Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “CABLES”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 91 records · Page 5
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2019

Modeling of Water Film Formation on a Stay-Cable

With the increasing popularity of cable-stayed bridges in the past few decades, longer spans are being constructed using ever-longer stay cables. Under certain conditions, especially during construction, and wind and rain-wind events, the cables of cable-stayed bridges may undergo large amplitude vibrations. This type of vibration has been of concern to researchers and engineers because large amplitude vibration can induce excessive stresses and therefore threaten the safety and integrity of bridge structures. Figure 1-1 presents an example of a stay cable bridge structure, The Cooper River Bridge. Many countermeasures for the wind-rain induced vibrations have been developed to decrease the amplitude of the vibrations and consequently, the fatigue of the cables. One of the methods is to install helical fillets on the cable surface. A sketch of a cable with two fillets wrapped around it is shown in Figure 1-2. The main objective of the present study is to develop and test computational methodologies, with the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD), that model the interaction of rain with stay cables including: the formation of water film, development of rainwater rivulets, and rivulet behavior under various conditions with and without wind. Interaction of water with cables with and without fillets is analyzed, and results are presented in this report. This study is divided into two parts. The first part of this study, Section 4, explores methods of modeling water film formation and flow on cables. A series of simulations using the Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes equations turbulence model (RANS) and large eddy simulation (LES) model are performed to analyze water film formation and flow on a cable using the fluid film model in STARCCM+ [(b)1]. Various methods of setting up initial and boundary conditions are tested, especially boundary conditions for introducing rain into the domain. The second part of the study, Section 5, explores upper rivulet formation in the presence of wind, based on the findings from the first part of the study. In that section, LES simulation with the Volume Of Fluid model for the free surface is used. Also, various results for cases with and without water film on the cable are presented and compared.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS1989

Cable coupling lightning transient qualification

Simulated lightning strike testing of instrumentation cabling on the redesigned solid rocket motor was performed. Testing consisted of subjecting the lightning evaluation test article to simulated lightning strikes and evaluating the effects of instrumentation cable transients on cables within the system tunnel. The maximum short-circuit current induced onto a United Space Boosters, Inc., operational flight cable within the systems tunnel was 92 A, and the maximum induced open-circuit voltage was 316 V. These levels were extrapolated to the worst-case (200 kA) condition of NASA specification NSTS 07636 and were also scaled to full-scale redesigned solid rocket motor dimensions. Testing showed that voltage coupling to cables within the systems tunnel can be reduced 40 to 90 dB and that current coupling to cables within the systems tunnel can be reduced 30 to 70 dB with the use of braided metallic sock shields around cables that are external to the systems tunnel. Testing also showed that current and voltage levels induced onto cables within the systems tunnel are partially dependant on the cables' relative locations within the systems tunnel. Results of current injections to the systems tunnel indicate that the dominant coupling mode on cables within the systems tunnel is not from instrumentation cables but from coupling through the systems tunnel cover seam apertures. It is recommended that methods of improving the electrical bonding between individual sections of the systems tunnel covers be evaluated. Further testing to better characterize redesigned solid rocket motor cable coupling effects as an aid in developing methods to reduce coupling levels, particularly with respect to cable placement within the systems tunnel, is also recommended.

