Diagnostics of Electrical Wires and Cables

The authors have developed a new method of diagnostics of cable conductivity elements (CE), which helps determine the type and location of their defect. This method relies on a physical phenomenon never used in the non-destructive testing systems before. It consists in polarizing the spin magnetic moments of free electrons in conductive structures when exposed to an external electric field. This process is recorded by an induction sensor, which generates a measuring pilot signal in the form of the induction EMF, the parameters of which are determined based on the cable CE parameters in the area of this sensor location. A diagnostics is carried out through comparing the received signal with a reference signal obtained in advance in a similar way. In this case, the process of the reference signal generation depends on the control objectives that were set. When it is only necessary to confirm the cable CE defect and identify its type without specifying its parameters, the reference signal is obtained using a standard cable section without defects. When a categorization of the revealed defects is required along with their specific parameters determination, it is necessary to create a reference signal database acquired based upon measurements in the cable samples with intentionally planted set defects.