Real Time detection and localization of self extinguishing defects on a MV network

Abstract

Considering Medium Voltage (MV) buried networks, self-extinguishing defects [1] are known to be precursors of potential breakdown during operations especially at the level of accessories. A great interest among the DSO community for a system able to detect these defects before breakdown was raised.Nexans in collaboration with CEATech developed a system able to capture perturbations or events on a dedicated portion of a given MV network. This system is based on very sensitive and precise acquisition boards (signal amplitude versus time) which can be located at different points of the monitored network. Thanks to a post processing algorithm of the collected data based on time reversal techniques, an accurate localization of relevant events can be made. Due to the fact that each acquisition board has its own clock reference based on a GPS antenna, the localization accuracy is within a tens of meter.This paper will show some results of measurements performed on real life network exploitation, together with potential developments like the establishment of defects typology and self-learning expertise.