HVDC cable – Misryoum explains how simulation tackles real-world gaps in corona testing and reveals why ocean currents can induce electric fields around HVDC submarine cables.
Power engineers rarely get the luxury of measuring everything directly. In high-voltage design, that reality shows up fast: space, safety constraints, and the sheer complexity of real operating conditions can make the “gold standard” of physical testing hard to match.
Misryoum takes a closer look at two industry examples where simulation isn’t just a convenience—it becomes a bridge between what labs can replicate and what grids and oceans actually demand.. The unifying theme is simple: when direct measurement is limited or impractical, modeling can translate partial setups into realistic outcomes.
From single-phase lab mockups to 500 kV reality
The first case centers on corona performance testing for high-voltage transmission line hardware.. Corona—those unwanted electrical discharges that can occur around high-voltage components—can drive degradation, add losses, and threaten long-term reliability.. That’s why corona-free performance isn’t a “nice to have,” especially at 500 kV, 765 kV, and above.
Traditionally, engineers use laboratory mockups to verify corona behavior.. But these tests often can’t fully reproduce the real operating environment.. Physical space constraints typically limit testing to a partial setup, commonly a partial single-phase configuration.. The challenge then becomes equivalence: how do you prove that the lab setup represents the behavior of a full. three-phase system?
Misryoum highlights where simulation changes the equation.. Modern electromagnetic and multi-physics modeling can be used to map the single-phase test conditions to three-phase performance more consistently.. Rather than treating the lab result as a standalone “answer. ” simulation provides a structured way to account for differences in field distributions and system geometry—details that matter for corona initiation and severity.
The practical impact is bigger than it sounds.. When equivalence is uncertain. design teams can end up running extra rounds of hardware modifications. rework. or delayed approvals—costly loops that are hard to justify once the line is already in late-stage engineering.. By improving confidence that a partial test translates to real-world conditions, simulation can shorten the path from prototype to deployment.. Less time in the lab doesn’t just reduce cost; it also reduces schedule risk.
Ocean currents and the “contained field” assumption
The second case moves offshore, where HVDC submarine cables are increasingly used to connect offshore wind to onshore grids.. HVDC cable systems are often treated as electrically “contained” from an external field perspective: the electric fields are expected to remain within the cable structure. and the static magnetic field is often assumed to induce no meaningful voltages externally.
Misryoum notes that this is where simulation reveals a subtle but important physics point: relative motion.. Even if the magnetic field itself is static. ocean currents moving through that magnetic field can satisfy the relative motion condition described by Faraday’s law.. In other words, the interaction between moving seawater and the cable’s magnetic field can create externally induced electric fields.
That matters because those fields may be detectable by aquatic species, depending on field strength, exposure duration, and biological sensitivity.. The “environmentally inert” framing is therefore too simplified for compliance-driven and biodiversity-aware projects.. Instead of assuming the external environment is unaffected, engineers need a defensible method to evaluate electromagnetic interaction.
The human angle here is direct: offshore interconnects are often planned in sensitive ecosystems.. When environmental compliance becomes a risk bottleneck late in design, projects can be forced into costly redesign or mitigation.. Simulation can help teams anticipate the electromagnetic environment earlier—before the cable route. operating plan. or protective measures are locked in.
Why simulation fills the gap engineers can’t measure
Both cases share a common lesson: physical testing is constrained by what can be built. what can be scaled. and what can be safely measured.. Corona tests face hardware and space limitations that prevent true three-phase equivalence.. Submarine cable assessments face the practical difficulty of measuring induced fields in dynamic ocean conditions where currents vary.
Analytically, simulation helps because it can represent the full system while still grounding outcomes in the underlying electromagnetic theory.. For corona testing, the key value is translating partial laboratory results into realistic multi-phase electric field behavior.. For HVDC submarine cables. the key value is capturing the motion-based mechanism that turns static magnetic fields into externally induced electric fields.
Misryoum sees the strategic consequence for the industry clear: as power systems get higher in voltage and more complex in deployment, simulation becomes the design “glue” that holds evidence together—especially when lab conditions or field measurements can’t replicate the real world.
Equally important, this approach can change procurement and engineering workflows.. When simulation is used to reduce uncertainty. teams can focus physical testing on the questions that truly require measurement. while using modeling to verify equivalence. boundary conditions. and edge cases.. That balance can reduce design costs without sacrificing credibility.
Across both examples, the message is less about replacing measurement and more about making measurement useful.. Simulation translates limited experiments into decisions engineers can defend—whether those decisions are about corona-free reliability on a continental transmission spine or environmental risk assessment around an HVDC link beneath the sea.