Cook, M.↗
DOE OSTI2019

Competing Use Analysis for Offshore Renewables and Subsea Cables

Demand for abundant and diverse resources in the oceans is growing, necessitating marine spatial planning. To inform development of Marine Hydrokinetic (MHK) and Offshore Wind (OSW) resources, the Department of Energy (DOE) has asked NREL to identify the competing uses areas between promising MHK/OSW sites and submarine power and telecommunications cables. The first step in this work is to identify and quantify the overlap between the MHK/OSW resource availability and existing cable routes. The analysis is done in terms of resource area because the task of quantifying actual impacts on available resource is a non-trivial undertaking that involves subjective decisions of identifying resource opportunities. Quantifying overlap in-terms of resource area?on the other hand?is significantly more straight forward, and useful to marine spatial planners. This dataset of polygons describes recommended setback areas from submarine cables for marine renewable energy Development. Two archive files are provided: 1. NREL Cables Setback-Polygons.zip contains the following GeoJSON files: 1.a. cables_100ft.geojson: The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR 585.301) specifies that the legal right of way for submarine cables is 100 ft (~30 meters) to either side of the cable (i.e., 200 ft wide). 1.b. cables_2z.geojson: The International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) of the North American Submarine Cable Association (NASCA) recommends setback distances for new facilities as the maximum of 500 m or twice the bottom depth (2z), per ICPC Recommendation 13 No. 2 (Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council IV 2014). For depths 250 m, 2 * depth is to be used. 1.c. cables_3z.geojson: The ICPC of NASCA recommends setback distances for new cables as the maximum of 500 m or three times the bottom depth (3z), per ICPC Recommendation 2 No. 10 (Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council IV 2014). So for depths 167 m, 3 * depth is to be used. 2. NREL Submarine Cable Analysis Code Data Presentations.zip contains all files (code, data, README, etc) from release 0.1 of this Github repository for possibly regenerating the product as submarine cable configurations change: https://github.com/ecoquants/nrel-cables. For more details, please see the link to the full report for which this data product is a supplemental output: Submarine Cable Analysis for U.S. Marine Renewable Energy Development by Ben Best and Levi Kilcher National Renewable Energy Laboratory

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2021

Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) of Cable Moisture Exposure using Frequency Domain Reflectometry (FDR)

This Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) milestone report assesses the capability of frequency domain reflectometry (FDR) to determine electrical cable submergence using PNNL’s Accelerated and Real-Time Environmental Nodal Assessment (ARENA) cable/motor test bed. This work includes a review of relevant literature as well as experimental tests. Nuclear power facilities have experienced various electrical cable failures related to water exposure. The current industry response involves actions to de-water cable vaults, manholes, and other cable locations. These efforts require considerable expenditure of resources, which makes it desirable for the industry to have information on cable condition and history regarding their submergence and water exposure (Mantey 2012). Two tests that are gaining favor within the nuclear industry are time-domain reflectometry (TDR) and FDR. These are low-voltage nondestructive tests that can be applied at a cable end. Testing from the cable end is important because local inspection along the cable length is very difficult due to cables being routed within trays, conduits, underground, and through walls. Both TDR and FDR techniques have been shown to locate cable insulation damage due to thermal, radiation, and mechanical damage. FDR measurements are also more sensitive than TDR to temperature changes, low-bend radius bends, and cable contact with various materials, including conductive materials like steel and water. This work evaluates the feasibility to extend FDR testing to characterizing whether an electrical cable is submerged or not and where it may be submerged using PNNL’s ARENA cable/motor test bed.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Estimation of full-field, full-order experimental modal model of cable vibration from digital video measurements with physics-guided unsupervised machine learning and computer vision

Cables are critical components for a variety of structures such as stay cables and suspenders of cable-stayed bridges and suspension bridges. When in operational service, they are vulnerable to cumulative fatigue damage induced by dynamic loads (e.g., the cyclic vehicle loads and wind excitation). To accurately analyze and predict their dynamics behaviors and performance that could be spatially local and temporal transient, it is essential to perform high-resolution vibration measurements, from which their dynamics properties are identified and, subsequently, a high spatial resolution, full-modal-order dynamics model of cable vibration can be established. In this study, we develop a physics-guided, unsupervised machine learning-based video processing approach that can blindly and efficiently extract the full-field (as many points as the pixel number of the video frame) modal parameters of cable vibration using only the video of an operating (output-only) cable. In particular, by incorporating the physics of cable vibration (taut string model), a novel automated modal motion filtering method is proposed to enable autonomous identification of full-order (as many modes as possible) dynamic parameters, including those weakly excited modes that used to be challenging to identify in operational modal analysis. Therefore, a full-field, full-order modal model of cable vibration is established by the proposed method. Furthermore, this new approach provides a low-cost and noncontact technique to estimate the cable tension using only the video of the vibrating cable where the fundamental frequency is automatically and efficiently estimated to compute the cable tension according to the taut string equation. Laboratory experiments on a bench-scale cable are conducted to validate the developed approach.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2016

