Overhead line Insulators

• Electric power can be transmitted or dis tributed either by means of

underground cables or by overhead lines.
• The underground* cables are rarely used for power transmission due to two
main reasons.
• Firstly, power is generally transmitted over long distances to load centers.
Obviously, the installation costs for underground transmission will be very
heavy.
• Secondly, electric power has to be transmitted at high voltages for economic
reasons. It is very difficult to provide proper insulation† to the cables to
withstand such higher pressures.
• Therefore, as a rule, power transmission over long distances is carried out by
using overhead lines. With the growth in power demand and consequent rise
in voltage levels, power transmission by overhead lines has assumed
considerable importance.
Continue..
• An overhead line is subjected to uncertain weather conditions and
other external interferences.
• This calls for the use of proper mechanical factors of safety in order
to ensure the continuity of operation in the line. In general, the
strength of the line should be such so as to provide against the worst
probable weather conditions.
• In this chapter, we shall focus our attention on the various aspects of
mechanical design of overhead lines.
 Main Components of Overhead Lines
• An overhead line may be used to transmit or distribute electric power. The succcessful
operation of an overhead line depends to a great extent upon the mechanical design of the
line.
• While constructing an overhead line, it should be ensured that mechanical strength of the line
is such so as to provide against the most probable weather conditions. In general, the main
components of an overhead line are:
• (i) Conductors which carry electric power from the sending end station to the receiving end
station.
• (ii) Supports which may be poles or towers and keep the conductors at a suitable level above
the ground.

• (iii) Insulators which are attached to supports and insulate the conductors from the ground.
(iv) Cross arms which provide support to the insulators.
• (v) Miscellaneous items such as phase plates, danger plates, lightning arrestors, anti-climbing
wires etc. The continuity of operation in the overhead line depends upon the judicious choice
of above components. Therefore, it is profitable to have detailed discussion on them.
 Main Components of Overhead Lines
• An overhead line may be used to transmit or distribute electric power. The succcessful operation of an
overhead line depends to a great extent upon the mechanical design of the line.
• While constructing an overhead line, it should be ensured that mechanical strength of the line is such so
as to provide against the most probable weather conditions. In general, the main components of an
overhead line are:
(i) Conductors which carry electric power from the sending end station to the receiving end station.
(ii) Supports which may be poles or towers and keep the conductors at a suitable level above the
ground.
(iii) Insulators which are attached to supports and insulate the conductors from the ground.
(iv) Cross arms which provide support to the insulators.

(v) Miscellaneous items such as phase plates, danger plates, lightning arrestors, anti-climbing wires etc.
• The continuity of operation in the overhead line depends upon the judicious choice of above
• components. Therefore, it is profitable to have detailed discussion on them.
Line Supports
• The supporting structures for overhead line conductors are various types of
poles and towers called line supports. In general, the line supports should
have the following properties :
• (i) High mechanical strength to withstand the weight of conductors and
wind loads etc.
• (ii) Light in weight without the loss of mechanical strength.
• (iii) Cheap in cost and economical to maintain.
• (iv) Longer life.
• (v) Easy accessibility of conductors for maintenance. The line supports
used for transmission and distribution of electric power are of various
types
Insulators

• The overhead line conductors should be supported on the poles or towers

in such a way that currents from conductors do not flow to earth through
supports i.e., line conductors must be properly insulated from supports.
• This is achieved by securing line conductors to supports with the help of
insulators.
• The insulators provide necessary insulation between line conductors and
supports and thus prevent any leakage current from conductors to earth.
• In general, the insulators should have the following desirable properties
Desirable properties of Insulators
• (ii) High electrical resistance of insulator material in order to avoid leakage
currents to earth.
• (iii) High relative permittivity of insulator material in order that dielectric
strength is high.
• (iv) The insulator material should be non-porous, free from impurities and
cracks otherwise the permittivity will be lowered.
• (v) High ratio of puncture strength to flashover. The most commonly used
material for insulators of overhead line is porcelain but glass, steatite and
special composition materials are also used to a limited extent.
• Porcelain is produced by firing at a high temperature a mixture of kaolin,
feldspar and quartz. It is stronger mechanically than glass, gives less trouble
from leakage and is less effected by changes of temperature
Types of Insulator

• The successful operation of an overhead line depends to a

Considerable extent upon the proper selection of insulators. There
are several types of insulators but the most commonly used are
• Pin type
• Suspension type
• Strain insulator and
• shackle insulator.
Pin type insulators

