Method and Experience of Equipment Qualification(EQ) for Cable in NPP

The performance of cable mainly depends on polymeric insulating materials, since bad insulation of the cable makes a false signal or a short circuit. Polymeric cable materials are usually made up with cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE), ethylene propylene rubber (EPR), silicone rubber (SR), and chlorosulfonated polyethylene (CSPE). The cables should be qualified to last for over 40 years in plant areas exposed to normal and accident environments. This paper introduces not only codes, procedures, and acceptance criteria of the cable qualification test, but also the type testing experience of the EPR insulated cable during testing period. The standards of the qualification for cables are laws, regulatory guidelines, industry standards in order, and the test codes are subdivided depending on the test items. The regulations and guidelines are the Enforcement Regulation and Rules of the Nuclear Safety Law. The industry standards are IEEE 323, and 383. After the completion of the test, the cable quality depends on whether the performance standards meet the acceptance criteria or not. IEEE 383 requires LOCA simulation of both aged and unaged specimens. This study suggests that aged specimens are more susceptible to failure during LOCA testing