IMCORP

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CASE STUDY

IMCORP is the leading provider of power cable reliability assessment services for medium and high voltage power cable systems of new cable installations and aged cable assets. We assess shielded power cable and accessories from 5kV to 500kV. In our more than 19 years in business, we have assessed over 140 million feet of cable systems across 4 continents. Our goal is to partner with our clients, achieve the maximum reliability attainable at the lowest total cost. Our assessment is non-destructive, requires no hazardous materials, and is a cost effective alternative to cable replacement.

Our Factory Grade® technology produces results exceeding the cable manufacturers’ quality standards.   We identify the precise cable system Rehabilitation requirements, allowing the customer to Certify their cable systems to like new condition.

Using Factory Grade® Technology to Identify Systemic Manufacturing Defect

VLF Test vs. the IMCORP Factory Grade® Technology

OVERVIEW
0.1 Hz VLF test and IMCORP’s Factory Grade® technology are compared side-by-side at utility solar  site.  
CHALLENGE
VLF test passes cables but terminations were still failing and unknown systemic manufacturing issues are completely missed.
RESULTS
Utility uses IMCORP’s Factory Grade® technology to identify manufacturing issues and direct repair and replacement decisions.

A utility client requested IMCORP to commission cable systems at a new generation facility after experiencing several in-service termination failures. The installation contractor had already tested the cable systems with a very low frequency (VLF) test and thought that all components were installed correctly and to be of sufficient quality.  After the in-service termination failures, the owner utility  asked us to profile all of the plant cable systems with our Factory Grade® technology. Many terminations where found to be substandard and repair actions were recommended.  That story is the subject of another case study.  There was, however, a more troubling discovery with the cable insulation.  Almost unbelievably, nearly 30% of new cable systems showed substandard performance in the cable insulation. Cable samples were sent to our laboratory for dissection and root cause analysis. The two most concerning anomalies found were small voids on the insulation shield interface and “fall-in” cable insulation problem at the conductor shield interface.  The manufacturer acknowledged the quality issue and worked with the installation contractor to fix the issues.  
 
This case serves as yet another example of the superiority of our Factory Grade® technology over legacy test methods. By partnering with IMCORP, our client utility was able to use their experience with distribution and nuclear cable systems to address a systemic failure problem, uncover unknown systemic manufacturing defects in the cable insulation and effectively direct repair and placement decisions.