Field measurements and model comparison for a very long submarine HV AC three-core cable

The availability of three-core, XLPE-insulated AC HV and EHV cables is allowing the installation of very long AC cable systems. Accurate and reliable cable models are necessary in order to assess the behaviour of such cables, especially as regards temporary overvoltages and harmonic resonances. The three-core submarine cable models currently available in electromagnetic transient simulation software are based on linearized pipe-type cables and besides they do not account for conductor and armour stranding. The paper presents the results of an extensive frequency-domain field measurement campaign carried out in the 0-2500 Hz range on the 98.5 km long submarine stretch of the Malta-Sicily cable interconnection. Currently available cable models are then checked against measurements. Results show that a correct choice of armour parameters allows for a good agreement between the classical cable model and field measurements.