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232

400 kV PPLP-Insulated Oil-Filled Cables for PowerGrid,

Singapore
Masato Tsuruga* ABSTRACT: The first 400 kV underground transmission line was commissioned between the
Naohisa Numata* Ayer Rajah Substation and the Labrador Substation as a part of the 400 kV transmission
network in Singapore. The transmission line consists of three circuits of 400 kV single core
Hideaki Nagano**
2000 mm2 polypropylene laminated paper (PPLP) insulated aluminum sheathed oil-filled
cable laid in reinforced concrete trenches. Hitachi Cable, Ltd. was awarded a contract by
PowerGrid Ltd. in January 1995 for supply and installation of one circuit. The cable and
accessories were subject to type approval tests prior to shipment for verification of their
electrical performance. Strict quality control was introduced to both manufacturing and
construction work. The project was successfully completed and the cable system was handed
over to the client in April, 1998.

N
〔1〕INTRODUCTION
PowerGrid Ltd. is developing a new 400 kV transmission
network to deliver electric power from the western end of the
island to downtown Singapore, as shown in Fig. 1. Hitachi
Cable, Ltd. was awarded the contract in conjunction with a
Japanese cable manufacturer for construction of 400 kV Ayer Rajah
400kV Transmission
Substation
underground cable system to be installed between the Ayer Line
Rajah Substation and the Labrador Substation in the
transmission network. The awarded transmission line consists Tuas Power
of one circuit of 400 kV oil-filled cables and its route length is Station Labrador
Substation
approximately 4 km. The required transmission capacity for the
circuit is 1000 MVA. The design of the power cable is 2000 Fig. 1−New 400 kV transmission line
Hitachi Cable, Ltd. was awarded the contract for one circuit of the
mm 2 six-segmental copper conductor, PPLP-insulated,
400 kV transmission line between Ayer Rajah Substation and
aluminum sheathed and MDPE jacketed oil-filled cable. PPLP, Labrador Substation.
which can reduce the dielectric loss and insulation thickness in
comparison with conventional Kraft paper, was adopted for the design, the cable and its accessories, type approval tests and
cable insulation. The power cable and its accessories were installation work of the cable system.
subjected to type approval tests generally in accordance with
IEC 141-1. The entire length of the power cables and auxiliary
cables was installed in a reinforced concrete trough providing 〔2〕SYSTEM DESIGN
protection against external damage. The schematic diagram of the 400 kV oil-filled cable
This paper describes the main features of the system system is shown in Fig. 2. The 4 km long cable route is divided

AYER RAJAH 400 kV S/S LABRADOR 400 kV S/S

2 8 9
6
7

11 10
1 3 4

14 15
5
12 13

1 400 kV PPLP-insulated oil-filled cable 2 SF6 gas immersed type sealing end 3 Insulated joint
4 Straight joint 5 Oil stop joint 6 Overground oil reservoir
7 Underground oil reservoir 8 Pressure gauge panel (3 way) 9 Pressure gauge panel (6 way)
10 Oil feeding pipe 11 Insulating connector 12 Link box for earthing
13 Link box for cross bonding 14 Bonding lead 15 Concentric bonding lead

Fig. 2−Schematic diagram of 400 kV oil-filled cable system

* Hitaka Works, Hitachi Cable, Ltd. The cable route is divided into nine spans and the cable sheaths are
** Tokyo Power Cable Construction Center, Hitachi Cable, Ltd. cross bonded through the entire route.

