urn)
 637

The temperature coefficients are determined fkoim the ratio

where
of the breakdown test data at room temperature and at a d,: outside diameter of
conductor temperature of 90°C. The degradation (coefficient conductor screen
k, is determined based on the lifetime index n, which is 4: inside diameter of
obtained from the -V-t characteristics of the long-term cable screen
breakdown test data, and is determined based on the
results of repeated impulse tests. E, and Eu,are determined
by analyzing the breakdown test data using a Weibull
distribution. Breakdown tests on XLPE cables having
different insulation thicknesses show thickness dependence
of of the crosslinked polyethylene insulatiom, and the
relationship given in formula (3) was obtained.
E, (t) cc A x t4.'* (3)
where A is a coefficient and t is the thickness of the
insulation.
The temperature coefficients and degradation coefficients
used in the foregoing are summarized in Tablt: 2. These
coefficients or thickness dependence were detennined based
on breakdown test data for XLPE cables [7]. But as shown
above, the performance-governing factors for EMJs are, as
for XLPE cables, the contaminants and the protrusions. So
it is thought that these coefficients can be used provisionally
for Ems as well.

ac imr,
E, before improvement (kV/mITI) 28 74
1.20 1.25 2.3 1.0
E,after improvement (kv/mm) 37 85
B. Treatmentportion of cable screen Performance improvementratio (%) 132 115
The required insulation thickness as determined in cable
design is 25 mm[3], but the insulation thickness of a 500-kV
XLPE cable having intermediate joints is determined by the
performance of the treatment portion of the cable screen of
the EMJ.
The electrical field Emin of the treatment portion of
cable screen is determined by the structure of the cable. The
minimum insulation breakdown stress Kmin required for this
portion is given by formulas (4) and (3,which the cable
must be designed to satisfy.
-.U
10
1- 6- 11- 16- 21-
-Performance required for commercial-frequency voltage e" , (
%xk, xk, xk, Figure 3: Protrusion level of treated portion of cable screen
Emin = 4 3 and performance improvement ratio
(+) x In( ?)
(4)

-Performancerequired for lightning impulse voltage

Emin = (9
(+) x In($)
638

2-4. Specific design

Figure 4 shows the 500-kV EMJ structural dimensions Table 4: Breakdown test conditions
designed based on the approach described in the preceding
section.

cross-sectional area
01 conductor : 2500mm'

21=130--155mm, 11 =36mm.
fiz=105-160mm t=27mm
Figure 4: Structural dimensions of 500-kVEMJ
The minimum breakdown stress, E, for 500kV EMJ, which
serves as the basis for calculating the reinforcing insulation
thickness, is determined by the E, of 12 mm thick EMJ and
the formula(3) including 10% safety allowance. The results
are given in Table 3. According to this, when the required
insulation thickness for commercial-frequency voltage and
lightning impulse voltage were calculated using (1) and (2),
we get tac = 35.7 mm, timp = 32.7 mm, thus the reinforcing
insulation thickness was set to 36 mm [2].
The Kmin for the treatment portion of cable screen was
calculated by taking the value for a 275kV EMJ fabricated by
the conventional technique, multiplying it by the
performance improvement factor (ac:1.32 imp:1.15). The
results are given in Table 3. From this, the insulation
thickness of the cable required by the performance of
treatment portion of cable screen was set to 27 mm.
3-2. Tests of Breakdown Stress for Reduced Insulation Joint
The thickness of the reinforcing insulation was designed in
consideration of the fact that the reinforcing insulation has
the same kind of thickness dependence of E, as cable. This
test was carried out for the purpose of confming the validity
of this approach. The samples were made to the same size
as a 500-kV EMJ represented in Figure 6 , except the
reinforcing insulation thickness above the conductor sleeve.
The reinforcing insulation thickness was reduced to 9, 15,
and 20 mm in order to make breakdown at this portion. A
breakdown test was performed for both ac and imp, with 4
samples each (a total of 24 samples). The test voltage
conditions are listed in Table 5. The starting voltage was
equivalent to 90% of minimum breakdown stress
Et ,obtained by thickness dependence formula of Figure 5.
Table 5: Breakdowntest conditions

3. Development test items and methods

Based on the structural design described in the previous
chapter, 500-kV EMJs were fabricated, and the following
evaluation tests were performed on it.

