Test setup for measuring medium voltage power cable and joint temperature in high current tests using thermocouples

Thermal aspects of power cable performance are an important field of research as power grids depend increasingly on the reliability of underground cable systems. Overheating is a possible cause of cable faults and it should be ensured that no part of the cable exceeds its rated operating temperature. A test setup was established in Aalto University to study the changes of temperature across different power cable layers in various cable operating modes. The setup also includes three different types of joints to identify differences in behavior during temperature change. Temperature measurement was achieved using thermocouples inserted into the cable and each of the joints: heat shrink joint, cold shrink joint and hybrid shrink joint. This paper discusses the structure of the test setup and the capacity of different tests available with the given setup.