Diagnostics of low-voltage power cables by using broadband impedance spectroscopy

Underground low-voltage cabling will be in important role in the future smart grids to guarantee safe and uninterrupted power distribution. Hence, the diagnosis of cable condition and prognosis of the remaining life time are essential functions. In this paper, a broadband impedance-spectroscopy-based cable diagnosis method is researched and evaluated with laboratory tests. It is found that the proposed method is applicable for fault detection and fault locating in low-voltage power cables, and can be used as the base for the development of low-cost cable online condition monitoring system implemented on modern power line communication modems.