Diagnosis of cable aging by broadband impedance spectroscopy

Since electric wires and cables play very important roles of supplying electric power and transmitting information and control signals, their degradation may cause a serious problem. In the present research, we examined the applicability of the broadband impedance spectroscopy (BIS) to monitor the degradation of cable insulation. The BIS method is to measure the magnitude and phase angle of impedance as a function of frequency in a very wide frequency range. First, cables were aged partially by heat and γ-rays. Further, a hole was drilled from the outer to inner conductors in some cables, and was filled with a NaCl solution in order to simulate a vented water tree. The difference in magnitude or phase angle of impedance before and after the aging becomes clearer by fast Fourier transform analyses, regardless of whether the aging was given by the γ-rays or water trees. The location of the degradation was also possible without referring to the data before the aging. These results clearly indicate that the BIS method has a potential ability to locate the degradation of cable insulation induced by various kinds of damages.