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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Long-life cable development: cable materials survey. Final report

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6124615

This survey was conducted in several European countries, Japan, and the United States to study the practices of extruded cable materials used in distribution cables and delineate present and future technological trends. Materials suppliers, compounders, cable manufacturers and one European electric utility company were contacted. In Europe, with minor exceptions, and in Japan, without exception, crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) was used exclusively and that ethylene propylene rubber was not adopted by utilities because of higher cost. In Europe and Japan, the failure rates of XLPE cable, which is invariably equipped with a polymeric jacket, are reported to be lower than in the USA. Taped shields, impurities, voids and construction defects were reported as the primary causes of high extruded cable failure rates. In all countries visited, the cleanliness of cable compounds has historically improved. To retard water treeing, different methods are utilized or are being contemplated. No revolutionary changes or totally new materials are being contemplated in the foreseeable future.

Research Organization:
Connecticut Univ., Storrs (USA). Inst. of Materials Science
OSTI ID:
6124615
Report Number(s):
EPRI-EL-4398; ON: TI86920244
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English