3-1. Tests of Minimum Insulation Breakdown Stress

Breakdown tests were conducted under the conditions of
Table 4 on 8 samples each (a total of 32 samples), in order to
confirm whether it has voltage withstanding performance I I 1
10 20 30 40
with respect to the design ELvalues of Table 3 and evaluate Thickness of the reinforcing insulation
the appropriateness of the design E, values and the : t (mm)

temperature coefficients. For the test voltage conditions,

Figure 5: Thickness dependence of reinforcing insulation
starting voltage was equivalent to the design E, of the main
t=9,15,20mm
design location, then applied voltage was increased. Also, the
confirmation voltage for the 90°C test was determined from
the value obtained by dividing the room-temperature
Figure 6: Structure of evaluation test samples
confirmation voltage by the temperature coefficient of Table
2.
 639

3-3. Evaluation Test of Crosslinking Temperature Control investigation method would be the n-1 distribution, which
As stated in the previous chapter, according to the determined in detail the distribution of type and number of
crosslinking temperature conditions, the unique defects (see defects from 1 slice. In addition, this time, 100 slices (x 4
Figure 1) can arise at the edges of reinforcing insulation of companies) would be sampled from the reinforcing
the EMJ, which reduce the electrical performance. The insulation and the largest contaminants (blacWmetal) in each
crosslinking temperature conditions were conducted for the slice would be examined, and their distribution would be
purpose of evaluating whether there is a tolerance with evaluated.
respect to the reduction in performance arising fiom these
unique defects. 4. Results of development tests
Shown in Figure 7, T1 is defined as the temperature of the 4-1. Tests of Minimum Insulation Breakdown Stress
conductor sleeve, when crosslinking degree of reiiforcing The test results are summarized in Figures 8 and 9. The
insulation near the conductor sleeve reaches 90%. T2 is results of the reinforcing insulation and the treated portion of
defined as the temperature of the conductor sleeve, when cable screen were evaluated by stress separately. In each case,
crosslinking degree at edge of reinforcing insulation reaches the data exceeded the design value and it has sufficient
90%. And A T is defined as the difference between T1 and initial value.
T2.It has been reported that the unique defects tend to occur , -
as A T is large 161. Thus samples were fabricated under E
E 70 ............
special crosslinking temperature conditions whereby a 3
5
temperature difference is A T'( = A T(standard condition) E
..................................................................................................
+ 10' c ). E
W
(Designed ELimp)
The test voltage conditions are given in Table 6. v1

E
v)

I t e m e r a t u r e of conductor sleeve E
2
2I 10 -.............................................. I...................................................
T2
100 ; f 0
' AC breakdown dala
6 AC cut-on dala
9 ' IMP breakdown data
6 IMP cui-otfdam 1
L m temDerature 1 QO'C

n
f Figure 8: Breakdown stress of reinforcing insulation
of r e i n f o r c i n g insulation
crosslinked degree
near conductor sleeve
.
x
0 0
Passed Tine 1 hours

Figure 7 A T at crosslinking process

Table 6: Breakdown test condition

Item IElectrification conditions (at R.T.)
ac (970kV/lh -t 99OkV/lh,then50kV/lh steps
970kV means designed voltage to withstand. Figure 9: Breakdown stress of treated portion of cable
99OkV means the voltage to confirm designed .EL.
screen

4-2. Tests of Breakdown Stress of Reduced Insulation Joint

3-4. Material test The test results are given in Table 7. In all cases breakdown
In the EMJ it was assumed occurred in the reinforcing insulation portion. m e stress at
*at factors governing performance ate the 'ame as for each breakdown point is given in Table 8. Higher values
This test was carried Out for the purpose Of w e e obtained for the breakdown stress than E, value
evaluating whether this assumption is effective. Sample c.culated from the thickness dependence
slices (about 1 mm thick) were taken from the reinforcing
insulation and the treated portion of cable screen, and the
type and distribution of the defects in the insulation and on
the semiconducting layer interface were examined by
microscope observation. It was determined that the
640

2 50
-0=2 40 n d a r d deviation
Table 7: Electrical test results I .-
a
3
) 30
~

$? 20
z8 10

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8- 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 2021 2 2 2 3
Size of contaminants (pm)

Figwe 10: Distribution of size of largest contaminant

lO.0l
The up-arrow in the above table indicates that breakdown
did not occur at that voltage.

