Electromagnetic Transients in Power Cable Systems
Summary
Electromagnetic transients arise when electrical disturbances propagate along cable systems, manifesting as rapid variations in voltage and current that can compromise power quality, insulation integrity and system stability. In high-voltage AC and DC transmission, these phenomena are driven by the interplay of capacitive charging, inductive coupling, skin and proximity effects, and frequency-dependent losses within conductors, screens and sheaths. Transient events may stem from switching operations, fault clearances or lightning strikes, resulting in travelling waves whose amplitude and timing are shaped by cable geometry, material properties and bonding arrangements. Accurate prediction of transient behaviour requires models that capture the full frequency-dependent impedance and admittance of multiconductor cable configurations, including soil return paths and sheath bonding patterns. Advances in computational electromagnetics, such as finite element methods and rational function fitting, now enable detailed design of cable sections and the analysis of hybrid overhead–cable lines. Practical applications of this research include the optimisation of cross-bonding schemes to mitigate overvoltages, the development of faster simulation tools for system studies, and the enhancement of standards for loss allocation and insulation coordination in underground and submarine power links.
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Electromagnetic Transients in Power Cable Systems publication trend
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Technical terms
Electromagnetic transient: Rapid change in electrical quantities that propagates as travelling waves along conductors.
Skin effect: Tendency of alternating current to concentrate near the surface of a conductor, increasing effective resistance at high frequencies.
Proximity effect: Redistribution of current in conductors due to magnetic fields of adjacent conductors, affecting impedance.
Frequency-dependent parameters: Impedance and admittance values that vary with frequency due to inductive, capacitive and resistive effects.
Modal decomposition: Separation of multiconductor cable behaviour into independent propagation modes for simplified analysis.
References
- Frequency-dependent modeling of three-phase power cables for electromagnetic transient simulations. International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems (2024).
- A Full Frequency-Dependent Cable Model for the Calculation of Fast Transients. Energies (2017).
- Algorithms for fast calculation of energization overvoltage of hybrid overhead line-cable transmission lines based on full frequency-dependent parameters. Electric Power Systems Research (2023).
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