This study investigates the insulation performance of a 66 kV dry-type submarine cable used in offshore wind farms under mechanical aging. During installation and operation, submarine cables are subjected to various mechanical stresses, including tension, compression, and bending, which can lead to insulation deterioration. In this study, XLPE samples extracted from a submarine cable were prepared and subjected to controlled tensile strain below the yield strain to evaluate their mechanical and electrical performance. Changes in tensile strength, elongation, and tan δ (dielectric loss factor) were measured to assess the extent of aging. The results indicate that as the applied strain and exposure duration increased, tensile strength and elongation decreased, while tan δ values increased, signifying a decline in electrical insulation performance. A strong negative correlation (R = -0.809) was observed between tan δ and tensile strength, demonstrating that mechanical aging significantly affects electrical properties. These findings highlight the importance of minimizing excessive mechanical stress during the installation and operation of submarine cables. The results provide valuable insights for enhancing the reliability of submarine cables in offshore wind farms and emphasize the necessity of optimized design and maintenance strategies to mitigate the effects of mechanical aging.

In this study, the
objective
is to improve the criteria used for statistical comparison of the VLF tanδ (TD) database and failure rate according to water-tree degradation in underground distribution power cables. The aging condition of the KEPCO criteria is divided into 6 levels using the Weibull distribution, and the “failure imminent” condition is quantified by using the statistical end-point of the lifetime parameter of the VLF big-data group obtained from KEPCO. Moreover, new criteria with a 2-dimensional combination of TD, DTD, and a statistical normalized factor are suggested. These criteria exhibit high reproducibility for the detection of cables in an imminent failure state. Consequently, it is expected that the adoption of the extended VLF-2019 criteria will reduce the asset management cost of cable replacement compared to the VLF-2012 criteria of KEPCO.