• The part section of a pin type insulator is shown in Fig. 8.5

• (i). As the name suggests, the pin type insulator is secured to the cross-arm
of Power System pole.
• There is a groove on the upper end of the insulator for housing the
conductor. The conductor passes through this groove and is bound by the
annealed wire of the same material as the conductor [See Fig. 8.5]
• (ii). Pin type insulators are used for transmission and distribution of elec
tric power at voltages upto 33 kV.
• Beyond operating voltage of 33 kV, the pin type insulators become too
bulky and hence uneconomical
Causes of insulator failure
• Insulators are required to withstand both mechanical and electrical
stresses. The latter type is primarily due to line voltage and may cause the
breakdown of the insulator.
• The electrical break down of the insulator can occur either by flash-over or
puncture.
In flash over, an arc occurs between the line conductor and insulator pin
(i.e., earth) and the discharge jumps across the *air gaps, following shortest
distance.
Fig. 8.6 shows the arcing distance (i.e. a + b + c) for the insulator. In case of
flash-over, the insulator will continue to act in its proper capacity unless
extreme heat produced by the arc destroys the insulator.
Continue..
• In case of puncture, the discharge occurs from conductor to pin through
the body of the insulator. When such breakdown is involved, the insulator
is permanently destroyed due to excessive heat.
• In practice, sufficient thickness of porcelain is provided in the insulator to
avoid puncture by the line voltage. The ratio of puncture strength to flash
over voltage is known as safety factor i.e.

• It is desirable that the value of safety factor is high so that flash-over takes
place before the insulator gets punctured. For pin type insulators, the value
of safety factor is about 10.
Pin type and Suspension type
Suspension type insulators
• The cost of pin type insulator increases rapidly as the working voltage
is increased. Therefore, this type of insulator is not economical
beyond 33 kV. For high voltages (>33 kV), it is a usual practice to use
suspension type insulators shown in Fig. 8.7.
• They consist of a number of porcelain discs connected in series by
metal links in the form of a string.
• The conductor is suspended at the bottom end of this string while the
other end of the string is secured to the cross-arm of the tower. Each
unit or disc is designed for low voltage, say 11 kV.
• The number of discs in series would obviously depend upon the
working voltage. For instance, if the working volt age is 66 kV, then six
discs in series will be provided on the string.
Advantages
• (i) Suspension type insulators are cheaper than pin type insulators for voltages beyond 33
kV.
• (ii) Each unit or disc of suspension type insulator is designed for low voltage, usually 11 kV.
Depending upon the working voltage, the desired number of discs can be connected in se
ries.
• (iii) If any one disc is damaged, the whole string does not become useless because the
damaged disc can be replaced by the sound one.
• (iv) The suspension arrangement provides greater flexibility to the line. The connection at
the cross arm is such that insulator string is free to swing in any direction and can take up
the position where mechanical stresses are minimum.
• (v) In case of increased demand on the transmission line, it is found more satisfactory to
