Influence of contaminants on partial discharge characteristics for model XLPE transmission cable joints

This paper describes the influence on partial discharge (PD) characteristics of contaminants at the EPR-epoxy interfaces of transmission-class cable joints. The contaminants used included paper fibers and metallic whiskers which could inadvertently be present at the joint interfaces. The contaminants considered increase the local electric field at the interface, leading to PD activity and breakdown. This paper presents the results of our investigations, detailing the PD pulse parameters observed along EPR-epoxy interfaces with different contaminants.