Understanding and Interpreting the Time Domain Reflectometer Traces for Cable Fault Location

Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) is one of the most powerful tools available in the field of underground cable fault location (CFL). The benefits of TDR in CFL include limiting further damage from repeated surging, decreasing the amount of downtime due to fault locating, and increasing the available knowledge of the system under test. Proper utilization of the TDR can greatly improve the technician’s ability to find and repair faulted cables, while also decreasing costly unplanned outages. Understanding and interpreting TDR traces is a necessary skill when utilizing Surge Pulse Generators effectively. TDR traces must be filtered and analyzed in order to properly interpret them. With the right skill set, a technician can drastically reduce the amount of time it takes to locate and pinpoint a fault on an underground cable distribution system.