Cable Defect Location and Evaulation Based on Stepped-Frequency Waveform Reflectometry and Assisted Digital Twin Technology

The travelling wave reflection method is widely used to detect cable defects in modern industrial systems due to its non-destructive nature and high efficiency. However, the overlapping echoes of the defect with short length will result in inaccurate defect evaluation. In view of this, this paper proposes a novel cable defect diagnosis method based on stepped-frequency waveform reflectometry (SFWR) and assisted digital twin technology. First, the frequency response functions (FRFs) of two typical defects: point-like defect and line-like defect are constructed, and the limitations of line loss compensation for evaluating the short line-like defect is analysed. Then, a distinction method based on polarity interval is proposed to determine whether defect echoes exhibit overlapping. Finally, the assisted digital twin technology is used to separate defect overlapping echoes, ensuring the accuracy of defect evaluation. Simulations and experiments show that the method proposed in this paper exhibits good performance in evaluating the line-like defect with short length.