Definition of the remaining life of power-transmission lines with cross-linked polyethylene insulation

Abstract

XLPE-insulated cables and wires are becoming more widespread. For this reason, it is becoming necessary to control the state of insulation over its total operating life. Online monitoring of the effects on the insulation and determination of its remaining life becomes possible using modern equipment. In this paper, a method of determining the remaining lifetime of the cross-linked polyethylene insulation of the powertransmission line is presented. An insulation-aging model developed at the previous stage of the research was used. It is proposed to control the destructive effects on the insulation and calculate the remaining life based on the obtained data. The results of the research showed that the probability of failure is subject to the normal character of distribution (Gaussian distribution) as the insulation in the process of operation is exposed to a large number of effects (partial discharges, thermal actions, effect of the environmental factors, etc.). The remaining lifetime is defined as a function of inverse failure probability. The proposed method can be used to develop a set of devices for determining the remaining life of polyethylene insulation.