Application of High Voltage Power Supplies in Accelerating Cable Fault Location

Cable fault detection is a critical aspect of power system maintenance, where traditional methods often suffer from inefficiencies due to bulky equipment, complex operations, and insufficient accuracy. Recent innovations in high-voltage power supply technology have significantly enhanced the speed and precision of fault location. This article explores from a professional perspective how high-voltage power supplies contribute to accelerating cable fault detection.
High-voltage power supplies provide the core energy required for cable fault detection. During testing, they generate high-voltage pulses or DC high voltage to break down high-resistance fault points, making fault characteristics detectable. Modern high-frequency high-voltage power supplies utilize switching power technology, which drastically reduces weight (to approximately 11 kg) while achieving output voltages up to 35kV. They also feature automatic voltage stabilization and protection against open circuits and short circuits, ensuring safety and portability for field operations. With discharge energy up to 2450 joules, they can rapidly burn through fault points, reducing breakdown resistance and creating conditions for subsequent location steps.
The intelligent integration of high-voltage power supplies is key to speeding up the process. All-in-one high-voltage power supplies incorporate built-in capacitors, vacuum impulse spark gaps, and touchscreen interfaces, supporting multiple modes such as single impulse, continuous impulse, and DC output. Operators can quickly set parameters via an intuitive interface, with automatic adaptation of discharge cycles (e.g., 3-8 seconds self-adaptive), eliminating the tedious wiring and debugging associated with traditional equipment. Additionally, emergency stop functions and automatic discharge designs further reduce operational risks and waiting time.
The application of high-voltage power supplies optimizes the fault location workflow. Cable fault location typically involves steps such as isolation and safety procedures, cable identification, pre-location, and precise location. High-voltage power supplies directly serve pre-location for high-resistance faults (e.g., via impulse current method or arc reflection method) and precise location (e.g., acoustic-magnetic synchronization method). Their high-precision output (voltage error < ±2%) ensures rapid breakdown of fault points, improving pre-location accuracy to within 5% of the cable length, while acoustic location further reduces the error to 0.1%. Moreover, the continuous operation capability of these power supplies (up to 6 hours) supports prolonged testing, avoiding delays due to equipment interruptions.
Technological advancements in high-voltage power supplies directly translate to improved field efficiency. Lightweight designs enable single-person carrying and operation, shortening deployment time. Integrated protection mechanisms (such overvoltage and overcurrent protection) reduce equipment failures caused by misoperation, ensuring successful testing in one attempt. Furthermore, efficient burning-through capability lowers fault point resistance, accelerating fault feature extraction and overall reducing the location cycle time by over 50%.
Looking ahead, as high-voltage power supplies evolve towards higher precision, intelligence, and integration, cable fault location will be further accelerated. Combined with real-time data analysis and artificial intelligence algorithms, high-voltage power supplies are expected to achieve adaptive output adjustment, providing more efficient maintenance support for power systems.