HOW TO TEST

HV CABLES

Engr. Irfanullah Mazari

NG-CSD, KSA
 INDEX
SECTION-1: PHASING VERIFICATION TEST
SECTION-2: SVL INSULATION RESISTANCE TEST
SECTION-3: SHEATH TEST
SECTION-4: INSULATION RESISTANCE MEASUREMENT TEST
SECTION-5: CAPACITANCE MEASUREMENT
SECTION-6: CONDUCTOR DC RESISTANCE
SECTION-7: LINK BOX CONTACT RESISTANCE
SECTION-8: IMPEDENCE MEASUREMENT
SECTION-9: CROSS BONDING VERIFICATION
SECTION-10: GROUND RESISTANCE AT LINK BOX
SECTION-11: CABLE PROFILE TEST
SECTION-12: AC HIGH VOLTAGE TEST
 SECTION-1
Phasing Verification
a. Test Equipment

5 kV Insulation Tester

b. Procedure

Using cable conductor we will check the phasing of the cable from end to end. At the far end of the cable
we will ground red phase and keep the other two phases open. Now using the MEGGER inject (250V
DC) between the red phase and the ground in the near end, the result should show breakdown and when
repeat the test for other phase result should give high insulation resistance.

Same procedure should be repeated for yellow and blue phases. If the same phase color cable is found to
be grounded at both ends of the circuits in all three cases all phasing will be verified.

Where the cables terminate into GIS the connection to the conductors for the test will be made through
grounding switch.

c. Diagram

Megger

Near End Termination Far End Termination

 SECTION- 2
SVL Insulation resistance

a. Test Equipment

5kV Insulation Tester

b. Procedure

As shown in the diagram below while the SVL connected inside the link box the sheath cables should be
disconnected from the busbar, then connect the first lead of the megger to the first side of the SVL (red
phase busbar side) and the other lead should be connected to other side of the SVL while the ground is
connected. Set the megger to 2.5kV for one minute before starting check the isolation gap between the
busbar and the sheath (min 1 cm ), push start button wait tell the result appear record it wait the megger
tell it fully discharge then jump to the other SVL.

c. Diagram

Megger

Link Box

SVL
 SECTION- 3.
Sheath Test

a. Test Equipment
10KV Insulation Tester

b. Procedure
The cable shall be test section by section, one section being defined as length of cable either between a
termination and a joint or between two joints.

The cable sheath is opened in the link-boxes at both end of the section. All connections that are not being
tested are securely grounded. Start insulation resistance test for the sheath at 5kV for one min and record
the result shown in the megger. Discharge the charge from sheath and then Connect the HV lead of the
test equipment to the sheath under testing and other lead should be connected to secure ground. Before
starting the test you should check that all other sheath and busbar not involved in the test far enough from
the HV lead and far end is secured by keeping one watchman there.

When you adopted everything like mention above you can start the test, set the voltage level to 10kV and
time to one minute then push the start button taking in your account that you inform the watchman that
sheath is hot now, watch the test equipment record the final leakage current wait till equipment discharge
the sheath then set it to 5kV for one minute record the IR result, at last change the lead to other sheath and
finish as mention up.

c. Diagram

Far end link box

termination are open Test Eqp.

Near end link termination

 SECTION- 4
Insulation Resistance Measurements

a. Test Equipment
5kv insulation tester

b. Procedure

Before starting this test confirm that all sheaths are connected and all grounding work for the link boxes
finish. Isolate the far end of the cable from the ground and keep watchman there.

