Calibration for time domain propagation constant measurements on power cables

A method has been developed for characterizing the wave propagation properties of medium voltage (MV) power cables. It delivers the complex propagation constant of lossy cable transmission lines as a function of frequency. The technique is based on time domain measurements and frequency domain analysis of short pulse propagation. Particular attention is paid to the calibration, as samples with arbitrary characteristic impedances can cause multiple reflections in the test setup. The influence of numerical artefacts is also investigated. The developed technique is demonstrated on MV crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) cables. The results are verified by comparison with frequency domain measurements of the cable S-parameters.