Breakdown point calculated

stress &V/mm) EL -
56.2 62.4 65.2 68.4 38.4 -
0
z
-
~1 (Conductor
25 50 75 100
(Cable
49.7 50.7 58.7 71.9 35.0 screen side) screen side)
n
45.0 50.0 52.5 60.0 t 33.2 Proportion of insulation radial direction (%)

119 125 127 129 86.2
106 114 115 125 78.6
101 105 110 122 74.6
4-3. Evaluation Tests of Crosslinking Temperature Control
The electrical test results are given in Table 9. It was
confirmed that the performance is about the same as for test
samples made under standard crosslinking temperature
condition (see ac data at r.t. in Figure 9). Also, after
dismantling, no unique defects were found near the edge of
reinforcing insulation by microscopic observation. These
results confmed that the current crosslinking conditions are
adequate with respect to occurrence of the unique defects
near the edge of reinforcing insulation.
Table 9: .Electricaltest results
Figure 11: State of distribution of largest contaminants in
raw direction
5. Evaluation and conclusions
5-1. Temperatme coefficients
The E, values, as well as the 63.2%breakdown probability
values, at room temperature and at 90" C were determined
by the results of the Tests of Minimum Insulation Breakdown
Stress (E3. The ratio of values at room-temperature and at
90" C was determined, and it was selected as a temperature
coefficient. These values are presented in Table 10. From
these evaluation results, the temperature coefficients for
commercial-frequency voltage were 1-1.05, and those for
lightning impulse voltage were 1.15-1.21. It was confirmed
that adopting the design values (ac: 1.20, imp: 1.25) results
on the safe side.

4-4. Material test

The defects found in the reinforcing insulation and
treatment portion of cable screen were the same as those
found in cable: contaminants, protrusions, and voids. The
investigation results at the n-l distribution were similat to the
data obtained from basic research shown in Figures 2 and-3.
The distribution of the size of the largest contaminant is
shown in Figure 10. The radial-direction distribution mode is
shown in Figure 11, and it is confmed the contaminants are
randomly distributed in the radial direction.
5-2. Design value E,
Design value E, was evaluated by the results of the Tests of
Minimum Insulation Breakdown Stress. The cut-off data
was taken as breakdown data, and the 90" C breakdown test
data was multiplied by the design temperature coefficients
(ac: 1.20 imp: 1.25) in order to evaluate as breakdown data at
room temperature. The results of the Weibull analysis are

shown in Figures 12 and 13. It was confirmed ithat the E,
value obtained from the breakdown test data is gireater than
the design value, and that there is a tolerance with respect
to the design value.
1 5 I 5 10 50 100
IkVfmml
Figure 12 Weibull analysis results (reinforcing insulation)
Figure 13: Weibull analysis results (treated portion of cable
screen)
5-3. Thickness dependence of breakdown stress
Figure 14 presents the breakdown stress for an insulation
thickness of 36 mm (Figure 8), and the breakdown stress for
an reduced insulation thickness of 9-20 mm (Table 8), with
the design thickness-dependence graph (Figure 5). The
value for an insulation thickness of 36 mm might be lower
than the actual value, because these include some cut-off
data which withstood the maximum voltage of the facility, or
which occurred breakdown at the other portion. Considering
only the breakdown stress for an insulation thickness of 9-20
mm, it shows properties that are generally similar to the
design value, and it is thought that the thickness (dependence
formula adopted for design is generally appropriate.
- '" I 0 AC
T
T
I !
0' 10 20 30
Thickness of reinforcing insulation ( m m )
Figure 1 4 Results of evaluation of thickness dependence
formula
641
5-4. Performance improvement factor at treated portion of
cable screen
For 500-kV EMJ a cable insulation thickness of 27 mm was
adopted, identical to the 275-kV case, as a result of
improvement of the treated portion of cable screen by
treatment method improvements. Table 11 shows the
results of calculating the performance improvement ratio of
the E, value determined in the preceding section and the E,
value of 275-kV EMJ (cable insulation thickness 27 mm)
without improvement of the treatment method.
Approximately the same value was obtained as that of a
model EMJ with a cable insulation thickness of 10 mm.
Table 11: Comparison of improvementratio
of minimum breakdown stress
137% 132%
121% 115%
6. Conclusion
In order to realize 500kV long distance transmission lines,
factors governing the performance were considered. EMJs
are designed by constants obtained at basic research, and
actual-size EMJs were manufactured.
The breakdown test for actual-size EMJ with reinforcing
insulation thickness of 36" was conducted, then the design
values, temperature coefficients and E,, were evaluated, and
it was confmed that these constants and design approach of
performance improvement factor at treated portion of cable
screen were appropriate.
The breakdown test for EMJ with reduced reinforcing
insulation thickness of 9-20" was conducted, then it was
confirmed that the design approach of thickness dependence
of breakdown stress at reinforcing insulation was
I appropriate.
The breakdown test for EMJ fabricated by special
crosslinking temperature control was conducted, then it was
confmed that it was not important to consider reduction of
performance by the unique defects at edges of reinforcing
insulation under the current condition.
Microscopic observation for slices of EMJ was conducted,
then it was confirmed that the approach taken concerning the
I
40 factors governing performance was appropriate.
In addition to the tests described herein, "Required
Performance Voltage Withstand Test" have been performed
to confirm the ability of a 500kV EMJ to withstand the
various voltages occurring in actual systems. Also "Long-
term Performance Verification Test? confirms that the design
lifetime can be achieved. These test results are reported in
642
subsequent paper [7].
Based on the results of this development program, a model
line with eight EMJs was installed using the same techniques
as commercial lines, and subjected to long-term loading
cycle tests at 450 kV for approximately 10 months. Details
will be presented in a subsequent report, but as of December
1994, long-term tests have been satisfactorily completed,
verifying the long-term reliability of commercial-scale
systems.
With a view to the construction of commercial lines, we
are working on a comprehensive quality control method
covering everything from materials acceptance to final h e
commissioning.
References
[l] K. Kaminaga et al.: "Research and Development of
500-kV XLPE Cables", IEEE Symposium on Electrical
Insulation, 1986
[2]T. Kubota et al.: "Development of 500-kV XLPE Cables
and Accessories for Long-Distance Underground
Transmission Line -- Part 11: Jointing Techniques --",
EEEE 1994 PES Winter Meeting, 94WM040-6PWR-D
[3] T. Kubota et al.: "Development of 500-kV XLPE
CabIes and Accessories for Long-Distance Underground
Transmission Line -- Part I: Insulation Design of Cables -
-",IEEE 1994 PES Winter Meeting, 94WM097-6PWRD
[4] Kohashi et al.: "Research on Extrusion Molded Joint
Defect Factors by Previous Cutoff Tests", 1993 Electrical
Association Power and Energy Division Conference, 467
[SI H. Ishihara et al.: "Improvement in Reliability of
Extrusion Type Molded Joint for 275-kV XLPE Cable",
EEE Transactions on Paper Delivery, Vol. 7, No. 4,1992
[6] Takahashi et al.: "Study of Performance Improvements
for Extrusion Molded Joints", 1992 Electrical Association
National Convention, 1477
[7] M. Fukawa et al.: "Development of 500-kV XLPE Cables
and Accessories for Long-Distance Underground
Transmission Line -- Part IU: Electrical Properties of
500-kV XLPE Cables --",E E E 1995 PES Summer
Meeting proceedings, submitted.