At the near end of the termination open the ground link of the ground switch, keep the ground switch in
close position, connect the first lead of the megger to red phase and other lead of megger to secure ground
short other phases to ground, set megger to 5kV for one minute and contact the watchman to inform him
that cable will be hot soon .Start testing for red phase and record IR result from the megger. Discharge
the cable and transfer the ground to red phase and connect the megger lead to yellow phase . Complete
the test as for red phase, finally after blue phase test is finished, ground both ends of cable again.

c. Diagram

Megger 5k

Near end termination far end termination

 SECTION- 5
Capacitance Measurements
a. Test Equipment
10Kv Insulation Tester

b. Procedure

The cable capacitance measurements are made simultaneously with the insulation resistance
measurements. The 10Kv insulation tester measures the cable capacitance during the discharging phase of
the insulation resistance measurements. The measured capacitance will be recorded in the report.
 SECTION- 6.
Conductor DC Resistance Measurement

a. Test Equipment
CPC100

b. Procedure
At the far end of the circuit the cable conductors are connected together by closing the ground switch of
the GIS.

At the near end of the circuit connect the current leads to Red and Yellow phases and the voltage leads to
same phases; be sure that the voltage lead is connected to the nearest point of GIS ground switch poles it
means the current lead is connected from the outer side. Set the CPC100 to 100A set the temperature
(ground temperature) and the reference temperature to 20 ˚C, start testing record the result then repeat
same procedure with Yellow and blue phases as a group finally test red and blue phases.

The measured result is the loop resistances of three pairs of power cable phase-Red & Yellow; yellow &
Blue; Blue & Red. The measured loop resistances are recorded on the test form.

The adjusted phase conductor resistances are divided by declared route length to obtain the measured per
kilometer resistance of the cables. This value should be comparable with the cable manufacturers declared
resistance per kilometer.

c. Diagram

Current

Voltage

CPC100

Near End termination FarEnd termination

 SECTION- 7.
Link Box Contact Resistance Test

a. Test Equipment
Low impedance meter

b. Procedure

Device connection for contact resistance is similar to DC resistance measurement connect two current
leads and two voltage leads to joint under test set the current to 100A and the temperature to ambient
temperature , then start your measurements.

All the contact face in each link-box, including cable lug faces, are tested and the result recorded in test
form

No contact resistance shall exceed 20µΩ.

c. Diagram:
LID
 SECTION- 8.
Impedance Test

a. Test Equipment
CPC100 with CU1 unit

b. Procedure

1. Positive Sequence Impedence-Z1

Remote end of the phase conductor R-Phase, Y- Phase and B-Phase should be shorted and grounded.
Connect the instrument between R Phase and Y Phase; inject the current then record the value of the
voltage, angle, injected current and impedance.

Repeat same procedure for Y-B and B-R phase by using the following formula

To calculate the individual phase impedances the three loop impedance are calculated in complex
number. The loop impedances are manipulated as simultaneous equation and solved for the individual
phase impedances. See below for more details of the calculations

The phase impedances are divided by the declared route length to obtain the measured per kilometer
impedance of the cable. The value should be comparable with the cable manufactures declared impedance
per kilometer

V (volts) = Loop Voltage

I (amps) = Loop Current

(˚) = Phase Angle (V VS I)

Individual Phase Impedances-

ZRed=[Zr+yloop Zb+r loop Zy+b loop] ohms

Zyellow=[Zy+b loop Zr+y loop Zb+r loop] ohms

Zblue= [Zb+r loop Zy+b loop Zr+y loop] ohms

Condition- Match the test results with cable design data

Diagram

near end far end

2. Zero Sequence Impedance-Z0

Remote end of phase conductor R-Phase, Y- Phase and B-Phase should be shorted and to be grounded,
also near end of phase conductor R-Phase, Y- Phase and B-Phase should be shorted.

Connect the CPC100 between short circuited phase conductor and earth; inject the current record result.
Ensure during Impedance test all SVL and Link boxes are in service.

Measure the voltage, current and phase.

The expression shown below is used to calculate the zero sequence impedance of the cable circuit check it
with the result from test equipment.

The Measured value of zero sequence impedance is divided by the declared route length to obtain the
measured per kilometer impedance of the cable circuit. The value should be comparable with the
manufacturers declared impedance per kilometer.