Effects of EMF Emissions from Cables and Junction Boxes on Marine Species

Studies have shown that diverse aquatic species are electrosensitive. Many fishes, and marine mammals, can either detect, navigate by, or are affected by electromagnetic fields (EMF) with various sensitivities, and their behavior may be impacted by unnatural EMF emissions in the water column. Sharks, rays and skates are known to have the highest sensitivity to electric fields. Electric field emissions in the range 0.5–100 micro volt/m appear to attract them, and emissions over 100 micro volt/m to repulse them. A marine hydrokinetic MHK device will have multiple components and associated multiple submarine cables on the seafloor and running through the water column and would potentially increase the level of EMF emissions to which the marine species at the site may be exposed to. There are therefore concerns amongst stakeholders that EMF emissions associated with MHK devices and their components may act as barriers to species migration, cause disorientation, change community compositions and ecosystems, and that they may attract sharks, leading to a local increase in the risk of shark attacks. However, field data to validate and model potential relationships between observed responses and the EMF emissions in situ are sparse. A program of experimental field surveys were conducted off the coast of South Florida, USA to characterize the electromagnetic field (EMF) emissions in the water column from a submarine cable, and to monitor for responses of local aquatic species. The field surveys were conducted at the South Florida Ocean Measurement Facility (SFOMF) off Fort Lauderdale, which is a cabled offshore in-water navy range. It consists of multiple active submarine power cables and a number of junction boxes, with the capability to transmit AC/DC power at a range of strength and frequencies. The site includes significant marine life activities and community structure, including highly mobile species, such as sharks, stingrays, mammals and turtles. SFOMF therefore typifies a setting representative of an offshore location where a MHK device may be sited. Background electromagnetic field (EMF) levels and EMF emissions due to submarine cables were measured using a custom E-field sensor and a commercial magnetometer deployed from an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) at various fixed altitudes above the seafloor. EMF signatures detected from power cables and junction boxes are contrasted against ambient background levels and other EMF sources. The potential responses of local marine species were observed at selected representative locations using divers on SCUBA, complemented with fixed cameras on the sea bottom and by a set of video cameras mounted on the AUV. The objectives of the study were: 1) to characterize the EMF emission levels associated with submarine cables 2) to monitor potential responses of aquatic animals to the emissions and 3) to develop an associated database of field observations. As control, observations of EMF levels and in situ marine species were conducted with power in the cable turned off. Good quality measurements of EMF emissions were obtained using the mobile AUV platform and the data from the surveys were used to develop contour maps of the EMF levels in the water column above the live cable as well as to provide information about how the field decays away from the cable. The measurements show good agreement with theoretical models of the how EMF levels decay away from the cable in deep and shallow water environment. Electric fields in excess of 200µV/m were measured in the vicinity of the cable during the power on state. Quarterly surveys by SCUBA divers were conducted, using point and transect count methods, over a period of one year at three locations, one at a shallow site where the water depth is approximately 5m, and the other at the Barracuda Reef where the water depth is approximately 10m. The sampling results were analyzed to determine if the presence of an SFOMF generated EMF alters: (1) abundance, species richness, and assemblage structure of coral reef fishes, (2) the behavior of fishes including elasmobranchs, and (3) the distribution of marine turtles and mammals. Diver observations were also used in attempt to discern if there were any noticeable organismal responses during the transitional period between ambient OFF to energized AC or DC power states, and video footage was intended to augment the in-situ visual survey data and aid in interpretation of the results. Comparisons are provided between observation datasets between the three sites and between the point and transect count methods. Presence of several individual elasmobranch species, including sharks and stingrays, were recorded during the surveys. No apparent effect on richness could be discerned between the power on and off states. No apparent sudden animal movements were observed during transitions between power states.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2016