Biography
Naoki Takeda was born in Kanagawa, Japan, on
November 27, 1963. He received a B.S. degree in
electrical engineering from Nihon University,
Japan in 1986.
He joined the Tokyo Eledric Power Co., Inc., in
1986. He has been engaged in design of
underground transmission lines and research and
development of EHV cables and their accessories.
He is a menber of the Institute of Electrical
Engineers of Japan 0.
Shouichirou h m i was born in Aichi, Japan, on
December 27, 1961. He graduated from
Ichinomiya Technical High School, Aichi, Japan in
1980 and from the electrical engineering course of
Gifu University, Japan in 1984.
He joined Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. in
1980. He has been engaged in research and
development for electric power system.
He is a menber of the IEEJ.
Kazunari Asari was born in Nara, Japan on
February 22, 1959. He graduated from Nara
Technical Collage, Japan in 1979.
He joined Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. in
1979. He has been engaged in research and
development of underground transmission
technology.
He is a meqber of the IEEJ.
643
Atsushi Nakatani was born in Ishikawa, Japan on
November 11,1950. He graduated from Kanazawa
Technical Collage, Ishikawa, Japan in 1971.
He joined Sumitomo E l d c Industries, Ltd. in
1971, He has been engaged in research and
development of accessories of EHV cables.
Haiime Noda was born in Kanagawa, Japan on
December 4, 1956. He received a B.S. degree in
metallurgy from Tokyo University, Japan, in 1981.
He joined the Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. in
1982. He has been engaged in research and
development of Heat Recovery Systems and
accessories of EHV cables.
Masawki Yamamchi was born in Hokkaido,
Japan, on October 4, 1943. He graduated from
Otaru Senshuu Technical High School, Japan, in
1962. Since then he has been in The 1st
Department of Cable Research Laboratory.
He has been engaged in research and
development and development of EHV cable
accessories.
He is a menber of the IEEJ.
M a s a m Tan was born in Chiba, Japan, on July
24, 1958. He received a B.S. and M.S. degree of
synthetic chemistry from Shinshy University,
Japan, in 1981and 1983 respectively.
He joined Fujikura Ltd. in 1983. He has been
engaged in research and development of high