supply the greater demand by raising the line voltage than to provide another set of
conductors. The additional insulation required for the raised voltage can be easily
obtained in the sus pension arrangement by adding the desired number of discs.
• (vi) The suspension type insulators are generally used with steel towers. As the
conductors run below the earthed cross-arm of the tower, therefore, this arrangement
provides partial pro tection from lightning.
Strain insulator &shackle insulator
Strain &shackle insulators
• Shackle insulators. In early days, the shackle insulators were used as
strain insulators.
• But now a days, they are frequently used for low voltage distribution
lines. Such insulators can be used either in a horizontal position or in
a vertical position.
• They can be directly fixed to the pole with a bolt or to the cross arm.
Fig. 8.9 shows a shackle insulator fixed to the pole.
• The conductor in the groove is fixed with a soft binding wire
Potential Distribution over Suspension
Insulator
• A string of suspension insulators consists of a number of porcelain discs connected in
series through metallic links. Fig. 8.10
• (i) shows 3-disc string of suspension insulators. The porcelain portion of each disc is
inbetween two metal links. Therefore, each disc forms a capacitor C as shown in Fig. 8.10
• (ii). This is known as mutual capacitance or self-capacitance. If there were mutual
capacitance alone, then charging current would have been the same through all the discs
and consequently voltage across each unit would have been the same i.e., V/3 as shown
in Fig. 8.10
• (ii). However, in actual practice, capacitance also exists between metal fitting of each disc
and tower or earth. This is known as shunt capacitance C1. Due to shunt capacitance,
charging current is not the same through all the discs of the string [See Fig. 8.10
• (iii)]. Therefore, voltage across each disc will be different. Obvi ously, the disc nearest to
the line conductor will have the maximum* voltage. Thus referring to Fig. 8.10 (iii), V3 will
be much more than V2 or V1.
String of insulators
Continue..
• The following points may be noted regarding the potential distribution over
a string of suspension insulators :
• (i) The voltage impressed on a string of suspension insulators does not
distribute itself uniformly across the individual discs due to the presence of
shunt capacitance.
• (ii) The disc nearest to the conductor has maximum voltage across it. As we
move towards the cross-arm, the voltage across each disc goes on
decreasing.
• (iii) The unit nearest to the conductor is under maximum electrical stress
and is likely to be punctured. Therefore, means must be provided to
equalize the potential across each unit. This is fully discussed in Art. 8.8.
• (iv) If the voltage impressed across the string were d.c., then voltage across
each unit would be the same. It is because insulator capacitances are
ineffective for d.c.
 String Efficiency
• As stated above, the voltage applied across the string of suspension insulators
is not uniformly dis tributed across various units or discs. The disc nearest to
the conductor has much higher potential than the other discs.
• This unequal potential distribution is undesirable and is usually expressed in
terms of string efficiency.
• The ratio of voltage across the whole string to the product of number of discs
and the voltage across the disc nearest to the conductor is known as string
efficiency