Status Report and Research Plan for Cables Harvested from Crystal River Unit 3 Nuclear Generating Plant

Harvested cables from operating or decommissioned nuclear power plants present an important opportunity to validate models, understanding material aging behavior, and validate characterization techniques. Crystal River Unit 3 Nuclear Generating Plant is a pressurized water reactor that was licensed to operate from 1976 to 2013. Cable segments were harvested and made available to the Light Water Reactor Sustainability research program through the Electric Power Research Institute. Information on the locations and circuits within the reactor from whence the cable segments came, cable construction, sourcing and installation information, and photographs of the cable locations prior to harvesting were provided. The cable variations provided represent six of the ten most common cable insulations in the nuclear industry and experienced service usage for periods from 15 to 42 years. Subsequently, these cables constitute a valuable asset for research to understand aging behavior and measurement of nuclear cables. Received cables harvested from Crystal River Unit 3 Nuclear Generating Plant consist of low voltage, insulated conductor surrounded by jackets in lengths from 24 to 100 feet each. Cable materials will primarily be used to investigate aging under simultaneous thermal and gamma radiation exposure. Each cable insulation and jacket material will be characterized in its as-received condition, including determination of the temperatures associated with endothermic transitions in the material using differential scanning calorimetry and dynamic mechanical analysis. Temperatures for additional thermal exposure aging will be selected following the thermal analysis to avoid transitions in accelerated laboratory aging that do not occur in field conditions. Aging temperatures above thermal transitions may also be targeted to investigate the potential for artifacts in lifetime prediction from rapid accelerated aging. Total gamma doses and dose rates targeted for each material will be determined based on filling gaps in prior work, known limits of material classes and resource constraints. Experimental plans will be developed in the context of existing data for the insulation and jacket materials available in published Department of Energy and Electric Power Research Institute reports toward addressing identified knowledge gaps.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
NASA NTRS2010

Reusable Hot-Wire Cable Cutter

During the early development stage of balloon deployment systems for missions, nichrome wire cable cutters were often used in place of pyro-actuated cutters. Typically, a nichrome wire is wrapped around a bundle of polymer cables with a low melting point and connected to a relay-actuated electric circuit. The heat from the nichrome reduces the strength of the cable bundle, which quickly breaks under a mechanical load and can thus be used as a release mechanism for a deployment system. However, the use of hand-made heated nichrome wire for cutters is not very reliable. Often, the wrapped nichrome wire does not cut through the cable because it either pulls away from its power source or does not stay in contact with the cable being cut. Because nichrome is not readily soldered to copper wire, unreliable mechanical crimps are often made to connect the nichrome to an electric circuit. A self-contained device that is reusable and reliable was developed to sever cables for device release or deployment. The nichrome wire in this new device is housed within an enclosure to prevent it from being damaged by handling. The electric power leads are internally connected within the unit to the nichrome wire using a screw terminal connection. A bayonet plug, a quick and secure method of connecting the cutter to the power source, is used to connect the cutter to the power leads similar to those used in pyro-cutter devices. A small ceramic tube [0.25-in. wide 0.5-in. long (.6.4-mm wide 13-mm long)] houses a spiraled nichrome wire that is heated when a cable release action is required. The wire is formed into a spiral coil by wrapping it around a mandrel. It is then laid inside the ceramic tube so that it fits closely to the inner surface of the tube. The ceramic tube provides some thermal and electrical insulation so that most of the heat generated by the wire is directed toward the cable bundle in the center of the spiral. The ceramic tube is cemented into an aluminum block, which holds it in position. The leads of the nichrome wire are attached to screw terminals that connect them to power leads. A bayonet plug mounted at the bottom of the rectangular block connects the power leads to a relay circuit. A thin aluminum shell encloses the entire structure, leaving access points to attach to the bayonet plug and to feed a cable into the cylinder. The access holes for the deployment cable are a smaller diameter than the nichrome coil to prevent the cable from coming in direct contact with the nichrome when loaded. It uses the same general method of severing a cable with a heated wire as was used previously, but implements it in such a way that it is more reliable and less prone to failure. It creates a mechanism to create repeatability that was nonexistent in the previous method.

