## 7 Conclusions  
This study examines the characteristics of the voltage/current during incipient faults in LV XLPE cables under different wet environments. Research on incipient faults in LV cables remains limited, and the findings of this work provide new experimental evidence and fault modeling insights. The main conclusions and contributions are summarized as follows:  
(1) The LV cable incipient fault due to insulation defects exhibits two types of voltage/current waveforms: (a) sub-cycle disturbances at the early stages of the incipient fault; (b) periodic distorted currents (constant leakage currents) at the final stage of the incipient fault. This behavior differs from the commonly held view that cable incipient faults typically evolve into sustained arcing breakdowns in their final phase.  
(2) The influence of different conditions on incipient fault characteristics is investigated. Different wet environment conditions primarily affect the frequency of sub-cycle disturbances. Grounding resistance has a significant impact on the magnitude and shape of the arc current, while the conductivity of the surrounding liquid primarily influences arc generation and periodic current distortion.  
(3) A new conductivity-controlled model for LV cable incipient faults is proposed to account for the distinctive voltage/current characteristics observed. The model captures the typical fault stages under different wet environments. Although the model is relatively simple in form, it closely matches the experimental waveforms.  
(4) Simulation studies based on this model indicate that early fault voltage/current signals can be detected at the sending end of the cable in typical LV distribution systems. However, as the system capacity increases, the signal amplitude tends to decrease accordingly.  
Although this work presents new findings on incipient faults in LV XLPE cables, the experiments are limited to single-phase faults. In multi-core cables, inter-phase incipient faults may occur, and their characteristics warrant further investigation. Additionally, how to effectively detect early fault signals at the sending end of the cable remains an open research question for future work.  
Conceptualization, J.Y. and X.W.; Data curation, C.Z. and Y.L.; Writing--original draft, C.Z.; Writing--review and editing, J.Y. and X.W.; Methodology, Y.W. and M.W.; Supervision, J.Y. and X.W. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.  
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U22B6006).  
Not applicable.  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline
**Case** & **Transformer Capacity** & **Load** & **Compensation Capacity** & \(\sigma_{1}\) & \(\sigma_{2}\) \\ \hline A & 150 kVA & 100 kW & 15 kvar & 0.04 & 0.001 \\ B & 300 kVA & 200 kW & 30 kvar & 0.17 & 0.013 \\ C & 500 kVA & 350 kW & 50 kvar & 0.45 & 0.038 \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}
Table 4: MSD of waveforms at the sending end and fault point under different parameters.  
Data Availability Statement: The original contributions presented in this study are included in the article; further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding authors.  
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.