HITACHI CABLE REVIEW No.18 (October 1999) 9

into nine spans giving a mean delivery length of about 450
meters. Each end of the cable line is terminated by an SF6 gas
immersed type sealing end, which is connected directly to an
SF6 gas insulated switchgear. The cable system has three major
cross bond sections and three cables are transposed at each
joint bay. The cable route is divided into two oil feeding
sections by oil stop joints at the intermediate point of the cable
route. Each oil feeding section is equipped with independent oil
feeding system at both ends. All the joints are enclosed in fiber
glass protection boxes and the space between the joint and the
protection box is filled with bituminous compound to maintain
the full insulation system.
〔3〕CABLE AND ACCESSORIES
Table 1 shows the required electrical ratings for the power
cable and its accessories that are normally required for 500 kV
system given that lightning impulse withstand voltage and
switching impulse withstand voltage are 1550 kV and 1175 kV
respectively. Therefore, the cable and accessories are designed
to have the same electrical characteristics as 500 kV grade.
TABLE 1 REQUIRED ELECTRICAL RATINGS
500 kV insulation level was required for the cable system.
Items Particulars
System voltage 400 kV
Rated voltage between phases 420 kV
Lightning Impulse withstand voltage level 1550 kV peak
Switching impulse withstand voltage level 1175 kV peak
Transmission capacity per circuit 1000 MVA
Short circuit current rating 80 kA for 1 s
System frequency 50 Hz
A.C. withstand test voltage 415 kV for 15 min.
D.C. withstand test voltage 713 kV for 15 min.
(1) Cable
The appearance of the 400 kV PPLP-insulated oil-filled
cable is shown in Fig. 3. A six-segmental copper conductor
having 2000 mm2 cross sectional area was selected to meet the
required transmission capacity of 1000 MVA. The cable
insulation is composed of Kraft / PPLP /Kraft layers and the
thickness of each layer is 0.5 mm / 20.5 mm / 4.0 mm
respectively from the conductor side. By utilizing PPLP as the
cable insulation, both dielectric loss and insulation thickness
can be reduced when compared with conventional oil-filled
cables. The Kraft layer covering the conductor is applied to
improve lightning impulse withstand voltage and over the
PPLP layer for thermal protection from the heat of wiping at
jointing work. Total insulation thickness is 25 mm. The cable
insulation prohibits any contaminants, especially in the case of
PPLP-insulation, as its required dielectric loss angle is very
small. Sensors are equipped on a paper slit machine to detect
harmful foreign materials and contaminated marks.
PPLP tapes are lapped over the conductor at a lower
tension than kraft paper tapes to provide suitable radial
10 HITACHI CABLE REVIEW No.18 (October 1999)
Fig. 3−Appearance of
400 kV PPLP-
insulated oil-
filled cable
Polypropylene laminated
paper (PPLP) is utilized
for the cable insulation.
pressure after the polypropylene is swelled by the insulating
oil.
The thickness of a corrugated seamless aluminum sheath is
3.0 mm and meets the large short circuit current rating of 80
kA for 1 second. Finally either a medium density polyethylene
(MDPE) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC) jacket is extruded with an
orange color strip for identification purposes. An MDPE jacket
is applied in direct buried sections and a PVC jacket applied to
the last sections terminating at a substation as a fire retardant.
Biodegradable synthetic insulating oil, namely, straight chain
type dodecylebenzene, is adopted to avoid environmental
pollution in case of an emergency oil leak. Overall diameter of
the completed cable is 142 mm and unit weight is 37 kg/m.
(2) Accessories
Compact-type joints are employed for this project. In
particular, our oil stop joint of special construction provides
small dimensions and short jointing time. Construction of the
stop joint is basically the same from 66 kV to 500 kV grade
and has been proven its excellent performance by successful
long term actual operation. Dimensions and construction of the
oil stop joint for this project are shown in Fig. 4. The main
internal insulation of the joint consists of an epoxy stop unit
with a shield electrode and an epoxy bell mouth on a stress
relief cone made by pre-shaped oil impregnated paper at each
side. The equalized diameter conductor ferrule is applied to the
straight joint to reduce its dimensions.
〔4〕TYPE APPROVAL TESTS
The cable system requires the highest system stability and
reliability responsible for carrying a large electric power
capacity. Type approval tests are required for the power cable,
straight joint, oil stop joint and SF6 gas immersed type sealing
end to confirm their electrical characteristics. The type
approval test was carried out generally in accordance with
IEC141-1. Main items and their criteria of the type approval
tests are shown in Table 2. The type approval tests include 20
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2900

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5 3

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5 4 8 9 1 7 6 2

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Fig. 4−Dimension and

1 Joint casing
;
4 Oil impregnated paper
2 Insulating flange
5 Connector
3 Earthing terminal
6 Epoxy bell mouth
construction of oil
stop joint
Epoxy stop unit type oil
stop joint was applied as
compact-type.
7 Ferrule 8 Epoxy stop unit 9 Shield electrode

TABLE 2 MAIN ITEMS AND CRITERIA OF TYPE the oil stop joint simulating the actual installation.
APPROVAL TESTS All the tests were successfully completed. The measured
400 kV oil-filled cable and accessories were subjected to type values of dielectric loss angle were stable before, during and
approval tests generally in accordance with IEC141-1. after loading cycle test and did not show any progressive
increase.
Item Test criteria
Bending test 4m Dia. × 3 cycles
High voltage time test AC 520 kV/24h 〔5〕INSTALLATION
Lightning impulse test ±1550 kV/10 shots
Switching impulse test ±1175 kV/10 shots
The power cables and auxiliary cables were installed in a
AC voltage test AC 415 kV/15 min. reinforced concrete trench to protect them against external
Maximum dielectric loss angle damage. A typical cross section of reinforced concrete trench is
0.1% at 121 kV, 242 kV and 323 kV shown in Fig. 6. The buried depth of the cables below ground
Dielectric loss angle test 0.12% at 402 kV
Maximum dielectric loss angle difference
0. 025% between 242 kV and 402 kV Ground level
Dielectric loss angle/ Max. 0.1% at ambient temperature, 40˚C,
temperature test 60˚C and 85˚C
Loading cycle: 20 cycles (8 h on/16 h off)
Conductor temperature: 95∼100˚C
Reinforced concrete cover
1500

