go to top scroll for more

Projects: Projects for Investigator
Reference Number	NIA_UKPN0071
Title	Smart Cable Guard
Status	Completed
Energy Categories	Other Power and Storage Technologies(Electricity transmission and distribution) 100%;
Research Types	Applied Research and Development 100%
Science and Technology Fields	ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Electrical and Electronic Engineering) 100%
UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation	Not Cross-cutting 100%
Principal Investigator	Project Contact No email address given UK Power Networks
Award Type	Network Innovation Allowance
Funding Source	Ofgem
Start Date	01 February 2021
End Date	01 February 2023
Duration	ENA months
Total Grant Value	£435,281
Industrial Sectors	Power
Region	London
Programme	Network Innovation Allowance
Investigators	Principal Investigator	Project Contact , UK Power Networks (100.000%)
	Industrial Collaborator	Project Contact , UK Power Networks (0.000%)
Web Site	https://smarter.energynetworks.org/projects/NIA_UKPN0071
Objectives	The method being explored by this project will be to trial the Smart Cable Guard (SCG) equipment manufactured by DNVGL. SCG aims to detect and locates PD that occurs because of weak spots in the cable insulation or joints. Weak spots in the cable generating PD are in most cases an indication of an eventual failure. SCG may detect such PD activity or weak spots and pinpoint their location with an accuracy of 1% of the cable length being monitored by the system. This is may be of great value to Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) in making the optimal financial decisions about the proactive repair/ replacement work of cables at a reduced cost which may be planned in advance. This project will be carried out in three phases ;1. Phase 1 – Site selection and survey. This will involve selecting circuits to monitor and checking these with DNVGL to see if they believe monitoring those circuits will be possible. Carrying out site surveys on the sites where the units would be installed to check their earthing arrangements and general arrangement on site. Extracting the cable data from the GIS system and feed into the DNVGL tool. Once this is done then DNVGL will then deliver the hardware and draft a detailed commissioning plan. 2. Phase 2 – Installation of the units on site. This Phase will involve installing the units at the substations within the SPN network this will be a combination of operational teams and DNVGL staff working together. During the install there will be training for UKPN engineers in the installation of the equipment. Once each unit is on site there will need to be synchronisation of the sensors with the DNVGL systems. 3. Phase 3 – Monitoring phase. This phase will be carried out over 18 months. This will see DNVGL monitor the outputs of the units in conjunction with UKPN asset engineers to establish where weak points are. When weak spots are identified a decision may be made whether to actively repair the circuit or not. If it is chosen to proactively act then operational staff will proactively the highlight the weak spots and send samples for forensic analysis. Evaluation and closedown – when the project has come to an end there will be analysis of the benefits of the project and move into BAU. The main objective is to establish if this technology can be used on UKPNs network and how it may be used to plan for repairs proactively. The project will entail trialling the equipment and testing its capability in identifying weak spots and fault locations. Cable samples will then be taken from the weak spots and analysed. There will also be an element of leaving the weak spots on the network and seeing how the PD behaves between the time it is picked up to the point of failure.
Abstract	At present UK Power Networks (UKPN) are observing approximately 1,900 underground high voltage HV (HV) cable failures per year, across 45,000 km of HV cables. This requires a large expenditure on unscheduled repairs. There is currently no solution in the UK that allows online monitoring of Partial Discharge (PD) of HV cables as well as locating a fault or incipient faults further than the first leg of the feeder. There are a number of solutions which look at PD from the Primary substation however these only measure the first leg out of a feeder and they also require further location to find the exact location of the fault or PD.
Publications	(none)
Final Report	(none)
Added to Database	19/10/22