Ground
testing
theory
...p3
ELECTRICAL
TESTER
Fuelling the future. . .
Enhancing the reliability of the LV grid
Peter Herpertz - Product manager,
power, SebaKMT Germany
Changes in the way we generate and use
electricity are already exposing the low-voltage
power distribution grid to stresses that it
has never before experienced, and there is
absolutely no doubt that these stresses will
continue to increase for the foreseeable
future. To avoid unforeseen failures and
interruptions of service it is, therefore,
essential to develop techniques for reliably
evaluating the condition of the grid and how
well it will respond to these stresses.
The increased demands on the grid are not
the result of a single factor, but of several
changes that are taking place simultaneously.
First there is the steadily increasing demand for
electrical power, and then there is the trend
toward decentralised power generation, which
is radically changing the load distribution and
dynamics of the grid. In addition, more and
more of the load on the grid is made up of
electronic devices, with the result that there is a
strong upward trend in harmonic current levels.
And there’s more to come. For example,
electric vehicles are already starting to grow
in popularity and, in the future, not only will
their charging stations affect the characteristics
of the load on the grid, it is also likely that
owners will use the batteries in their vehicles
as a form of buffer storage to reduce their
need to buy electricity at peak rates. Smart
home technology will provide another way
for consumers to switch some of their energy
consumption to low tariff periods, with the
overall result that grid is likely to be loaded to a
higher level for more of the time.
Oropeza Ingenieros SA
named in Mexico’s top 100
Gustavo Oropeza -
Director General of OISA, Mexico
Oropeza Ingenieros SA (OISA), has achieved
the prestigious accolade of being named as
one of Mexico’s Top 100 companies in the
electrical sector. In an interview with
Electrical Tester, Gustavo Oropeza,
Director General of OISA, explains how his
company gained this recognition.
Q: Gustavo, could you please explain
how companies are assessed for
inclusion in the Top 100?
A: The assessment is carried out by Global
Energy, a respected magazine that is widely
circulated in Mexico in both paper and electronic
formats. The assessment is based, for the most
www.megger.com ELECTRICAL TESTER - January 2014
Lengthy
advances
In essence, all of these changes mean that the
capacity reserves designed into the grid are
rapidly being exhausted and that the grid’s
vulnerabilities and flaws are starting to become
more and more apparent. Performing tests on
the grid to detect these problems so that they
can be addressed before they lead to failures
and service interruptions is clearly desirable,
and an approach that is proving particularly
useful and convenient in this role is network
impedance measurement.
Modern developments in test equipment mean
that this type of measurement is fast and easy
to perform, yet it provides answers to many
of the most important questions that concern
network operators. Impedance measurements
at a grid access point will, for example, provide
an accurate indication of the load power the
grid can deliver and the maximum infeed
power it can accept at that point.
The measurements are also an invaluable aid
for the dimensioning of fuses, and for ensuring
that the short-circuit current will be sufficient to
rupture the fuse in the event of a fault. They are
also a useful tool for evaluating the performance
of new grid sections during commissioning or
when sections are taken over from other utilities,
and they can provide a very effective way of
exposing hidden flaws in the grid system.
Network impedance measurements can, in
principle, be performed by carrying out simple
loop tests on a de-energised section of the grid.
In practice, however, this approach has many
limitations, not the least of which is the need to
take the section of the grid being tested out of
service for the duration of the test. Techniques
part, on information supplied by the Mexican
government about companies that have sold
the most to the government during the year.
The government provides the information
according to the requirements of the Mexican
Transparency Law. The Top 100 list includes
companies that focus on sustainability and
energy efficiency – that is, companies active in
the areas of hydrocarbons, electricity, automation
and alternative energy – which seek to form
strategic alliances to create, disseminate and
commercialize new technologies.
Q: Who decides which companies
are included?
A: The editorial board of Global Energy
decides which companies are included. Usually
the companies on the list offer specialized
services or high quality solutions that play an
important role in the industrial development
of Mexico. Typically, the companies also have
a strong commitment to and commercial and
Hazards
of
in TDRs
...p4
The industry’s recognised information tool
Decentralised power generation is changing the load distribution and dynamics of the grid
have, therefore, been developed to allow the
measurements to be made while the grid is live.