Test voltage: 323 kV

Loading cycle test
Delamination test
Measurement voltage of dielectric loss
angle: 121 kV, 242 kV, 323 kV, 402 kV Stabilized backfills
No breakdown and no progressive increase Reinforced concrete trench
in dielectric loss angle
Number of failed tape shall not be greater 400 kV oil-filled cable
than 5% of total numbers of tapes.

cycles of loading cycle test on a miniature installation in 350 350

accordance with Engineering Recommendation C47/1 and
delamination test on PPLP according to AEIC CS2-90. Fig. 6−Typical cross section of reinforced concrete trench
Three 400 kV oil-filled cables and five auxiliary cables were
Arrangement of loading cycle test is shown in Fig. 5. The cable
installed in the reinforced concrete trench.
produced by another manufacturer is connected to our cable by

Test bushing
1050kV A.C.Tr.

Oil reservoir Cable by another Standard capacitor

manufacturer SF6 gas immersed
type sealing end
Oil stop joint

Test termination Fig. 5−Arrangement of

loading cycle test
Total test circuit length : 48m High voltage Loading cycle test was
tanδbridge
carried out in accordance
Insulated joint Current Tr.
with Engineering Recom-
mendation C47/1.

HITACHI CABLE REVIEW No.18 (October 1999) 11

level is 1500 mm. Three 400 kV oil-filled cables and five
auxiliary cables were installed in the trench and filled with
stabilized backfill. The trench was further backfilled after
placement of reinforced concrete covers. The composition of
the stabilized backfill was selected from various kinds of trial
composition of local materials having a thermal resistivity
below 1.0 K.m / W. Laying of the 400 kV oil-filled cable was
carried out by a combination of nose pulling and hauling
machines that are arranged in suitable positions along the cable
route, taking into account its heavy weight and the features of
each route. Figure 7 shows the cable laying work in progress.
The cable route crosses a highway 55 meters wide at which
open cut trenches are not permitted. To overcome this problem,
a reinforced concrete pipe with a 1500 mm inner diameter was
installed using the pipe jacking method. The pipe jacking work
is shown in Fig. 8. The required number of PVC pipes for the
cables were laid inside this concrete pipe and spaces between
these were filled with ready-mixed cement grout. The pipes for
power cables were arranged in a triangular configuration and
Fig. 7−Cable laying work in progress
Cable laying was carried out by a combination of nose pulling and
hauling machines.
Fig. 8−Pipe jacking work
Pipe jacking method was adopted for crossing the highway.
12 HITACHI CABLE REVIEW No.18 (October 1999)
the space between them increased to compensate for the
increased external thermal resistance due to such deep
installation. After laying the power cables into the pipe, the
interstices were filled with a sand/cement/bentonite mixture to
maintain current carrying capacity.
The climate at the site is tropical with high humidity and
showers are expected most days. In consideration of the
climatic conditions, double working tents were used for the
jointing works. An outer tent enveloped joint bay kept out rain
water, sand and intense sunlight. An inner dust free tent
maintained the temperature and humidity within an acceptable
range through the use of air conditioners.
Cable system was subjected to a DC high voltage test after
completion of construction work. The applied test voltage was
713 kV for 15 minutes in accordance with IEC 141-1. The
cable system passed the DC high voltage test as well as other
commissioning tests in all respects.
〔6〕CONCLUSION
The 400 kV PPLP-insulated oil-filled cable system was
constructed between the Ayer Rajah substation and the
Labrador substation as a part of the 400 kV transmission
network in Singapore. The power cable and accessories were
type tested and designed based on electrical characteristics for
500 kV grade insulation level in the type approval test. Cables
are protected from external damage by reinforced concrete
troughs.
This cable system has been operating satisfactorily to date.
Masato Tsuruga
Engineer
Power Cable Engineering Dept., Hitaka Works.
Currently engaged in design of EHV power cables
and systems.
Received B.E. degree in Electrical Engineering from
Muroran Institute of Technology in 1990.
Naohisa Numata
Senior Engineer
Power Cable Accessories & Distribution System
Dept., Hitaka Works.
Currently engaged in design of EHV cable
accessories.
Received B.E. degree in Electrical Engineering from
Ibaraki University in 1981.
Member of the IEE of Japan.
Hideaki Nagano
Senior Engineer
Tokyo Power Cable Construction Center
Currently engaged in overall management on power
cable construction projects in the Tokyo metropolitan
area.
Graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering
from Hakodate National College of Technology in
1975.