Cable insulation electric stress* - QuickField simulation example
Engineering question
How to find electric field stress in cable insulation?
Engineering answer
Set up a plane-parallel QuickField Electrostatics problem for a cable insulation structure and evaluate electric field stress from computed field results.
Typical applications
high-voltage power cables, cable insulation layers, cable dielectric structures
Download
- Download simulation files (files may be viewed using any QuickField Edition).
Simulation problem
Problem TypePlane-parallel problem of electrostatics.
Geometry
Given
Relative permittivity of filler ε = 2.8;
Relative permittivity of insulation ε = 4;
Line voltage 10kV, screen voltage 0 V;
Task
Calculate the electric field stress distribution in the insulation.
Solution
Impregnated paper insulation consists of many layers with different values of dielectric permittivity. For simplicity we replace multiple layers with a homogenous insulation.
Results
The picture below represents the electric field in the cross section of a three-phase cable at the time when the potential of phase A (upper conductor) reaches its maximum. Such field pattern is typical for three-phase cables with sector-shaped conductors, regardless of the insulation type. 1-3 are the characteristic areas of insulation, while 2 are the areas with the highest electric field strength.
Reference
*Dmitry Arsenyev, Simon Dubitsky, Dmitry Kiesewetter, and Victor Malyuin. Numerical Simulation and Calculation of Resistance of Laminated Paper-Impregnated Insulation of Power Cables. Energies 15, no. 19 (2022): 7403.