On the intrinsic thermal stability in HVDC cables

The paper deals with some important aspects of steady state thermal stability in the insulation of HVDC cables. The resistively graded electric field distribution and the temperature distribution, under steady state, in dc cables, are interrelated. The dc conductivity is known to be a function of stress as well as of temperature. Reasonably convincing theories of electric stress and temperature distribution are now available in the literature. Until recently, the thermal runaway was believed, primarily, to be a consequence of an inordinate run away in the sheath temperature due to dynamic interaction with the ambient. While this premise is partly true, there are other overriding factors controlling the stability. This paper presents a detailed investigation on this aspect and it is shown that the multi-factor dependent dc conductivity alone causes the thermal instability, boundary conditions at sheath having a marginal role.