•
• String efficiency is an important consideration since it decides the potential
distribution along the string
 Importance of String Efficiency
• String efficiency is an important consideration since it decides the
potential distribution along the string.
• The greater the string efficiency, the more uniform is the voltage
distribution.
• Thus 100% string efficiency is an ideal case for which the voltage across
each disc will be exactly the same.
• Although it is impossible to achieve 100% string efficiency, yet efforts
should be made to improve it as close to this value as possible.
Mathematical expression
• Fig. 8.11 shows the equivalent circuit for a 3-disc string. Let us suppose
that self capacitance of each disc is C.
• Let us further assume that shunt capacitance C1 is some fraction K of
self capacitance i.e., C1 = KC.
• Starting from the cross-arm or tower, the volt age across each unit is
V1,V2 and V3 respectively as shown.
Mathematical Expression of String Efficiency
(ii)
• The following points may be noted from the above mathematical
analysis : (i) If K = 0·2 (Say), then from exp. (iv), we get, V2 = 1·2 V1
and V3 = 1·64 V1.
• This clearly shows that disc nearest to the conductor has maximum
voltage across it; the voltage across other discs decreasing
progressively as the cross-arm in approached.
• (ii) The greater the value of K (= C1/C), the more non-uniform is the
potential across the discs and lesser is the string efficiency.
• (iii) The inequality in voltage distribution increases with the increase
of number of discs in the string. Therefore, shorter string has more
efficiency than the larger one.
 Methods of Improving String Efficiency
• It has been seen above that potential distribution in a string of
suspension insulators is not uniform.
• The maximum voltage appears across the insulator nearest to the line
conductor and decreases progressively as the cross arm is approached.
If the insulation of the highest stressed insulator (i.e. nearest to
conductor) breaks down or flash over takes place, the breakdown of
other units will take place in succession.
• This necessitates to equalise the potential across the various units of
the string i.e. to improve the string efficiency. The various methods for
this purpose are :
• (i) By using longer cross-arms. (ii) By grading the insulators. (iii) By using
a guard ring.
(i) By using longer cross-arms
• The value of string effi ciency depends upon the value of K i.e., ratio of
shunt capacitance to mutual capacitance. The lesser the value of K,
the greater is the string efficiency and more uniform is the voltage
distribution.
• The value of K can be decreased by reducing the shunt capacitance. In
order to reduce shunt capacitance, the distance of conductor from
tower must be increased i.e., longer cross-arms should be used.
• However, limitations of cost and strength of tower do not allow the
use of very long cross-arms. In practice, K = 0·1 is the limit that can be
achieved by this method.
By grading the insulators
• In this method, insulators of different dimensions are so chosen that each
has a different capacitance.
• The insulators are capacitance graded i.e. they are assembled in the string
in such a way that the top unit has the minimum capacitance, in creasing
progressively as the bottom unit (i.e., nearest to conductor) is reached.
• Since volt age is inversely proportional to capacitance, this method tends to
equalise the potential distribution across the units in the string. This
method has the disadvantage that a large number of different-sized
insulators are required.
• However, good results can be obtained by using standard insulators for
most of the string and larger units for that near to the line conductor.
By using a guard ring
• The potential across each unit in a string can be equalised by using a
guard ring which is a metal ring electrically connected to the
conductor and surrounding the bottom insulator as shown in the Fig.
8.13.
• The guard ring introduces capacitance between metal fittings and the
line conductor. The guard ring is contoured in such a way that shunt
capacitance currents i1, i2 etc. are equal to metal fitting line
capacitance currents iʹ1, iʹ2 etc.
• The result is that same charging current I flows through each unit of
string. Consequently, there will be uniform potential distribution
across the units.
By using a guard ring
Important Points
• While solving problems relating to string efficiency, the following
points must be kept in mind:
• (i) The maximum voltage appears across the disc nearest to the
conductror (i.e., line conductor).
• (ii) The voltage across the string is equal to phase voltage i.e
 Problem 1:
• In a 33 kV overhead line, there are three units in the string of insulators. If
the capacitance between each insulator pin and earth is 11% of
self-capacitance of each insulator, find (i) the distribution of voltage over 3
insulators and (ii) string efficiency.
• Fig. 8.14. shows the equivalent circuit of string insulators. Let V1, V2 and
V3 be the voltage across top, middle and bottom unit respectively. If C is
the self-capacitance of each unit, then KC will be the shunt capacitance.
Problem :1 continue..
Problem :1 continue..
Problem :1 continue..
 Problem :2
• A 3-phase transmission line is being supported by three disc insulators. The potentials
across top unit (i.e., near to the tower) and middle unit are 8 kV and 11 kV
respectively. Calculate (i) the ratio of capacitance between pin and earth to the
self-capacitance of each unit (ii)the line voltage and (iii) string efficiency.
Problem :1 continue..
Corona
• When an alternating potential difference is applied across two conductors
whose spacing is large as compared to their diameters, there is no apparent
change in the condition of atmospheric air sur rounding the wires if the
applied voltage is low.
• However, when the applied voltage exceeds a certain value, called critical
disruptive voltage, the conductors are surrounded by a faint violet glow
called corona.
• The phenomenon of corona is accompanied by a hissing sound, production
of ozone, power loss and radio interference.
• The higher the voltage is raised, the larger and higher the luminous
envelope becomes, and greater are the sound, the power loss and the radio
noise. If the applied voltage is increased to breakdown value, a flash-over
will occur between the conductors due to the breakdown of air insulation.
Corona continue..