V (volts) = Loop Voltage

I (amps) = Loop Current

Φ (˚) = Phase Angle (V vs. I)

Zero Sequence Impedance Zo = cos Φ + j sin Φ ohms

Condition – match the test result with cable design data

near end termination far end termination
 SECTION- 9.
Cross Bonding Verification
a. Test Equipment
Diesel generator capable of supplying 100A

Digital voltmeter

Digital Clam Ammeter

b. Procedure

The three output phases of the diesel generator will be securely connected to the three phases of the cable.
At the remote end of the circuit will short between the cable conductors by closing of a GIS ground
switch.

Start the generator, using the generator voltage potential nope reduce the voltage to min. level close
generator breaker watch the current injected adjust the voltage till you get around 100A.

One team should move along with the cable taking measurements of the induced sheath current at each
direct ground link boxes. At each cross-bonding link-box both the induced shield current in each phase’s
shield at the standing voltage between each shield and ground will be measured. The purpose of this test
is to investigate if any swap happen in the shield, if any current increased more than 3% of injected
current investigation should solved this problem.

To validate the performance of the cross bonding, the cross-bonding connections will be reversed in one
cross-bonding link-box for each section. When the connections are in reverse position, the measured
current will have increased by 4x or more from the service- position measurement if the cross-bonding
connection will then to restore to service position.

All result (including results obtained with the connections reversed) will be recorded on the test form in
the appropriate location.
 SECTION- 10.
Link Box Ground Resistance
a. Test Equipment
Resistivity Meter

b. Procedure

Probes are driven into the ground approximately 20 and 12 meters away from the ground electrode of the
link box. The furthest away of these probes is used as the current, electrode; the closer one is used as the
potential electrode. The alternate current and potential connections are taken from the link box ground
electrode.

When operating current flows between the furthest current electrode and the link box ground electrode
and the potential can be measured across the potential electrode and the ground electrode. This can be
used to calculate the resistance of the connection between the link box ground electrode and the material
earth. The value has to be less than 10Ω.
 SECTION- 11.
Cable Profile Test

a. Test Equipment

Time Domain Reflectometer (TDR)

b. Procedure
It is normal to obtain and record the traces with the remote end of a cable open circuit i.e. undergrounded.
All link-boxes shall be in the normal service configuration.

1. As a precaution against damage to the TDR and electric shock to the operator from residual cable
charge all GIS ground switch test terminal will be grounded before being handled or connection
of the TDR.
2. One conductor of the TDR connection lead will be connected to the terminal lug of the
termination of the first phase of the circuit to be tested. The other conductor of the TDR
connection lead will be connected to the GIS termination cable sheath grounding point of the
same cable via as short as a lead as possible.
3. The TDR will be switched on and the following parameters should be set
a. Range Setting - Set the shortest range which is greater than the known cable length.
b. Pulse width – Set the wide or narrow whichever produces the best resolution of features
along the cable route.
c. Dielectric Constant – Set the value giving the most accurate measurement of the known
cable length.
4. The cursor is positioned at each feature apparent in the trace e.g. joints and the remote
termination. The distance of each feature will be noted as will the parameter determined in step 3
above. To facilitate positioning of the cursor the trace can be expended horizontally.
5. The trace will be stored in the TDR memory.
6. The foregoing will be repeated for the remaining cable of the circuit.
7. The traces will be downloaded into a PC and printed out.
 SECTION-1 2.
AC High Voltages

a. Test Equipment

Resonant frequency HV test set, 200KVA 415V 50Hz diesel generator; rigid barricade fencing, red color
xenon flashing warning light, aluminum foil air duct 100mm dial pvc pipes 100mm dia x approx 4 meters
length.

b. Purpose of Testing
The purpose of the test is to ensure that the cable and termination are fit for service and safe to energies.
The method used will be to apply a sinusoidal voltage between each cable conductor and insulation shield
(ground) in turn for a period of time. The voltage level and application duration shall be (318kv/30min) or
as a agreed with client and will stress the cable and its accessories at the level encountered in normal
service. The cable has top withstand the test voltage for the specific duration.

c. Procedure
The AC Voltage will be generated by LC series resonance whereby the cable under test will be the
capacitor and the high voltage rector will be the inductor. An exciter transformer connected between the
low voltage terminal of the reactor and ground will be used to energize the resonant LC pair. The exciter
transformer is energized from a variable frequency inverter via an isolation transformer. The inverter
output frequency can be varied electronically between 20Hz and 300Hz.