Pauken, Michael T.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Simulations of the fault current limiting operation of a long-length REBCO CORC ® superconducting cable cooled by helium gas

Conductor-on-round-core (CORC®) cables composed of rare-earth-barium-copper-oxide high-temperature superconducting (HTS) tapes are of great interest for power transmission applications due to their many advantages such as high power density, light weight, and low loss. Closed circulation loops of cryogenic helium gas can be used to cool HTS cables down to low temperatures to significantly improve their current-carrying capacity. Coupled circuit-electromagnetic-thermal finite element simulations implemented in the COMSOL Multiphysics package were developed, validated, and then used for simulating the fault current limiting (FCL) performance and the cooling processes of an 8-layer CORC® cable cooled with a flow of cryogenic helium gas. In the simulations, the temperature dependence of the electrical and thermal properties of all component materials is implemented for improved accuracy. To overcome computational challenges caused by the considerable difference in geometrical scales (i.e. few-µm-thick HTS layers versus 10 m-long HTS cable), the model is divided into two separate simulations. The first simulation is performed on the transverse cross-section of the cable to calculate the electric field, heating power and temperature rise in each component of a CORC® cable during FCL operation. The heating power calculated in the first simulation is transferred to the second model to simulate the cooling of a 10 m-long cable after the fault is cleared. The effect of the helium gas flow rate on the cooling process is also investigated to develop strategic approaches for optimizing cooling systems for HTS cables with FCL capability. The simulations indicated that a 40 ms fault with a voltage drop of 20 V m −1 along the cable can result in a temperature increase from 60 K to about 165 K inside the cable, and it takes about 500 s to cool the cable back to nearly 60 K with a flow of cold helium gas at a rate of 5 g s −1 .

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2019

SMART Cables for Observing the Global Ocean: Science and Implementation

The ocean is key to understanding societal threats including climate change, sea level rise, ocean warming, tsunamis, and earthquakes. Because the ocean is difficult and costly to monitor, we lack fundamental data needed to adequately model, understand, and address these threats. One solution is to integrate sensors into future undersea telecommunications cables. This is the mission of the SMART subsea cables initiative (Science Monitoring And Reliable Telecommunications). SMART sensors would “piggyback” on the power and communications infrastructure of a million kilometers of undersea fiber optic cable and thousands of repeaters, creating the potential for seafloor-based global ocean observing at a modest incremental cost. Initial sensors would measure temperature, pressure, and seismic acceleration. The resulting data would address two critical scientific and societal issues: the long-term need for sustained climate-quality data from the under-sampled ocean (e.g., deep ocean temperature, sea level, and circulation), and the near-term need for improvements to global tsunami warning networks. A Joint Task Force (JTF) led by three UN agencies (ITU/WMO/UNESCO-IOC) is working to bring this initiative to fruition. This paper explores the ocean science and early warning improvements available from SMART cable data, and the societal, technological, and financial elements of realizing such a global network. Simulations show that deep ocean temperature and pressure measurements can improve estimates of ocean circulation and heat content, and cable-based pressure and seismic-acceleration sensors can improve tsunami warning times and earthquake parameters. The technology of integrating these sensors into fiber optic cables is discussed, addressing sea and land-based elements plus delivery of real-time open data products to end users. The science and business case for SMART cables is evaluated. SMART cables have been endorsed by major ocean science organizations, and JTF is working with cable suppliers and sponsors, multilateral development banks and end users to incorporate SMART capabilities into future cable projects. By investing now, we can build up a global ocean network of long-lived SMART cable sensors, creating a transformative addition to the Global Ocean Observing System.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Nondestructive Examination for Nuclear Power Plant Cable Aging Management Programs

