The effect of different types of inclusions on PE cable life

Experiments on polyethylene (PE) cable samples have shown that conducting inclusions are not as harmful as mineral particles, in particular glass. The consequences of this result for cable breakdown during type tests are discussed. The experiments suggest that about 50% of the cables polluted with glass will fail during a type test for medium-voltage cables (10 kV/mm, 24 h); all polluted cables will show a high failure percentage (>50%) at a type test for high-voltage cables (23 kV/mm, 24 h).<
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