• The phenomenon of violet glow, hissing noise and production of

ozone gas in an overhead transmission line is known as corona.
• If the conductors are polished and smooth, the corona glow will be
uniform throughout the length of the conductors, otherwise the
rough points will appear brighter.
• With d.c. voltage, there is difference in the appearance of the two
wires. The positive wire has uniform glow about it, while the negative
conductor has spotty glow.
Theory of corona formation.
• Some ionization is always present in air due to cosmic rays, ultra
violet radiations and radioactivity.
• Therefore, under normal conditions, the air around the conductors
contains some ionised particles (i.e., free electrons and +ve ions) and
neutral molecules.
• When p.d. is applied between the conductors, potential gradient is
set up in the air which will have maximum value at the conductor
surfaces.
• Under the influence of potential gradient, the existing free electrons
acquire greater velocities. The greater the applied voltage, the
greater the potential gradient and more is the velocity of free
electrons.
Continue..
• When the potential gradient at the conductor surface reaches about
30 kV per cm (max. value), the velocity acquired by the free electrons
is sufficient to strike a neutral molecule with enough force to dislodge
one or more electrons from it.
• This produces another ion and one or more free electrons, which is
turn are accelerated until they collide with other neutral molecules,
thus producing other ions.
• Thus, the process of ionisation is cummulative. The result of this
ionisation is that either corona is formed or spark takes place
between the conductors.
 Factors Affecting Corona
• The phenomenon of corona is affected by the physical state of the
atmosphere as well as by the conditions of the line. The following are
the factors upon which corona depends :
• (i) Atmosphere. As corona is formed due to ionsiation of air
surrounding the conductors, there fore, it is affected by the physical
state of atmosphere. In the stormy weather, the number of ions is
more than normal and as such corona occurs at much less voltage as
compared with fair weather.
• (ii) Conductor size. The corona effect depends upon the shape and
conditions of the conduc tors. The rough and irregular surface will give
rise to more corona because unevenness of the surface decreases the
value of breakdown voltage. Thus a stranded conductor has ir regular
surface and hence gives rise to more corona that a solid conductor
Factors Affecting Corona continue..
• . (iii) Spacing between conductors. If the spacing between the
conductors is made very large as compared to their diameters, there
may not be any corona effect. It is because larger dis tance between
conductors reduces the electro-static stresses at the conductor
surface, thus avoiding corona formation.
• (iv) Line voltage. The line voltage greatly affects corona. If it is low,
there is no change in the condition of air surrounding the conductors
and hence no corona is formed. However, if the line voltage has such
a value that electrostatic stresses developed at the conductor surface
make the air around the conductor conducting, then corona is
formed.
Important Terms Associated with Corona
• The phenomenon of corona plays an important role in the design of
an overhead transmission line.
• Therefore, it is profitable to consider the following terms much used
in the analysis of corona effects:
• (i) Critical disruptive voltage. It is the minimum phase-neutral voltage
at which corona occurs. Consider two conductors of radii r cm and
spaced d cm apart.
• If V is the phase-neutral potential, then potential gradient at the
conductor surface is given by:
Corona important terms continue..
• In order that corona is formed, the value of g must be made equal to
the breakdown strength of air. The breakdown strength of air at 76
cm pressure and temperature of 25ºC is 30 kV/cm (max) or 21·2
kV/cm (r.m.s.) and is denoted by go. If Vc is the phase-neutral
potential required under these conditions, then,
Corona important terms continue..
 Visual critical voltage.
• It is the minimum phase-neutral voltage at which corona glow appears
all along the line conductors.
• It has been seen that in case of parallel conductors, the corona glow
does not begin at the disrup tive voltage Vc but at a higher voltage Vv,
called visual critical voltage. The phase-neutral effective value of visual
critical voltage is given by the following empirical formula :
Power loss due to corona
Advantages and Disadvantages of Corona
Methods of Reducing Corona Effect
Underground Cables
Construction of Cables
• Constructions
Construction of Cables
Underground cable continue..
Insulating Materials for Cables
Insulating Materials for Cables continue..
• No one insulating material possesses all the above-mentioned
properties. Therefore, the type of insulating material to be used
depends upon the purpose for which the cable is required and the
quality of insulation to be aimed at. The principal insulating materials
used in cables are rubber, vulcanized India rubber, impregnated
paper, varnished cambric and polyvinyl chloride.
• 1. Underground cable Rubber. Rubber may be obtained from milky sap of tropical
trees or it may be produced from oil products. It has relative permittivity varying
between 2 and 3, dielectric strength is about 30 kV/mm and resistivity of
insulation is 1017Ω cm. Although pure rubber has reasonably high insu lating
properties, it suffers form some major drawbacks viz., readily absorbs moisture,
maximum safe temperature is low (about 38ºC), soft and liable to damage due to
rough handling and ages when exposed to light. Therefore, pure rubber cannot be
used as an insulating material.
• 2. Vulcanized India Rubber (V.I.R.). It is prepared by mixing pure rubber with
mineral matter such as zine oxide, red lead etc., and 3 to 5% of sulphur. The
compound so formed is rolled into thin sheets and cut into strips. The rubber
compound is then applied to the conductor and is heated to a temperature of
about 150ºC. The whole process is called vulcanisation and the product obtained
is known as vulcanised India rubber.
 Grading of Cables

