Complex behaviour of a simple partial-discharge model

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Europhys. Lett., 66 (1), pp. 2834 (2004)
DOI: 10.1209/epl/i2003-10151-x
EUROPHYSICS LETTERS 1 April 2004
Complex behaviour of a simple partial-discharge model
H. Suzuki
1
(

), K. Aihara
2,3
and T. Okamoto
4
1
Department of Mathematical Informatics, The University of Tokyo
Tokyo 113-8656, Japan
2
Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo - Tokyo 153-8505, Japan
3
ERATO Aihara Complexity Modelling Project, JST - Kawaguchi 332-0012, Japan
4
Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry - Kanagawa 240-0196, Japan
(received 4 November 2003; accepted in nal form 2 February 2004)
PACS. 05.45.Ac Low-dimensional chaos.
PACS. 05.45.Df Fractals.
PACS. 52.80.-s Electric discharges.
Abstract. We examine the most simple and deterministic model of partial-discharge phe-
nomena, or the three-capacitance equivalent circuit model with xed parameter values. Al-
though it is an old model proposed more than fty years ago, here we show that its behaviour
should be described with contemporary concepts of nonlinear dynamics such as devils stair-
cases and fractals. The model can be reduced to a class of piecewise isometries, termed double
rotations. Because of the self-similar structure in the parameter space of double rotations, the
average discharge rate of the three-capacitance model as a function of the applied voltage is very
complex, resembling a devils staircase, in spite of the simple appearance of the model. Our
result provides comprehension of the dynamical complexity inherent in real partial-discharge
phenomena.
Introduction. In the present paper, we will show that the three-capacitance equivalent
circuit model of partial-discharge phenomena with xed parameter values, which is the most
simple and deterministic partial-discharge model as contained in textbooks, can be reduced to
a class of piecewise isometries, and, consequently, that the behaviour of this model is complex.
The statistical behaviour of real partial-discharge phenomena during long-time evolution is
known to be complicated. Such complex behaviour has been reproduced usually by partial-
discharge models with some stochastic factors. In contrast, our result shows that, even if
the model is deterministic and very simple, its behaviour still can be complex, or in a sense,
chaotic.
A partial discharge is dened as an electrical discharge that is localised within only a part
of the insulation between two separated conductors. In the real world, partial discharges are
caused by the existence of a void in insulation, for instance, as shown in g. 1a). Even if the
local electrical eld in the void exceeds a threshold and a discharge occurs, it is limited within
the void because the surrounding insulation is strong enough to avoid a complete breakdown.
(

) E-mail: hideyuki@sat.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp
c EDP Sciences
H. Suzuki et al.: Complex behaviour of a simple partial-discharge model 29
void
insulation
electrical field
a)
G
C
a
C
b
C
g
b)
time
v
o
l
t
a
g
e
V
i
+
V
r
+
V
r
V
i

u(t)
v(t)
c)
_
_
Fig. 1 The three-capacitance equivalent circuit model. a) A schematic diagram of partial discharges
in a void. Discharges occur only within the void. b) The three-capacitance equivalent circuit. In
comparison with a), the discharge gap G and the capacitor C
g
represent the void, and the capacitors
C
a
and C
b
represent the other part of the insulation. c) Time evolution of the three-capacitance
model. The thick solid line denotes the actual voltage u(t) between the discharge gap. When it
reaches the inception voltage V