The principle is simple, and is illustrated in
Figure 1 (see page 2). Here, the supply is shown
as an ideal source U0 with source impedance
ZI. The consumer load RV reduces the terminal
voltage of the supply to UV. To carry out the
test, the impedance measuring instrument adds
an extra load RL for a very short time, which
further reduces the terminal voltage to UL. By
recording the additional load current IL and by
comparing UV and UL the instrument can readily
calculate the source impedance ZI.
professional relationships with CFE (Comisión
Federal de Electricidad – Federal Electricity
Commission) and PEMEX (Petróleos Mexicanos).
All of the companies included in this year’s list
fall into these categories.
Q: What aspects of OISA’s operations
helped it to gain inclusion in the list?
A: Part of the reason for our inclusion was that
we sold a lot of equipment to both CFE and
PEMEX in 2012, but another important factor
was that we have created strategic alliances
with both of these organizations with the aim
of providing improvements in the energy sector.
Some of the things that Global Energy took into
account were the specialized services that our
trained personnel provide to CFE and PEMEX,
our corporate approach of turning problems
into challenges and successes, and the part we
are playing in the advancement of automation
in the country, with the intention of reducing
hazards, and providing efficient methods of
electricity
...p6
Published by Megger
January 2014
As always, however, the theory may be
straightforward, but things are not quite so
simple in practice. One crucial factor is that to
yield results that are dependable and useful in
relation to today’s grid operating conditions,
the instrument must provide information
about the grid impedance not just at power
frequency, but at frequencies up to the tenth
harmonic of the power frequency.
The reasons are not hard to understand.
Feeders, such as photovoltaic systems,
continued on page 2
fault prevention and fault finding, thereby
increasing profitability.
Q: Are there any particular services from
OISA that were taken into account?
A: OISA’s mission is to provide a comprehensive
range of solutions to meet the needs of the
measurement and electrical engineering sectors.
Our main contributions during the year were
to provide CFE with services to aid the proper
maintenance of electric utilities and to provide
guidance on the standardization of test criteria
to assist with effective condition analysis and
fault diagnosis.
Q: Did OISA’s long association with
Megger play any part in helping it to
become a Top 100 company?
A: Definitely! Megger is the main supplier of
the equipment we sell, and we undoubtedly
benefit from the world-class support the
company provides, as well as the wide range
of equipment it offers to verify, monitor and
measure the performance and condition of
electrical plant, and to facilitate preventative
maintenance that minimizes the risk of failures.
1

The industry’s recognised information tool
Contents
Fuelling the future - Enhancing the
reliability of the LV grid ...................... P1, 2
Peter Herpertz - Product manager, power,
SebaKMT Germany
Oropeza Ingenieros success ...................P1
Gustavo Oropeza - Director general of OISA
Our most valued asset ...............................P2
Nick Hilditch - Editor, Electrical tester
Ground testing theory
and methodology .........................................P3
Graeme Thomson - VP Sales, US
distribution and CSA
TDR trailblazing ..........................................P4
Leif Pedersen - SebaKMT Nor AB
Sparking interest .........................................P4
Georg Halfar - Marketing communications
manager, Germany
Fault location in power cables - part 3 .P5
Peter Herpertz - Product manager, power,
SebaKMT, Germany
Hazards of electricity ..............................P6
Steven C. Foutch - Vice president of sales &
operations, AVO Training Institute
Meggger tester or not ................................P6
Nick Hilditch - Marketing group manager,
Megger Limited
Harmonising harmonics .........................P7
Alan Purton - Technical support group
Blackout prevention ..................................P7
Keith Wilson - Electrical engineer
Q&A - Acoustic pinpointing ......................P8
Thin ice is nice..... .......................................P8
Klas Bjorck - Product manager - Megger Sweden
Getting to grips with substation
automation ...................................................P8
Andrea Bonetti - STRI AB – Västerås Sweden
When you have finished with
this magazine please recycle it.
The rights of the individuals attributed in Electrical Tester to
be identified as authors of their respective articles has been
asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988. © Copyright Megger. All rights reserved.
No part of Electrical Tester may be reproduced in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photo-copying, recording or otherwise without the
prior written permission of Megger.
