Modeling the Effect of a Water Tree Inside a Tape Shield and Concentric Neutral Cables

K. Burkes[1,2], E. Makram[2], R. Hadidi[2]
[1]Department of Electrical Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA
[2]Savannah River National Lab, R&D Instrumentation, Aiken, SC, USA
Published in 2014

COMSOL Multiphysics® software is used to model a water tree in tape shield and concentric neutral cables. It allows for the effect on electric field intensity at the tip of the water tree and electric potential due to the water tree to be better understood. Also, COMSOL is used to calculate the resistance and capacitance of a section of cable with a water tree as it grows across the insulation. This paper proposes to use COMSOL to show the effect of the water tree on the electric field and electric potential and determine the values of the lumped parameters of the water tree for two common types of cables, tape shield and concentric neutral.