By knowledge of the cable capacitance and the reactor inductance the resonant frequency of the test
arrangement can be pre-calculated. The number of reactors and its connection in series or parallel
dependent on the cable parameters. For very short cables or apparatus having low capacitance, e.g. bus
bars, a high voltage capacitor (20,000pF) will be connected in parallel with the test object to enables
resonance to be achieved at the lower end of the 20 – 300Hz frequency range.

A precision capacitive driver is used to measure the voltage being applied to the cable under test. The
software in the laptop display the test voltage, frequency, inverter output voltage, current and other
details.

The site will be surveyed to determine the most appropriate location to assemble the test equipment,
reactor, & capacitor divider.

The termination remote from the testing location will be barricaded and warning signs displayed to
indicate that testing is liable to in progress. During the application of test voltage to the cable a watchman
will be stationed near the remote terminations as an additional safety precaution. The free-air electrical
clearance of all grounded material from energized parts shall be minimum 25mm per 10KV ( peak) of
applied test voltage to avoid flashover.
For GIS testing, the AC resonant test set will be erected adjacent to the GIS into which an HV test adaptor
will have been installed by the GIS manufacturer. If a connection cannot be made between the HV test set
and the GIS HV test adaptor in a single span intermediate temporary supports (PVC pipes) will be erected
to support the HV test lead. The 4mm² copper wire test lead will be contained within 100mm diameter
aluminum foil ducting to reduce corona losses and minimize the generation of external partial discharges.

All test equipment grounds will be securely connected to the substation ground system. A diesel generator
will be prepared nearby and connected to the test set input lead. Rigid safety barricades, warning signs
and flashing warning light will be erected around the test site. All cable shield and link-boxes will be in
their in-service configuration but SVL, s will be shorted to their being damaged in the event of a flashover
during testing.

HVAC testing will commence with the measurement of cable insulation resistance, between conductor
and insulation shield, one phase at a time, by the use of 5kV insulation tester. The measured value of
insulation resistance will be recorded at the completion of one minute of measurement. Each conductor
will be reconnected to ground upon the completion of the insulation resistance measurement for that
phase.

The ground will be disconnected from the termination of the first cable to be tested. The HV output
terminal of the reactor will be connected to the cable terminal via a low corona test lead.

All test report should be available at site prior to the start of the HVAC teat. HV checklist to be filled and
signed by all concern before starting the HVAC test. Following a final check of safety precaution,
equipment connection and ground and after the safety clearance given by the approved safety officer, the
generator can be started.

After entering the required details in the software for the testing the frequency inverter is energized. The
test voltage, stages and voltage duration will be given and the software will search for the resonant
frequency automatically. After reaching the resonant frequency point the test voltage for the required
duration can be started or increased in stages (as specified by client).

In the event that a failure of the cable or accessories occur during the AC HIPOT teat that effect will be
that the Q factor of the resonant circuit will be considerably degraded and consequently the test voltage
will immediately fall to much reduce value. Damage at then failure location would be minimal. The test
set will be immediately shut down and the location and cause of the failure investigated.

At the end of the specified tests duration the rector output will be decreased to minimum automatically
and the inverter shutdown. A ground lead shall be attached to the terminal of the cable that has just been
tested. The rector HV output lead will be transferred to the next phase cable to be tested and the foregoing
procedure repeated.

When all phases have been AC HIPOT tested the insulation resistance measurement procedure will be
repeated. The tested cable will remain connected to ground until immediately prior to being put into
service.
 Reactor Cable
Under
Test
Test
Voltage
Voltage
Divider
Variable Frequency

Isolation Transformer
Generator
200 KVA
415 V Interface unit
50 HZ

LAPTOP
SOFTWARE