Degradation of the cable jacket, electrical insulation, and other cable components of installed cables within nuclear power plants (NPPs) is known to occur as a function of age, temperature, radiation, and other environmental factors. System tests verify cable function under normal loads; however, the concern is over cable performance under exceptional loads associated with design-basis events (DBEs). The cable’s ability to perform safely over the initial 40 year planned and licensed life has generally been demonstrated and there have been very few age-related cable failures. With greater than 1000 km of power, control, instrumentation, and other cables typically found in an NPP, replacing all the cables would be a severe cost burden. Justification for life extension to 60 and 80 years requires a cable aging management program (AMP) to justify cable performance under normal operation as well as accident conditions. This paper addresses various NDE technologies that constitute the essence of an acceptable aging management program.

cable aging inspection↗
DOE OSTI2014

Determining Remaining Useful Life of Aging Cables in Nuclear Power Plants using Non-destructive Evaluation

License renewal of existing nuclear power plants (NPPs) to extend operation from 40 to 60 to 80 years will require effective aging management programs for the 100’s of kilometers of electric power, control and instrumentation cables installed in each plant. Degradation of jacket, insulation and other cable components can reduce the ability of cables to withstand design-basis accidents. The groundwork for a research and development roadmap to address aging cable management in NPPs was laid at a July 2012 workshop1 that brought together subject matter experts from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), universities, and cable manufacturers and inspectors. The most common nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods for gauging cable status include indentation and visual inspection. These methods are limited to evaluation of the surface easily accessed cable assemblies. Other current methods (such as time and frequency domain analysis, inductance and capacitance measurements, tan d, etc.) provide flaw detection, but are not predictive. The workshop identified the need to advance and develop new NDE methods to enable in-situ cable condition assessment. Key chemical, physical, and electrical indicators of cable aging with exposure to heat, radiation, moisture, chemicals, and mechanical stress need to be determined. Finally, models correlating the key cable indicators with NDE signals need to be developed that can aging cable remaining useful life.

NDE, Nuclear Cables, Polymer Aging↗
DOE OSTI2024

Development of a high current density, high temperature superconducting cable for pulsed magnets

Abstract A low AC loss Rare Earth Barium Copper Oxide (REBCO) cable, based on the VIPER cable technology has been developed by Commonwealth Fusion Systems for use in high field, REBCO based tokamaks. The new cable is composed of partitioned and transposed copper ‘petals’ shaped to fit together in a circular pattern with each petal containing a REBCO tape stack and insulated from each other to reduce AC losses. A stainless steel jacket adds mechanical robustness—also serving as a vessel for solder impregnation—while a tube runs through the middle for cooling purposes. Additionally, fiber optic sensors are placed under the tape stacks for quench detection. To qualify this design, a series of experiments were conducted as part of the SPARC tokamak Central Solenoid Model Coil program—to retire the risks associated with full scale, fast ramping, high flux HTS Central Solenoid (CS) and Poloidal Field (PF) coils for tokamak fusion power plants and net energy demonstrators. These risk study and risk reduction experiments include (1) AC loss measurement and model validation in the range of ~5 T/s, (2) an IxB electromagnetic loading of over 850 kN/m at the cable level and up to 300 kN/m at the stack level, (3) a transverse compression resilience of over 350 MPa, (4) manufacturability at tokamak relevant speeds and scales, (5) cable to cable joint performance, (6) fiber optic based quench detection speed, accuracy, and feasibility, and (7) overall winding pack integration and magnet assembly. The result is a cable technology, now referred to as PIT VIPER, with AC losses that measure fifteen times lower (at ~5 T/s) than its predecessor technology; a 2% or lower degradation of critical current (Ic) at high IxB electromagnetic loads; no detectable Ic degradation up to 570 MPa of transverse compression on the cable unit cell; end to end magnet manufacturing, consistently producing Ic values within 7% of the model prediction; cable to cable joint resistances at 20 K on the order of ~15 nΩ; and fast, functional quench detection capabilities that do not involve voltage taps. This cable technology will be tested comprehensively in a Central Solenoid Model Coil to prove its readiness for compact, high field tokamak operation.

