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Acoustic Measurements of Partial Discharge Signals
Acoustic Measurements of Partial Discharge Signals
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Abstract: The acoustic pressure waves associated with partial discharges in HV power
transformers can be detected with external piezoelectric sensors. The propagation time and the
waveshape of the received signals are affected by factors such as the sensor position, internal
barriers and sensor type. These are investigated in this paper. In particular, it is shown that the
commonly-used resonant sensor gives a cleaner signal. On the other hand, the wideband sensor
enables comparison between low and high frequency components. It was found that as the sensor is
closer to the normal, the higher frequency components become more dominant. This can be utilised
as a new diagnostic method for discharge location. The wavelet transform is used to show changes
in the frequency distribution via the time-scale plot and also to de-noise the signal.
Discharge
source
Fig.2: Method of measuring the propagation time.
ψ
There are two main techniques for locating the
Y
discharge source. One common method is to
θ simultaneously record the electrical and ultrasonic
Tank wall signals. Figure 2 is an example using a digital storage
oscilloscope. By taking the electrical signal as the
x Sensor reference, the propagation time of the ultrasonic signal
X
can be determined. This in turn can be used to
calculate the distance between the discharge source
Fig.1: Model for ultrasonic wave propagations.
and the sensor (assuming straight line propagation).
Hence the locus of possible discharge locations would
Consider Figure 1 where the sensor is at an angle ψ
be part of the sphere lying inside the transformer tank
from the normal. The time it takes for the signal which
boundary with the sensor as the centre. Measurements
follows the path shown in the figure to reach the
at other sensor positions would give additional loci
sensor is:
and their intersections would provide the discharge
x2 +Y 2 X − x location.
t= + (1)
v oil v steel
The assumption of straight-line propagation would
The quickest path can be found by setting
result in error in the measurement of the propagation
dt / dx = 0 and solve for x. This corresponds to the
time. The absolute error is:
case where θ is equal to the critical incidence angle: ∆t = t s − t d (5)
v
α = sin −1 oil (2) For ease of demonstrating the magnitude of this error,
v steel assume that the PD source is close to the tank wall so
and the quickest propagation time is: that X >> Y . Substitute Eqs.3&4 into Eq.5:
Y X − Y tan α 1 1
ts = + (3) ∆t ≈ − . X
(6)
v oil . cos α v steel v oil v steel
Equation 3 is valid only if ψ > α . If ψ ≤ α , the direct The relative error is:
path (i.e. θ = ψ ) is the quickest path. The propagation ∆t v steel − v oil
≈ (7)
time for the direct path is: td v steel
X 2 +Y 2 Thus the absolute error tends to increase linearly with
td = (4) the distance between the sensor and the normal. On the
v oil other hand the relative error remains constant but is
In the above equations, v oil and v steel are the large (76%).
longitudinal propagation velocities in oil and steel
respectively. 3. SETUP AND MEASUREMENT RESULTS
The resultant composite signal picked up by the sensor The experiment was set up using an actual transformer
is an overlapping of signals travelling through many tank but with the core and windings removed (Figure
3). The dimension of this tank, made from 10mm thick Tank wall
steel, is 900mm (H) x 1100mm (W) x 600mm (D).
barrier
35cm
PD source C
O sensor
30cm
50cm
B A
sensor sensor TOP VIEW
Fig.5: Locations of the discharge source and sensors.
The positions of the PD source and the sensors are
shown in Figure 5. A number of different sensors were
tested. The PAC (type R15I) are resonant sensors with
built-in 40dB pre-amplifier. The typical operation
range is from 100kHz to 450kHz and the resonant
Fig.3: Transformer tank. frequency is ~160kHz. The B&K (type 8312) are
broad-band sensors operating over a wider frequency
The test circuit is shown in Figure 4. A point-to-plane band. The response is flat within 10dB over the range
electrode system, suspended in the oil, was used as the 100kHz to 1MHz. The PAC (type D9241A) is a low-
discharge source. The discharge level, measured with frequency sensor. The typical operation range is from
a conventional PD detector, was about 1000pC at 30kHz to 70kHz.
20kV applied voltage. The position of the discharge
source was fixed for all the measurements taken.
55kV
Transformer 30kΩ Voltmeter
DSO
Bushing
HF CT
122
114
106
98
90
82
74
scales a
66
58
50
42
34
26
18
Fig.11: Wideband sensor at point A. 10
2
0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
time (or space) b 4
x 10
(a)
Absolute Values of Ca,b Coefficients for a = 2 4 6 8 10 ...
122
114
106
98
90
82
74
scales a
66
58
50
42
34
26
18
10
2
0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
time (or space) b 4
x 10
(b)
Fig.13: Wavelet transforms.
The time-scale plots of the wavelet coefficients for the
wideband signals (Figs.11 and 12) are shown in
Fig.13. The x-axis represents position along the signal
(time) and the y-axis represents scale. The colour at
each point on the plot represents the magnitude of the
wavelet coefficient. The darker shades correspond to
smaller coefficients. Note the large coefficients
Fig.12: Wideband sensor at point B. occurring at the wavefront in Fig.13(a).
(a)
discharges in transformers using acoustic emission
techniques”, IEEE Trans., Vol. PAS-97, No.5,
60
1978, pp.1538-1549.
40 [2] R.T. Harold, “Acoustical techniques for detecting
20
and locating electrical discharges”, Engineering
Dielectrics, Vol.1, Chapt. 10, ASTM Publications,
0
STP 669, 1979
-20 [3] B.T. Phung, R.E. James, T.R. Blackburn and Q.
Su, "Partial discharge ultrasonic wave propagation
in steel transformer tanks", Paper 74.04, 7th Int.
-40