Failure Analysis of Medium Voltage Single Bonded Cable System

Presently Process Industries and Utilities are extensively using XLPE power cables in medium voltage sector for distribution of power. As the current requirements of Process Industries are high and route lengths are in the range 1 to 2 kilometers, Single point bonded system is generally adopted to reduce the overheating of cables. Failures are reported from such bonded medium voltage cables due to improper design and installation. In addition, occurrence of external damage on such medium voltage cables during laying and installation, is also causing failures. Proper analysis of such failures is mandatory to develop better maintenance and installation practices which can avert unexpected failure in the system. Even though it is very difficult to ascertain the failure cause from the failure spot, it is possible to analyze the failure by thorough inspection of the failed piece of cable by dissection and further checking the nearby cables. Here in this paper, a detailed investigation carried out on the failure analysis of a single core 1000 sq.mm medium voltage cable is highlighted.