Sanabria, Charlie (ORCID:0000000150175309)↗
DOE OSTI2015

Submerged Medium Voltage Cable Systems at Nuclear Power Plants: A Review of Research Efforts Relevant to Aging Mechanisms and Condition Monitoring

In a submerged environment, power cables may experience accelerated insulation degradation due to water-related aging mechanisms. Direct contact with water or moisture intrusion in the cable insulation system has been identified in the literature as a significant aging stressor that can affect performance and lifetime of electric cables. Progressive reduction of the dielectric strength is commonly a result of water treeing which involves the development of permanent hydrophilic structures in the insulation coinciding with the absorption of water into the cable. Water treeing is a phenomenon in which dendritic microvoids are formed in electric cable insulation due to electrochemical reactions, electromechanical forces, and diffusion of contaminants over time. These reactions are caused by the combined effects of water presence and high electrical stresses in the material. Water tree growth follows a tree-like branching pattern, increasing in volume and length over time. Although these cables can be “dried out,” water tree degradation, specifically the growth of hydrophilic regions, is believed to be permanent and typically worsens over time. Based on established research, water treeing or water induced damage can occur in a variety of electric cables including XLPE, TR-XLPE and other insulating materials, such as EPR and butyl rubber. Once water trees or water induced damage form, the dielectric strength of an insulation material will decrease gradually with time as the water trees grow in length, which could eventually result in failure of the insulating material. Under wet conditions or in submerged environments, several environmental and operational parameters can influence water tree initiation and affect water tree growth. These parameters include voltage cycling, field frequency, temperature, ion concentration and chemistry, type of insulation material, and the characteristics of its defects. In this effort, a review of academic and industrial literature was performed to identify: 1) findings regarding the degradation mechanisms of submerged cabling and 2) condition monitoring methods that may prove useful in predicting the remaining lifetime of submerged medium voltage power cables. The research was conducted by a multi-disciplinary team, and sources included official NRC reports, national laboratory reports, IEEE standards, conference and journal proceedings, magazine articles, PhD dissertations, and discussions with experts. The purpose of this work was to establish the current state-of-the-art in material degradation modeling and cable condition monitoring techniques and to identify research gaps. Subsequently, future areas of focus are recommended to address these research gaps and thus strengthen the efficacy of the NRC’s developing cable condition monitoring program. Results of this literature review and details of the testing recommendations are presented in this report.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2021

RG217 V2-V2 Coaxial Cable Acceptance Test

The ECSE Solid State Pulsed Power unit is a high current, high power solid-state pulse modulator. The RG217 V2-V2 Coaxial Cable Assembly is the interface cable between the Solid State Pulser and the load. This document covers the testing procedure for the RG217 V2-V2 Coaxial Cable Assembly. This assembly is comprised of RG217 Coaxial Cable with a LRU Connector on either end. This test procedure verifies the cable is undamaged and assembled correctly, the correct cable connectors are installed properly onto the cable, and that the entire assembly meets conductivity and holdoff voltage requirements. This procedure will verify that the RG217 Coaxial Cable Assembly meets all assembly and functional requirements. In particular, this procedure verifies the Cable Shield and Center Conductor meet conductivity requirements by testing their resistances. Additionally, this procedure ensures the RG217 Coaxial Cable Assembly meets holdoff voltage requirements by applying high voltage and verifying the RG217 Coaxial Cable Assembly does not experience any breakdowns or arcing.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS1994

