Power cable health monitoring method

A power cable monitoring method which can be used to measure the mechanical state of health of subsea power cables. This method uses the magnetic properties of the load-bearing components of the power cable and the current carried by the power cable to apply an alternating force to itself. The only source of force from an alternating current in the cable which is at the fundamental frequency (F0) of the electrical power originates from magnetostriction of the steel armor. This force is predominantly axial. The strength of the F0 signal is used as an indicator of strain in the cable, where changes over time can be used to monitor the mechanical integrity of the cable structure. 2F0 signals are complex sums of axial, radial and tangential forces which are difficult to analyze. The 2F0 signal is therefore predominantly used to normalize the F0 signal.