A simple method for measuring complex transfer impedance and admittance of shielded cable in substations

In substations, shielded cables are widely used to reduce transient electromagnetic interference to the relay and control equipments due to the switch operation. Both the transfer impedance and transfer admittance are quantities for expressing numerically the mechanism that allows the passage of electromagnetic energy across the cable shield. Theoretical models to compute both the quantities often rely on simplifying assumptions. This, together with the fact that the transfer impedance and admittance can vary considerably between cable samples of the same type, means that measurements become necessary. In this paper, based on the transmission line theory we present a simple method to measure the transfer impedance and admittance of shielded cable in magnitude as well as in phase over the frequency range (0.1 MHz-10 MHz) which covers the main interference frequencies in power system. To illustrate this method a coaxial cable with a braided shield has been measured and compared with the existing method. As an application, the proposed method is used to predict the induced voltage and current on the shielded cable due to the switch operation in substation.