To request a licence to use an article in Electrical Tester, please
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reasons for your request.
All trademarks used herein are the property of their respective
owners. The use of any trademark in this text does not imply
trademark ownership rights in such trademarks, nor does use
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Electrical Tester by such owners.
A printed newsletter is not as interactive as its email equivalent
so to help you find items quickly on www.megger.com, we have
underlined key search words in blue.
Note from the Editor - Time for your say.
We have introduced a ‘Questions and Answers’ section and
would like your input. If you have any questions or stories that
you think we could use, then please email
electricaltester@megger.com
‘Views expressed in Electrical Tester are not necessarily
the views of Megger.’
The word ‘Megger’ is a registered trademark
Editor Nick Hilditch.
T +44 (0)1304 502232
E nick.hilditch@megger.com
www.megger.com
Megger Limited
Archcliffe Road Dover Kent CT17 9EN
T +44 (0)1304 502100
E electricaltester@megger.com
www.megger.com
2 ELECTRICAL TESTER - January 2014 www.megger.com
continued from page 1
Zi = Ri + j * Xi
NIM
IL U IL
Iv
aU
0 UV
RL
Rv
The theory of measuring while the grid is live is simple - but in practice it is more complex
invariably connect to the grid via inverters,
and these inverters produce harmonics. The
electronic loads that are now so common
behave in a similar way. Unfortunately the
harmonic currents – particular the lower
odd numbered harmonics that are divisible
by three – cause many problems. In effect,
they add to the power frequency current and
increase the load on the grid. Measurements
based solely on power frequency do not,
therefore, give a reliable indication of how the
grid will perform in service.
Harmonics are not the only complicating
factor for grid impedance measurement. If the
measuring current is low, the resolution and
accuracy of the result will be compromised, so
the instrument must be capable of using a high
measuring current. It must do this, however,
without rupturing the grid’s protective fuses.
It’s also important to note that the impedance
of the test leads and the resistance of the
connecting clamps will be connected in series
with the network impedance. For accurate
results, therefore, it is essential to use four-
wire connections with Kelvin clamps.
Our most valued
asset decommissioned!
David Heard - Marion’s husband shared her last day
Nick Hilditch -
Editor Electrical Tester
As every engineer knows, there inevitably
comes a time when even the most valued
of assets has to be taken out of service. It
sometimes happens, however, that assets
decommissioned from their original role still
have a lot to offer, and a lot of useful life left in
them. In these cases, the only sensible option is
to allow them to continue providing service in
a different role, where the demands placed on
them are possibly a little less onerous.
And this is exactly what’s happened with
one of Electrical Tester’s most valued assets,
Marion Heard. Unless you work for Megger,
it’s unlikely that you’ll know her name. In the
27 issues of Electrical Tester published to date,
U[v]
U0 Uv - UL
Zi =
UL
I [A]
0 IV IV + I L
Finally, even though the duration of the
measurement is short, it is possible that
the consumer load may alter while the
measurement is being made. As the
instrument cannot detect these changes
directly, it is highly desirable that it should
make multiple measurements and calculate
the average result.
While instruments for measuring network
impedance are by no means a new concept,
it has until now been difficult or even
impossible to find an instrument that
meets all of the criteria discussed in this
article. Such an instrument has, however,
recently been introduced – the SebaKMT
NIM 1000 from Megger, which has been
specifically developed to meet the needs
of today’s network operators. The features
of this instrument can be considered as a
new benchmark for network impedance
measurement. They include a compact and
readily portable design, simple operation,
the names of dozens of contributors have been
highlighted but it will take a diligent search
to find mention of Marion, even though she’s
made a major contribution to every issue!
In fact, she has been responsible since 2007 for
laying out Electrical Tester and for guiding it
through the printing and production processes.
Without her input, it might not have appeared.
But there’s a lot more to Marion than her work
as a layout artist.
She was one of Megger’s longest serving
employees, having joined the company in
1979 as a print room operator. She moved on
to become a tracer and later a CAD system
operator. Then in 1994, Marion’s career took a
different course when she took up a new post
in the marketing department.
