Localization Techniques of Partial Discharges at Cable Ends in Off-line Single-Sided Partial Discharge Cable Measurements

Partial discharge (PD) field tests are widely used for cable assessment or cable commissioning. Usually, these tests are carried out by means of off-line tests where PD pulses are measured with capacitively coupled PD sensors. In off-line single-sided cable measurements, time-domain reflectometry (TDR) is used to locate the source of the PD along the cable. However, when the PD pulses are originated at the cable ends, the TDR technique cannot, by itself, properly distinguish between PD pulses produced at the cable near-end or at the far-end. This paper describes three different methods that produce an unambiguous localization of PDs produced at the cable ends, complementing the TDR.