Portable ADSS surface contamination meter calibrated in high voltage environment

All dielectric self-supporting (ADSS) fiber optic cable is known to have a limited service lifetime in some environments when installed near high voltage transmission lines. Dry band arcing can cause deterioration of the cable jacket and thus has been identified as a contributing factor to this short lifetime for some cables. It has been shown that wet contamination on the jacket of the ADSS cable increases the likelihood of dry band arcing, and hence, is a predictor of short service life. In this work, a portable transducer for measuring wet contamination levels (e.g., electrical resistance per meter) on the jacket of an ADSS cable has been designed, constructed, and calibrated in a high voltage environment. It is simple to operate and can be used while the transmission line is energized. More specifically, it has been shown effective when used on an ADSS cable in electric fields comparable to those near 500 kV transmission lines.