High Resolution Time Domain Reflectometry for Dielectric State Monitoring in High Voltage Cables

A high resolution Time Domain Reflectometry system has been designed in order to investigate the possibility of measuring with good accuracy the dielectric properties of high voltage cables insulator materials by means of Time-of-Flight measures. The system employs a dedicated Time-To-Digital Converter in order to achieve a time resolution of 90 ps. By exploiting averaging techniques the resolution has been further increased. Experimental results showed the possibility of measuring the dielectric constant with a resolution of 0.03%.