High voltage cable splice using foam insulation with thick integral skin in highly stressed regions

Claim 1

A splice for joining two sections of high voltage cable, each comprising: a conductor adapted to operate at a high voltage with respect to ground, electrical insulation surrounding the conductor, and a tubular metal sheath normally at ground potential surrounding said insulation, the conductor having an exposed end extending beyond the end of said insulation and the insulation having an exposed end extending beyond the end of said sheath; said splice comprising: a. means for electrically and mechanically joining the exposed ends of the two conductors, b. a housing normally at substantially ground potential surrounding the adjacent ends of said cable sections and providing a cavity that surrounds the adjacent ends of said sheaths, said exposed insulation ends, and said conductor ends, c. a tubular section of insulant filling said cavity and in intimate contact with the cable parts within said cavity that are exposed to said insulant, said tubular section of insulant serving as primary insulation in said splice for withstanding voltage between said high voltage conductors and said grounded housing, d. said insulant being a rigid closed-cell foam of the type that is formed from constituents that when reacted in a mold 4 inches by 4 inches by 2 inches to produce a foam body having an overall density of 15 pounds/ft. 3 , will produce a foam body having at all its surfaces in contact with the mold a thick integral skin having an average density of at least 40 pounds/ft. 3 in its outer 1/16 inch, e. said tubular section of insulant being foamed in place within said cavity so that the surfaces of the splice exposed to said foam and located within said cavity act as a mold therefor, thus providing a thick integral skin in the region of said tubular section that borders all of said exposed surfaces, f. the integral skin on said tubular section of insulant having an average density of at least 40 pounds/ft. 3 in its outer 1/16 inch.