A Comprehensive Review of Cable Monitoring Techniques for Nuclear Power Plants

Allan Ghaforian, Patrick Duggan and Lixuan Lu ()
Additional contact information
Allan Ghaforian: Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Department of Energy and Nuclear Engineering, Ontario Tech University, North Oshawa Campus, Oshawa, ON L1G 0C5, Canada
Patrick Duggan: Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Department of Energy and Nuclear Engineering, Ontario Tech University, North Oshawa Campus, Oshawa, ON L1G 0C5, Canada
Lixuan Lu: Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Department of Energy and Nuclear Engineering, Ontario Tech University, North Oshawa Campus, Oshawa, ON L1G 0C5, Canada

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 9, 1-26

Abstract: Cables are critical to the safe and reliable operation of nuclear power plants (NPPs) since they are widely used as a connection medium for various safety-critical equipment. According to research data and operational experience (OPEX), cable materials can degrade with time, resulting in reduced dielectric strength and higher leakage current. Cables may degrade gradually over time under normal service conditions and fail unexpectedly as a result of sudden exposure to harsher environments, such as Secondary Steam Line Breaks (SSLBs), or when required to operate under the severe conditions of a design basis event, such as a Loss-of-Coolant Accident (LOCA). To assess the condition of medium- and low-voltage cables in Canadian nuclear power plants, numerous inspection methods and electrical testing techniques are employed. These techniques include dielectric spectroscopy, polarization/depolarization current analysis, reflectometry, dielectric standby tests, AC partial discharge, and very-low-frequency (VLF) Tan Delta assessments for medium-voltage (MV) cables. While these methods provide precise diagnostic insights, they require cables to be disconnected at both ends and de-energized, posing operational constraints. Consequently, on-line plant cable monitoring has garnered significant interest, particularly for new reactor developments and large-scale NPP refurbishments. This paper provides a comprehensive benchmarking of existing technologies and a state-of-the-art review of modern cable assessment methodologies. It examines commercially available solutions and ongoing research in power testing for low-voltage (LV) and MV cables, with a particular focus on their applicability in nuclear power settings.

Keywords: cable dielectric strength; leakage current; cable condition monitoring; cable assessment; cable electrical test; polarization/depolarization current analysis; off-line cable testing; on-line cable testing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/9/2333/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/9/2333/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:9:p:2333-:d:1648510

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().