Stability analysis of an F/A-18 E/F cable mount m odel

A full-span F/A-18 E/F cable mounted wind tunnel model is part of a flutter clearance program at the NASA Langley Transonic Dynamics Tunnel. Parametric analysis of this model using GRUMCBL software was conducted to assess stability for wind tunnel tests. Two configurations of the F/A-18 E/F were examined. The parameters examined were pulley-cable friction, mach number, dynamic pressure, cable geometry, center of gravity location, cable tension, snubbing the model, drag, and test medium. For the nominal cable geometry (Cable Geometry 1), Configuration One was unstable for cases with higher pulley-cable friction coefficients. A new cable geometry (Cable Geometry 3) was determined in which Configuration One was stable for all cases evaluated. Configuration Two with the nominal center of gravity position was found to be unstable for cases with higher pulley-cable friction coefficients; however, the model was stable when the center of gravity moved forward 1/2. The model was tested using the cable mount system during the initial wind tunnel entry and was stable as predicted.

Thompson, Nancy↗
NASA NTRS2018

Cumulative Distribution of Ballistic Impact Failures of Common Twisted-Pair Data Cables at Orbital Speeds

Data wire cable runs are a significant presence on the exterior of the International Space Station (ISS), and continued ISS mission support requires detailed assessment of cables due to micrometeoroid and orbit debris (MMOD) impact. These data wire cables are twisted-pair cables consisting of two 22AWG stranded conductors and fillers inside a tight fitting braided copper shield. The copper shield and its contents are covered with a jacket that has a nominal outer diameter of 3.76 mm and beta-cloth tape. The ISS engineering community has identified two loss-of-function mechanisms for these cables: open circuits due to severed conductors within the cable, and short circuits due to contact between conductors or grounded components. As these data cables are low power systems, short circuits are not expected to burn away the contact, so both open and short circuits are considered permanent loss-of-function for the cable. A total of ninety-seven impact experiments have been performed into these cables to develop a statistical model for the failure of these cables to be used in reliability studies. The experimental work has yielded cumulative distribution functions for these cables for steel and aluminum components of the orbital debris environment at representative speeds and impact obliquities.

Miller, Joshua E.↗
DOE OSTI2021

PNNL ARENA Cable Motor Test Bed Update

A major focus of the Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Cable Nondestructive Examination (NDE) 2021 research is to acquire new equipment and integrate it with existing NDE instruments for a cable motor test bed which has been dubbed the Accelerated and Real Time Experimental Nodal Analysis or “ARENA”. All the primary components have been received and are being staged in the 2410 Stevens building on PNNL’s Richland campus. Building modifications to support a plug-in 480VAC receptacle have been completed and details of the system operating procedure (SOP) are in review. The approved SOP is required before the system is energized but is expected before July 2021. The ARENA system will support planned cable tests for 2021 and beyond that cannot conveniently be performed with on-site installations of cable test equipment including: (1) NDE Tests including Frequency Domain Reflectometry (FDR), Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR), Tan Delta (TD) Impedance measurements, Low Frequency Dielectric Spectroscopy (DS) measurements, standard multi-meter resistance checks, withstand tests and other bulk and distributed tests from the instrument panel with and without motors connected. (2) Online energized live wire tests using partial discharge instruments and LIVE-WIRE spread-spectrum TDR instruments. (3) Cable tests with partially submerged cable segments (including ability to submerge live cable segments). (4) Cable tests with partially or completely thermally aged segments (including ability to expose energized cable segments to thermal aging and use online monitoring instruments to monitor cable performance. (5) Ability to introduce low resistance simulations of connector or splice faults to off-line and on-line instrument setups.

42 ENGINEERING↗