i
, a discharge occurs and the value changes discontinuously to V

r
,
respectively. The thin solid line denotes the applied voltage v(t), which is the voltage between the
gap, where no discharge is assumed to occur.
Partial discharges in a void are considered to be harmful, especially in high-voltage systems
from the viewpoint of engineering because they cause energy loss and gradually degrade the
insulation. Therefore, many studies on partial-discharge analysis have been done to estimate
the physical state at the discharge site.
However, despite the technological importance, partial-discharge analysis is not very
straightforward. Each discharge can be characterised by the phase angle of the periodic
applied voltage at the discharge instant and the amplitude of the discharge. Partial-discharge
analysis has usually been based on the accumulated frequency distributions of the phase angles
and the amplitudes, and partial discharges are classied by various statistical features of the
distributions such as skewness, kurtosis, peak amplitude, asymmetry and fractal dimension
(e.g., [1]; see [2] for review). It is, however, dicult to extract information of the discharge
site from the statistical distributions because such distributions are usually complicated and
scattered and sometimes have fractal-like patterns.
To understand the mechanism underlying the complexity, studies on partial-discharge mod-
els are important. The three-capacitance equivalent circuit model is the simplest model pro-
posed more than fty years ago [36]. To reproduce the complicated distributions in the
real partial-discharge phenomena, several stochastic and more realistic models based on the
three-capacitance model have been proposed, and, with computer simulations and mathe-
matical analysis, such models have been shown to reproduce the complex behaviour of the
statistical distributions [710]. However, even if the distribution of the phase angles is com-
plicated and scattered, consecutive discharges do not occur randomly; rather, they occur in a
specic manner with much less scatter than anticipated [11, 12]. In addition, the importance
of deterministic aspects in sequences of partial discharges has been reported in several stud-
ies [1317]. Therefore, it is possible that there exists some deterministic mechanism to produce
30 EUROPHYSICS LETTERS
complex behaviour according to fundamental simple processes. Nevertheless, mathematical
characteristics of deterministic partial-discharge models have not been well investigated. Ac-
cordingly, as a rst step, we revisit and investigate the simplest deterministic model, or the
three-capacitance equivalent circuit model with xed parameter values.
The three-capacitance model. The three-capacitance equivalent circuit consists of three
capacitors and a discharge gap, as shown in g. 1b). The capacitor C
g
represents the ca-
pacitance of the void where partial discharges occur, and capacitors C
a
and C
b
represent the
capacitance of the insulation in parallel and in series, respectively, with the void. The dis-
charge gap G is an element such that when the voltage between the gap reaches the inception
voltage V
+
i
, a discharge occurs, and the voltage is reset to the residual voltage V
+
r
by the
compensation caused by the discharge. Discharges also occur in the opposite direction: when
the voltage between the gap reaches V

i
, it is reset to V

r
by a discharge in the opposite
direction. A discharge is positive if its inception voltage is V
+
i
, and is negative if its inception
voltage is V

i
. Time evolution of the three-capacitance model is shown in g. 1c), where
a sinusoidal AC voltage is applied to the circuit. We dene the actual voltage u(t) as the
voltage between the gap at time t, and the applied voltage v(t) as the voltage between the gap
where no discharges are assumed to occur. The dierence between u(t) and v(t) is constant
between two consecutive discharges because there is neither discharge nor leak during this
period, but when u(t) reaches V

i
, a partial discharge occurs and u(t) is instantaneously reset
to V

r
. Note that positive and negative discharges occur only when dv/dt 0 and dv/dt 0,
respectively. Because v(t) is proportional to the sinusoidal voltage applied to the circuit, let
v(t) = V sin t. We assume that the amplitude V is large enough to maintain discharges.
As a model of real phenomena, the parameters V

i
and V

r
cannot be considered as con-
stant, because real partial discharges do not necessarily occur and terminate at the xed
inception and residual voltages. Rather, uctuations of these parameter values can be consid-
ered to play an inuential role in the behaviour of partial discharges. Moreover, the eects of
leaks at the discharge site are not negligible. However, for investigation of fundamental be-
haviour of the three-capacitance model, we assume that parameters V

i
and V

r
are constant
and ignore any other eects in the present paper.
Complex behaviour of the model. Under this assumption, the behaviour of the model
is completely deterministic. Assume that a positive discharge occurs at time t
0
. A positive
discharge consecutively occurs once again if V v(t
0
) V
+
i
V
+
r
; otherwise, the next discharge
is negative. The next discharge occurs at time t
1
such that v(t
1
) v(t
0
) = V

i
V
+
r
, where
V

i
is the inception voltage of the next discharge. Thus, we can uniquely determine the
value of v(t
1
) from v(t
0
); this is also true even if the rst discharge is negative. Therefore,
the behaviour of the model can be expressed as the following dynamical system. Here, we
introduce new parameters
+
= V
+
i
V
+
r
,
r
= V
+
r
V

r
and

= V

r
V

i
, instead
of the redundant parameters V

i
and V

r
, because V

i
and V

r
can be shifted by a certain
amount without changing the behaviour of the model. Let X = [V, V ] +, , and let us
denote the positive and negative discharges at time t as (v, +) and (v, ) X, respectively,
where v = v(t). Then, the next discharge can be denoted as g(v, +) and g(v, ) with the map
g : X X dened simply by
g(v, +) =

(v +
+
, +) if (v, +) , I
+
,
(v

r
, ) if (v, +) I
+
,
g(v, ) =

(v

, ) if (v, ) , I

,
(v +
+
+
r
, +) if (v, ) I

,
H. Suzuki et al.: Complex behaviour of a simple partial-discharge model 31
0
1
1

x
c
f
(,,c)
(x)
a)
0
1
1
c
q
(,,c)
(x)
b)
Fig. 2 a) A graph of double rotation f
(,,c)
. b) A graph of the discharge number q
(,,c)
(x) as a
function of c for 0.611 and 0.808.
where I
+
and I

are the following intervals in X:

