Background:
Electrical trees can affect the distribution of electric field and space charge in cross-linked
polyethylene (XLPE) cables, and play an important role in insulation aging and breakdown of cables. Therefore, it is
important to study the influence of electrical trees in cables.
Methods:
In this study, the finite element method of second-order tetrahedral element and electromagnetic theory method
are used for calculation. A model of XLPE cable with three-dimensional electrical trees is taken as an example for
calculation.
Results:
The results shows that the longer the trunk length is, the greater the electric field intensity at the end of the branch
is; the farther the electrical trees are from the insulation side of the high voltage, the more the electric field intensity of
each location decreases.
Conclusion:
With the increase of the resistivity of the trees, the electric field intensity and charge density tend to be stable
at the end of the tree.