• The process of achieving uniform electrostatic stress in the dielectric

of cables is known as grading of cables.
• It has already been shown that electrostatic stress in a single core
cable has a maximum value (gmax) at the conductor surface and goes
on decreasing as we move towards the sheath.
• The maxi mum voltage that can be safely applied to a cable depends
upon gmax i.e., electrostatic stress at the conductor surface.
• For safe working of a cable having homogeneous dielectric, the
strength of dielectric must be more than gmax .
Grading of cables continue..
• If a dielectric of high strength is used for a cable, it is useful only near the
conductor where stress is maximum.
• But as we move away from the conductor, the electro static stress decreases, so
the dielectric will be unnecessarily overstrong. The unequal stress distribution in a
cable is undesirable for two reasons.
• Firstly, insulation of greater thickness is required which increases the cable size.
• Secondly, it may lead to the breakdown of insulation. In order to overcome above
disadvantages, it is necessary to have a uniform stress distribution in cables. This
can be achieved by distributing the stress in such a way that its value is increased
in the outer layers of dielectric. This is known as grading of cables.
• The following are the two main methods of grading of cables : (i) Capacitance
grading (ii) Intersheath grading
Capacitance Grading
• The process of achieving uniformity in the dielectric stress by using layers of
different dielectrics is known as capacitance grading.
• In capacitance grading, the homogeneous dielectric is replaced by a composite
dielectric. The composite dielectric consists of various layers of different
dielectrics in such a manner that relative permittivity εr of any layer is inversely
proportional to its distance from the centre.
• Under such conditions, the value of potential gra dient at any point in the dieletric
is *constant and is independent of its distance from the centre. In other words,
the dielectric stress in the cable is same everywhere and the grading is ideal one.
• How ever, ideal grading requires the use of an infinite number of dielec trics
which is an impossible task. In practice, two or three dielec trics are used in the
decreasing order of permittivity ; the dielectric of highest permittivity being used
near the core
• The capacitance grading can be explained beautifully by re ferring to
Fig. 11.15. There are three dielectrics of outer diameter d1, d2 and D
and of relative permittivity ε1, ε2 and ε3 respectively. If the
permittivities are such that ε1 > ε2 > ε3 and the three dielec trics are
worked at the same maximum stress, then,
 Intersheath Grading
• Intersheath Grading In this method of cable grading, a homogeneous
dielectric is used, but it is divided into various layers by placing metallic
intersheaths between the core and lead sheath.
• The intersheaths are held at suit able potentials which are in between
the core potential and earth potential. This arrangement improves
voltage distribution in the dielectric of the cable and consequently
more uniform potential gradient is obtained.
• Consider a cable of core diameter d and outer lead sheath of
diameter D. Suppose that two inters heaths of diameters d1 and d2
are inserted into the homogeneous di electric and maintained at
some fixed potentials.
• Let V1, V2 and V3 respectively be the voltage between core and
inters heath 1, between inters heath 1 and 2 and between inters
heath 2 and outer lead sheath.
• As there is a definite potential difference between the inner and
outer layers of each inters heath, therefore, each sheath can be
treated like a homogeneous single core cable. As proved in Art. 11.9,
Maximum stress between core and inters heath 1 is
Intersheath grading continue..
 Intersheath grading continue..

Since the dielectric is homogeneous, the maximum stress in each layer is the same i.e., g1max = g2max = g3max = gmax
(say)
Intersheath grading continue..

• Disadvantages:
• Intersheath grading has three principal disadvantages.
• Firstly, there are complications in fixing the sheath potentials.
• Secondly, the intersheaths are likely to be damaged during transportation and
installation which might result in local concentrations of potential gradient.
• Thirdly, there are con siderable losses in the intersheaths due to charging
currents. For these reasons, intersheath grading is rarely used.
 Types of Cable Faults in underground cables
• Cables are generally laid directly in the ground or in ducts in the underground
distribution system. For this reason, there are little chances of faults in
underground cables. However, if a fault does occur, it is difficult to locate and
repair the fault because conductors are not visible.
• Nevertheless, the following are the faults most likely to occur in underground
cables : (i) Open-circuit fault (ii) Short-circuit fault (iii) Earth fault.
• (i) Open-circuit fault. When there is a break in the conductor of a cable, it is called
open circuit fault.
• The open-circuit fault can be checked by a megger. For this purpose, the three
conductors of the 3-core cable at the far end are shorted and earthed. Then
resistance be tween each conductor and earth is measured by a megger. The
megger will indicate zero resistance in the circuit of the conductor that is not
broken. However, if the conductor is broken, the megger will indicate infinite
resistance in its circuit.
•
Types of Cable Faults in underground cables
• (ii) Short-circuit fault. When two conductors of a multi-core cable come in
electrical contact with each other due to insulation failure, it is called a
short-circuit fault .Again, we can seek the help of a megger to check this
fault. For this purpose, the two terminals of the megger are connected to
any two conductors. If the megger gives zero reading, it indicates short
circuit fault between these conductors. The same step is repeated for other
conductors taking two at a time.
• (iii) Earth fault. When the conductor of a cable comes in contact with
earth, it is called earth fault or ground fault. To identify this fault, one
terminal of the megger is connected to the conductor and the other
terminal connected to earth. If the megger indicates zero reading, it means
the conductor is earthed. The same procedure is repeated for other
conductors of the cable.