I
+
=

(v, +) X [ 0 V v <
+

, I

=

(v, ) X [ 0 V +v <

.
The importance of value v at the discharge instant has been pointed out, and the basic
behaviour of the system is described in refs. [5,6,11]. Because the coecients of v in the model
are unity in all cases, uctuations in the system do neither contract nor expand. However,
the dependence on initial values may be sensitive because of the discontinuities in the map.
Now, let us consider the rst return map of g on I

. The rst return map g[

I

: I

is dened as the map from (v, ) I

to g

(v, ), where is the smallest positive integer

such that g

(v, ) I

. In regard to map g, we can always nd such because every orbit

visits I
+
and I

alternately to maintain discharges. We assume here

+
without any
loss of generality because of the symmetry of the model. Then, it can be shown that, with
the map h(x) = (

x V, ), the rst return map g[

I

is isomorphic to the following map:

h
1
g[
I

h(x) =

x + if x [0, c],
x + if x (c, 1),
(1)
where is dened by x = x x|. The parameter values , and c are as follows:
= k
V

+
/

, = (k
V
1)
+
/

, c = (2V
r
k
V

+
)/

, (2)
where k
V
= (2V
r
)/
+
|. In the case when c 1, the map is a simple rotation given
by x x + . Note that during a cycle of the applied voltage, k
V
and k
V
1 positive
discharges take place for x [0, c] and x (c, 1), respectively. Because the value of
r
can
be considered as a bias to V in eq. (2), every three-capacitance model can be reduced to
a model with
r
= 0, which is the approximation sometimes employed in considerations of
partial-discharge phenomena.
The rst return map (1) derived from the map g belongs to the family of double rotations
that are thoroughly investigated in [18,19]. A double rotation f
(,,c)
: [0, 1) [0, 1) is dened
as
f
(,,c)
(x) =

x + if x [0, c),
x + if x [c, 1)
(3)
for (, , c) [0, 1) [0, 1) [0, 1]. A typical graph of a double rotation is shown in g. 2a).
Double rotations can be considered as piecewise isometries, forming a subclass of interval
32 EUROPHYSICS LETTERS
translation mappings [20]. With eqs. (1) and (3), we have shown that every three-capacitance
model can be reduced to a simple rotation or a double rotation, except for a dierence at the
point c. This dierence is made only to simplify the discussion on double rotations and does
not aect the global behaviour of the system.
Let us dene the discharge number q
(,,c)
(x) of a double rotation f
(,,c)
for an initial
state x [0, 1) as
q
(,,c)
(x) = lim
n
1
n
n1

i=0

[c,1)
(f
i
(,,c)
(x)),
if the limit exists, where is the characteristic function. For almost every (, , c), a limit
exists and the value is independent of x. A graph of q
(,,c)
(x) as a function of c is shown in
g. 2b), where and are xed. The graph is very complex, resembling a devils staircase [21].
In fact, the discharge number q
(,,c)
(x) as a function of c in general satises the following
essential characteristics of the complete devils staircase; for almost every (, ), there exists a
measure-zero Cantor set such that the discharge number as a function of c is monotonically
non-increasing and constant in every connected interval in [0, 1] . On each step of the
staircase, the double rotation can be reduced to a quasi-periodic rotation. (See [18, 19] for
details of the self-similar structure in the parameter space of double rotations.)
The appearance and the behaviour of double rotations are similar to those of Caianiellos
neuron model [22]. It is intriguing that similar discontinuous piecewise-linear maps are derived
from models of systems with thresholds: partial discharges and neurons. However, in contrast
to the phase-lock behaviour of Caianiellos model, which shows the devils staircase with
rational steps, discharge numbers on the steps in our model are usually irrational because of
the quasi-periodic behaviour.
This complex behaviour of double rotations characterises complex behaviour of the three-
capacitance model. Assume that the parameters
+
,
r
and

are constant, whereas only

the amplitude V is variable. Then, it is clear from eq. (2) that, while k
V
is constant, both
and are also constant, and only c depends linearly on V . This means that c corresponds
to the amplitude of the voltage applied to the model. Recall that states in [0, c) and [c, 1)
represent occurrence of k
V
and k
V
1 successive positive discharges during a cycle, respectively.
Therefore, if a three-capacitance model is reduced to a double rotation f
(,,c)
, the average
positive-discharge rate per cycle
+
is given by

+
= k
V
q
(,,c)
(x).
Thus, the average discharge rate is directly related to the discharge number. Consequently,

