Design, Installation & Operation of Pipe-Type Cable Systems

INDUSTRY NEED

Pipe-type cable systems may be buried, but they are not dead! They have a long, reliable history and continued to be installed today even as XLPE cables gain popularity. The unique as-pects of pipe-type cable systems require special considerations, and many utilities have lost the senior level experience necessary to design, op-erate and maintain these systems. This 3-day course co-sponsored by Public Service Electric & Gas Co., focuses on the design, ampacity, speci-fications, installation, uprating, maintenance practices, dielectric fluid-handling systems, and life evaluations of both high-pressure gas-filled (HPGF) cables and high-pressure fluid-filled (HPFF) cables. 


COURSE OBJECTIVE AND SUMMARY

The course will explain the unique aspects of pipe-type cables as compared to other cable types and then discuss various topics regarding the reliable operation of these systems including cathodic protection systems, pumping plant requirements, dissolved gas analysis (DGA), cable ampacity, uprating methods using fluid circulation and forced-cooling, and several other topics relevant to pipe cables.

Expected Learning Objectives / Outcomes

PDC has identified learning objectives we expect each student to obtain on completion of this course.  The student completing this course should be able to:

  1. Understand the major transmission cable types and how the others differ from pipe-type cables.
  2. Understand the basic steps in pipe-type cable design and installation.
  3. Describe the importance and basic operation of a pressurization plant for pipe-type cable.
  4. Understand the impact of electrical and hydraulic failures on pipe-type cable operation.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

The course will be valuable to engineers responsible for planning, operating or designing pipe-type cable circuits.  


PREREQUISITES

An engineering degree, preferably in power engineering, is desirable.


Course Outline

Day 1 

8:00 – 8:30

Industry overview:  history, suppliers, users, contractors

 

Williams

8:30  – 10:00

Cable Principles, electrical stresses; differences among HPFF, HPGF, SCFF, XLPE and SF6 insulated cables

 

Williams

10:00 – 10:15

Break

 

 

10:15 – 11:15

Components, materials.  Copper vs. aluminum, Kraft paper vs. PPP, dielectric fluids – liquids, N2, SF6, pipe sizes/coatings, etc.

 

Williams

11:15 – 12:00

Engineering Design Requirements:  impedances, ampacity calculations, pulling tensions, hydraulic calculations

 

Williams

12:00 - 1:00

Lunch

 

 

1:00 – 2:30

Engineering Design Requirements (continued)

Williams

 

2:30 – 2:45

Break

 

 

2:45 – 3:15

Pipe-type cable specifications and standards

 

Williams

 

3:15 – 4:30

Manufacturing and quality control

 

Williams

4:30

Discussion, questions

 

 

Day 2

8:00 – 10:00

Accessories:  splices/manholes, terminations, cathodic protection

 

Williams

10:00 – 10:15

Break

 

 

10:15 – 12:00

 

Installation; civil work; pipe welding and testing, special backfills, vacuum and pressure test levels. 

Trenchless Installations

 

Wilkinson

 

Williams

12:00 – 1:00

Lunch

 

 

1:00 – 3:00

 

Cable installation:  special equipment;  pulling, night caps, splicing, terminations, evacuation, fluid filling

 

Wilkinson

 

3:00 – 4:30

(Including Break)

Hydraulic system; design principles, details, installation, operation.  Cooling Systems

 

Williams

Day 3

8:00 – 10:00

Electrical and hydraulic failures; effects, location, repair

Wilkinson

Williams

 

10:00 – 11:00

(Including Break)

Operation and Maintenance

 

Wilkinson

Williams

11:00 – 12:00

 

Failure Analysis

Williams

 

12:00 – 1:00

 

Lunch

 

1:00 – 2:30

Leak Detection / Location, Temperature Monitoring, Uprating, Dynamic Rating; the future of HPFF cable systems

 

Williams

2:30 -

Special topics as desired by class; case histories, discussion

 

 

 

 


Arrangements

Charleston is a delightful southern city on the water, and is a well-known tourist destination with many historical sites and a great many excellent restaurants. It has been named the best-mannered city in the U.S. for ten years in a row.  Check the Convention and Visitors Bureau site at http://www.charlestoncvb.com/

We have obtained rooms at a special rate of $109 per night at a nearby Hampton Inn, West Ashley (Citadel), 678 Citadel Haven Drive, Charleston SC 29414, Tele 843 573-1200. Mention Confirmation No. 8800 0124, Jay Williams.

SCE&G’s Leeds Avenue Training Center is only 15 minutes from the Charleston airport. Contact Jerry Ruschkofski, 803 217-8564 if you have questions about local arrangements.


Instructors:

Jay Williams worked at Con Edison from 1965 until 1973, and was in charge of Con Ed’s transmission cable group.  He was manager of the Power Technologies, Inc. Underground Cable Systems unit when he left in 1992 to found Power Delivery Consultants, Inc. with another cable specialist, John Cooper.  As Principal Engineer at PDC, he has been responsible for many transmission cable projects, both pipe-type and extruded-dielectric.  He had developed and taught many courses on transmission cable systems, and has written more than 50 articles and book sections on the subject.

 

Bob Wilkinson has almost 50 years’ experience in pipe-type cable systems.  He was a field engineer at Phelps Dodge in the 1950’s, responsible for many pipe-type cable systems.  He co-founded UTEC Constructors in 1970, and left UTEC in 1975 to work for Sargent Electric, and then the Westinghouse Electric Corporation.  He retired from Westinghouse in 1990, and has served as an independent consultant since then, primarily providing field observer services for underground transmission cables.  He is a PDC associate consultant.  

 


Continuing Education Units

PDC is a Continuing Education Provider in the State of Florida (#CEP00180) and will issue students a course certificate indicating the number of Continuing Education Units for the course completed based on national guidelines and the number of classroom hours.  1.8 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) will be awarded for successful completion of this course.  The CEU is the nationally recognized unit for recording participation in noncredit educational programs.  One CEU is equal to ten classroom hours.


Tuition and Enrollment:

The tuition covers the cost for this three-day course and includes extensive course notes, continental breakfast and lunch.  Each participant will be furnished a bound set of notes.  Included will be an extensive bibliography and selected technical papers.   Lodging, transportation, and other meals are not included. 


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