Issues in Space Charge Measurments with the PEA Technique in HVDC Cables: Applicative Case Study

This work is performed to assess the role played by some quantities affecting space charge measurements with the Pulse Electro-Acoustic (PEA) technique in HVDC power cables. In particular, the possible disturbances to the PEA signal arising when measuring space charges with a commercial PEA cell not optimized for the cable system to be measured, which may affect consequently the estimation of trapped charge and the field profile within the insulation, are analyzed. The results show that in particular, cable length, cell arrangement and exposed semicon length play a role and may affect the PEA signal significantly. Thus they have to be optimized for the cable to be measured.