Cable Lifetime Enhancement via Monitoring using Advanced Thermal and electrical Infrastucture Sensing

Offshore renewable energy such as tidal, wave and offshore wind is an increasingly important part of the UK energy supply. However, there are challenges when it comes to operating in an offshore environment. Cable infrastructure can be vulnerable to being dragged or worn. Installation, repair and maintenance operations are all costly. The cable transmission capacity can limit the amount of energy taken from a device or device array.

This project seeks to investigate the feasibility of two types of sensor technology measuring a wide range of cable parameters, that can operate over the optical communications fibre that is already present in most

power cables. These systems can provide real time monitoring of electrical performance and also the physical condition of offshore cabling infrastructure. The expected outcome from the project are sensor subsystem designs that have been validated in the laboratory and in samples of marine power cable at partner test sites.

This will allow the UK team to move forward to larger scale development and testing with a core of large industry partners