The behaviour of dry insulation medium voltage cables in a moist environment

A research project under the Spanish Electro Technical Research Programme and led by IBERDROLA, is being conducted in conjunction with Cables Pirelli, S.A. and ASINEL. The main objective of this research project, is to investigate the behaviour of medium voltage power cables in a moist environment, and to find a correlation between the results of cables aged in the laboratory and the results of cables aged in a real underground installation. At the same time, the mechanical characteristics of the insulation, semiconductor screen, strippability of external semiconductor, resistivity, etc., are controlled and recorded in order to determine their variations during the ageing periods. At the end of the project, it is expected that the reliability and the electrical life of power cable will be increased, thus improving both efficiency and electrical service quality. All these actions should prove to have real economical advantages