Cables and Cable Accessories

Cables and cable accessories provide the vital connections between substations, transformers and end users, and must provide reliable service for many years.

Because cable systems are so widely used, it is very important to have a means of evaluating the quality level of each of the system components individually and in combination prior to selection and installation. This can only be accomplished by performing type tests on the cables and the various cable/accessory combinations. Various national and international standards have been developed that specify the procedures for each of the type tests to be performed.

It is also desirable to have methods for evaluating the status of existing cable systems, so that system owners can determine the current status of their systems before assessing system reliability and the likelihood of failure. Evaluations of existing systems can only be accomplished by performing diagnostic tests, or in the event of a failure, by post mortem analysis.