Adapter for the Impedance Measurement of Power Cable With an Impedance Analyzer

Performing accurate measurements of power cables input impedance can be useful for many applications, e.g., identify the cable parameters for electromagnetic interference modeling, locate faults along the cable, etc. However, performing a transparent connection between a power cable of large dimensions and an impedance analyzer is challenging. This article proposes an input impedance measurement adapter designed for a power cable, specifically the cable Nexans 12G(6). This is a shielded cable with 12 conductors of cross section 6 mm(2). The impedance measurement is performed with the Keysight E4990 A impedance analyzer. The adapter is removable, and allows the connection between the cable conductors and an impedance analyzer without changing the cable geometry nor denuding its conductors. The compensation of the measurement circuit is performed at the measurement plane. The impedance measurement results are given, as well as and the cable parameters obtained from them. The uncertainty of the impedance measurements is estimated with a stochastic analysis. The adapter mitigates systematic errors linked to the measurement circuit and provides reproducible impedance measurements.