GES Group provide VLF testing on newly installed high voltage cables on wind turbines and solar farms using the HVA60 VLF test set – the lightest, most compact instrument of its type on the market that has the highest power to weight ratio of any comparable device. The HVA60 is capable of testing capacitive loads up to 1µF (approx.10,000 ft. / 3000m of cable) at 0.1Hz and 60kV peak and the frequency of the output can also be reduced allowing even larger capacitance loads to be tested.
The £40,000 investment also included the purchase of the MFM10 Sheath Tester and Fault Locator. Cable sheath testing is a vital tool in preventative maintenance of electricity supply to low and high voltage cable networks – a damaged insulated cable sheath will inevitably result in a cable fault causing interrupted electricity supply to low voltage and high voltage cable networks. The MFM10 incorporates pre-location to speed up fault location on large cable runs. During cable sheath fault pinpointing, step voltage measurement is used to locate the fault to carry out cable repair or jointing. An intact polymeric cable sheath is a prerequisite for the avoidance of water ingress and subsequent cable faults in low and high voltage cable networks – the pre-location and pinpointing of cable sheath faults prevent ageing, faults and stresses that are a consequence of water ingress.
GES Group Managing Director, David Moore, said,
“In the past, test procedures were systematic, timely and expensive due to traditional methods and technology used by the industry as standard. Now, we can pin-point cable failures of various categories and lengths within a few hours of arriving on-site. This is a major step forward for GES and for the industry.
Down-time results in major costs and losses of revenue, so we are very pleased that our technological investment will play a major proactive role in preventative trend analysis to many network owners, while providing confidence that we are available to react should the unfortunate occurrence of cable failures exist.”