+
as a function of V is also like a devils staircase as shown by the solid line in g. 3.
Moreover, the average negative-discharge rate

is proportional to
+
because apparently

+
=

.
Experiment. To reproduce the complex dependence on the amplitude V experimentally,
we performed a preliminary experiment corresponding to a three-capacitance equivalent circuit
using metallic electrodes as the discharge gap. This experiment can be considered as an
experiment of idealised partial-discharge phenomena with relatively small uctuations and is
suitable for our purpose because the three-capacitance model can be considered as a model in
such an idealised situation without any stochastic uctuations.
At various amplitude values, a sinusoidal 50 Hz AC voltage is applied to the circuit, and
64 trials are performed. The duration of each trial was almost 20 s, and times and directions
of discharges were measured with 20 s precision. If negative and positive discharges occur
consecutively at the phases
i
and
i+1
, respectively, the value of (
+
+
r
)/V can be
H. Suzuki et al.: Complex behaviour of a simple partial-discharge model 33
3 4 5 6
1
2
3
4
amplitude of applied voltage
p
o
s
i
t
i
v
e

d
i
s
c
h
a
r
g
e

r
a
t
e
experiment
model
Fig. 3
0 /2 3/2
phase angle
f
r
e
q
u
e
n
c
y
0 /2 3/2
phase angle
f
r
e
q
u
e
n
c
y
experiment
model
a)
b)
Fig. 4
Fig. 3 Average positive-discharge rates in the experiment and the estimated three-capacitance model.
The vertical axis denotes the average positive-discharge rate
+
, and the horizontal axis denotes the
normalised amplitude of the applied voltage V/

.
Fig. 4 Histograms of discharge phase angles. The bin width is 2/1000. a) A histogram throughout
a trial obtained from the experiment. b) A histogram derived from a theoretical invariant measure
of the three-capacitance model in g. 3 at the applied voltage estimated from the trial shown in a).
estimated as sin(
i+1
) sin(
i
). Thus, for each trial, the values of

and (

+
r
)/V
are estimated as averages during the trial, and, by equation
+

+
=

, an estimation
of

/V is obtained. These estimated values of the average positive-discharge rate

+
and
the normalised amplitude V/

are plotted as s in g. 3. Furthermore, the overall ratios

+
/

and (
+
+
r
)/(

+
r
) can be estimated as averages throughout the experiment,
and, from these values, parameter values
+
/

and
r
/

are estimated. The solid line

in g. 3 shows the theoretical graph of average positive-discharge rate
+
of the model with
the estimated parameter values as a function of the normalised amplitude V/

.
Although the theoretical graph does not t the experimental data very well, there is
qualitative correspondence in the sense that both are monotonically non-decreasing and have
regions where
+
is locked at 2 and 3. For more quantitative consistency, we will need to
much more reduce stochastic factors in the circuit, such as delays in discharge inceptions,
uctuations of discharge locations, and eects of ions oating between the gap.
Figure 4a) shows a histogram of discharge phase angles throughout a trial of the experi-
ment. As noted before, such histograms are frequently employed in partial-discharge analysis.
Figure 4b) shows a histogram of discharge phase angles derived from an invariant measure on
the attractor of the three-capacitance model in g. 3 at the applied voltage estimated from
the trial shown in g. 4a). For almost every double rotation, its attractor is a Cantor set if
c ; otherwise, it is composed of nitely many intervals [23]. Although has measure zero,
if the value of c is near the set , the attractor of the corresponding three-capacitance model
can be complex enough to produce a complex and fractal-like histogram even without any
stochastic uctuations, as shown in g. 4b). In addition, the shape of the histogram obtained
experimentally is roughly reproduced by the model as shown in g. 4.
34 EUROPHYSICS LETTERS
Conclusion. In the present paper, we have shown that the statistical behaviour of the
three-capacitance model, such as the behaviour of the average discharge rate, is very complex,
even though the model is very simple and deterministic. This result provides comprehension of
dynamical complexity inherent in real partial-discharge phenomena, and the kind of nonlinear
dynamics may have been one reason for diculties in partial-discharge analysis. Because
the three-capacitance model is not so realistic, application of our dynamical modeling to
mathematical and numerical analysis of stochastic and more realistic partial-discharge models
is an important future problem for full understanding of partial-discharge phenomena and
also for analysis and technological diagnosis of the phenomena.

This work was supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B) No. 15760042
and by the Superrobust Computation Project of the 21st Century COE Program Information
Science and Technology Strategic Core from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture,
Sports, Science and Technology.
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