Characteristics and reduction of sheath circulating currents in underground power cable systems

Sheath current can cause sheath loss and reduce the permissible current of a power cable transmission system. High sheath current is usually caused by mixed cable burying formation, different length between sections, poor connection of the bonding leads, and connection of distribution cable onto transmission systems. This paper analyses the characteristics of sheath circulating current at various conditions and presents a useful method to reduce it in a mixed burying formation system. It can effectively reduce the current by up to 90%. The method is validated by practical measurements and simulations using ATP, and has been implemented in actual systems. In addition, a special equipment is designed to measure and analyze the sheath circulating current. It can measure and analyze nine currents at a same time.