A piecewise approximation methodology to analyse cable arcing fault behaviour and characteristic

Arcing faults in cables can result in uncontrolled arcs and explosions. Such arcs have caused extensive damage to electrical equipment, and more importantly, have been fatal to people nearby. However, arc analysis and subsequent modelling is challenging because arcing fault behaviour in cable components is highly chaotic, dynamic, and intermittent. Analysing the arc across the full range of arcing fault behaviour from initiation at an electric tree to free-burning arc is even more challenging. Analysis of a historic voltage measurement suggests that arc voltage behaviour, and by extension arc behaviour, can be closely approximated by a few scalar parameters. Such scalar parameters seem to be sufficiently descriptive of the characteristics of arcing fault behaviour in various cable components. Analysing the change in value of the parameters across subsequent arc stages is anticipated to sufficiently characterise arcing diagnose arcing in cable components. This paper proposes a systematic analysis methodology of arc voltages to characterise breakdown behaviour in cable components by condensing the information contained in multiple arc voltage-current measurements of single breakdowns between zero-crossings into a few scalar arrays. This arc analysis method is anticipated to be easier and more robust than other methods.