#InsideDCDYNAMIC – Pol Canalda Escalante

As a PhD researcher, I work on developing condition monitoring techniques to diagnose soft faults and predict ageing on the HVDC cable. Right now, my focus is experimental testing on medium voltage cable: we apply a controlled degradation on the cable and try to detect it using fast voltage pulses.

I’ve always been drawn to engineering and innovation. My bachelor’s in energy engineering and master’s in electric power systems gave me a deep interest in the electrification, sustainability and energy accessibility.  It was during my master’s thesis on partial discharges in air that I lost my heart for high voltage engineering. When the opportunity came up to participate in this project I thought it was a good chance to dive in the research world with a real, applied focus where I could pour my passion into.

My research is critical for floating offshore wind and any other HVDC system it helps ensure these system run under optimal conditions, giving real-time information of the sate of the cable, so personnel can take appropriate action before failure occurs. It is also a stress relieve for new projects that needs financial support, because it reduces the risk of investment for new projects.

The most exciting moments are when the experimental results come out as expected and the set up works fine. The process to get the setup to work is sometimes very exhausting because there is so much that can go wrong in ways you don’t see coming. The most challenging has been definitely to uncoil a 250 meter cable we tested and roll it in a straight line for testing and then having to roll it back again in the cable drum. At one point it got tangled and it was a real test of patiente to untangle it.

Working in a high voltage laboratory together with other researchers has taught me a lot about collaboration,  helping others in their own projects, being involved with international students. Supervising several bachelor’s and master’s students has really improved my communication skills, and I’ve also learned how to work safely in a hv lab environment and stay organised.

I enjoy both but a coffee helps me more during the day.

I always enjoy starting the day with practical work it is more fun than staring at a screen. Nights are reserved for relax, no data analysis!

Autumn means that super hot days are finally over and la castanyada (a popular festivity of my región) is coming.

I enjoy reading books, now im reading The Way of Kings from the Stormlight Archive trilogy. I also play videogames and I competed in basketball leagues for 6 years, although im not as active now.

I have enjoyed recently watching Roma (2018) and The taking of Deborah Logan (2014).

Meet more of the early-career researchers behind DCDYNAMIC.