Dielectric spectroscopy on thermally aged, intact, poly-vinyl chloride/ethylene propylene rubber (PVC/EPR) multipolar cables

As a contribution to condition monitoring diagnostics on low voltage cables used in nuclear power plants, this work shows that broadband dielectric spectroscopy can be an effective technique to assess aging state of these cables. Broadband dielectric spectroscopy has been performed on three-conductor (tri-core) cables, insulated by EPR with PVC jacket. The main challenge has been to perform the measurement on the intact cables, by means of a custom-built connector, conceiving a non-destructive and non-intrusive technique. Results show that capacitance and dissipation factor can provide information about the aging state of the cable, without the need to destroy the sample in the measurement process.