Integrated Diagnostics 

Dear BF,

My firm will consider and evaluate additional services beyond rejuvenation that will add quality or value to a requested proposal.  Additional options for cable testing services would be of particular interest.  An explanation of services and associated costs must be included with all additional service offerings.  Information submitted for this may lead to additional evaluation points in the “services to be provided” category.

Please help me with my decision matrix,

Tahoma

Dear Tahoma-

For my readers who are not local to the Pacific Northwest, like you and I, Tahoma is a local Indian name, which means “snow peak” and designates Mt. Rainier, the snow covered volcano close to Seattle and Tacoma.  I have a view of Tahoma from my pond too – feel free to visit me anytime and I will be happy to share my grubs.  I’m all for decision matrices.  Every time one of these has been used Novinium comes out on top – safer, faster, better.

Your query suggests that you have a particular interest in cable testing services.  I have provided several posts in the past that describe the issues and challenges associated with diagnostic testing.  I list several of them below for your review:

In short, this frog is skeptical of claims of efficacy for any of the commercially available diagnostic tests.  Compare the double-digit false positives and double-digit false negatives inherent in testing with this single digit – one percent.  That’s the number of post treatment failures that have occurred in all cables proactively treated with any of the globally commercialized rejuvenation technologies.  Novinium’s post-treatment reliability record is even better than the average!

Occasionally there are cases where diagnostics are appropriate.

Novinium’s diagnostic tool box includes several kinds of instruments including infrared imaging and three kinds of on-line partial discharge detectors.  Novinium uses infrared imaging technology to identify improperly installed compression connectors.  The picture nearby shows a side-by-side image of two splices, one installed properly and the other suffering from thermal runaway.  Three different on-line partial discharge detectors are available to pinpoint discharges in terminations, splices and cables.  A high frequency current transformer can be clipped around a cable or its neutrals to detect discharges in the cable or connected equipment.  A Transient Earth Voltage (TEV) sensor allows the pinpointing of local discharges.  For applications where it is not prudent to approach a piece of operating equipment such as air operated switchgear, an airborne acoustic sensor can locate discharges inaudible to the human ear.

In addition to these instruments, Novinium provides consulting services to circuit owners to diagnose problem areas using failure data.  This approach is the lowest cost and most accurate diagnostic available.  The method was documented in a DEIS (Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Society) Feature Article in the March/April 2009 issue of IEEE Electrical Insulation Magazine, Diagnostic Testing of Stochastic Cables.

Diagnostically yours,

Thermo B.F.

How to Inject

Dear Ms. Frog,

How does Novinium actually inject cables?  What are the steps?  What are the differences between the Novinium injection process and the older process?

Curieux in Québec

Dear Curieux-

I speak Latin, Australian, and English.  I had to look up curieux to find out it means curious.  I am curieux too, why the French eat about 200 million frog legs a year!  That’s 100 million of my kin.  Because you are from Quebec, not France, I will give you the benefit of the doubt and answer your questions.  Please, if you have kin in the old world, encourage them to eat flies, crickets, and fish … these are all more palatable and morally unobjectionable.

There is more than one way to fillet a fish and there is more than one way to inject cables.  At least there is more than one way that Novinium injects cables.  Novinium has patented technologies that make us the only rejuvenation supplier that has more than a single injection method for URD cables.  No one-size-fits-all mentality here.  We use an improved version of the over-two-decade old unsustained rejuvenation method, let’s call it “improved-UPR,” and we use the newest approach called sustained pressure rejuvenation or “SPR.”  In all Novinium injection methods there are no soak periods.  Eliminating the soak period makes the process safer, faster, and better.  I created three knonow (pronounced know-now) videos for you, Curieux, to show you how these two processes are implemented.   Why three videos for two processes you might ask?  An exciting capability was spawned by the advent of SPR.  Inject-on-fault or post-failure injection is now practical.  The FERC recognizes that application of Novinium technology is a capital item for post-failure injection.  Post-failure injection has a slightly different flavor than when it is applied proactively and preventatively and hence there are two “How-to” knonow modules for SPR.  Check out all three.

Now you might wonder how you should decide between the two injection paradigms.  Actually you don’t have to, because the best choice is to use them both in a fully integrated test, treat, and replace program available only from Novinium and Novinium partners.  I am working on a knonow module which will help you optimize a tailored solution to your infrastructure reliability needs. This knonow module will be available within the next 30 days.  I will make a new blog entry to announce its arrival.  In the mean time, contact me, your favorite frog, and I will lead you through the decision process.

As for the differences, they are many, and they are profound.   First the old method was invented by Novinium founders and their colleagues over two decades ago – the old method is good, but technology has moved on.  There are better and best solutions available exclusively from Novinium.  These better and best approaches enjoy substantial safety benefits.  See my recent blog entry at ...

http://www.novinium.com/frogblog/post/2010/06/09/Greatest-Rejuvenation-Risks.aspx 

... and a thorough analysis of the risks associates with the major rejuvenation paradigms at ...

www.novinium.com/pdf/papers/Rejuvenation_Hazards_Analysis.pdf.

The most significant differences are the elimination of the soak period, the reduced number of exposures to high voltage electrical equipment, the elimination of flammable fluids, and the improved post-injection reliability of the newest chemical advancements.

Vive la différence,

Thermo