ELECTRICAL
TESTER
test current adjustable from 80 A to 1,000
A, single- and three-phase operation, results
measured and displayed up to the 10th
harmonic, direct display of all measurement
parameters and facilities for making automatic
long-term measurements – for example, every
15 minutes for 48 hours. The instrument will
not rupture fuses when tests are carried out
four to five times the nominal fuse rating.
Internal storage for results is provided, and the
results can be exported via a USB 2.0 interface
for easy test report generation.
Another interesting and useful feature is a
special fault detection mode. Some types
of fault including, for example, loose screw
connections, will temporarily weld when high
test currents are used, and as a result are likely
to go unnoticed with normal tests. When fault
detection mode is used, however, repeated
measurements are made while the test current
is increased in steps. Any sudden change in
impedance as the current increases, which
might indicate that a faulty connection has
welded, is readily apparent.
We are asking more and more of our power
distribution systems, and subjecting them to
operating conditions that could never have
been envisaged when much of our present-
day infrastructure was designed and installed.
It is, therefore, essential to have an accurate,
dependable, convenient and cost-effective tool
for assessing how well networks will stand
up to today’s demands. Network impedance
measurement, performed with a modern
instrument, is that tool.
Long term retention is a hallmark of Megger’s
human resource strategy. Marion had been
with Megger for more than 34 years
She worked there until Summer 2013,
applying her artistic and computer skills not
only to Electrical Tester but also to datasheets
for products made in Dover, user guides,
catalogues and all manner of marketing
materials. Eventually however, she decided
that the time had come to leave all this behind
and to spend more time with her husband.
For once, that’s not a euphemism – she really
is enjoying retirement, and is mingling it with
a little freelance work, just to keep her hand in.
We wish Marion well, and thank her for the
incredible amount of hard work she’s put into
making Electrical Tester the respected and
successful publication it is today.

The industry’s recognised information tool
Clamp-On Ground testing theory
and methodology
Graeme Thomson -
VP Sales, US distribution and CSA
Testing the quality of the grounding (earthing)
system has been a critical part of electrical
maintenance programs for many years.
Ground (earth) electrodes are used to provide
a safe path to earth for the dissipation of
fault currents, lightning strikes, static charges
and EMF/RFI signals. The risks from ground
system deterioration include potentially deadly
electrical shocks, plant-wide equipment
damage, disruption in the performance of
sensitive electrical apparatus, heat build-
up and eventually fire on a single piece of
electrical equipment and disruption in digital
communication service.
Over time, ground systems deteriorate due to
either environmental conditions or catastrophic
events like lightning strikes. Alternatively,
facility expansion may change needs in the
installed ground system. Grounding systems
present a unique challenge because they are
out of site, buried beneath the soil. The only
way to ensure that the system remains capable
of dissipating fault currents is to measure its
resistance periodically.
Fall of Potential (and its variants) was the only
method of testing ground system integrity until
the 1980s. Clamp-on, or stake-less, ground
testing first appeared in the 1980s and has
gained in popularity and acceptance in the
years since its introduction. The method is
starting to appear in standards such as IEC
60364-6 (Low-voltage electrical installations –
Part 6: Verification).
The clamp-on ground tester is an effective
and time-saving method when used correctly
because the user does not have to disconnect
the ground system or place probes in the ground
to make a measurement. The method is based
on Ohm’s Law, where R (resistance) = V (voltage)
/ I (current). The clamp includes a transmit coil,
which applies the voltage and a receive coil,
which measures the current. The instrument
applies a known voltage to a complete circuit,
measures the resulting current flow and
calculates the resistance (see figure below).
Understanding how and why the clamp-on
method works helps in understanding where
it will and will not operate effectively, and
how to optimize its use. As mentioned, the
clamp-on test method is based on Ohm’s Law.
Understanding Ohm’s law and how it applies
to series and parallel circuits is the first step in
understanding how and why a clamp-on ground
tester works. The following graphics show a
series circuit, a parallel circuit and a parallel-
series circuit, and the math used to determine
the total current and resistance in each.
Figure 1 - A typical pole ground configuration
www.megger.com ELECTRICAL TESTER - January 2014
SERIES CIRCUIT
In a series circuit, total current and total
resistance are calculated as follows:
It = I1 = I2 = I3
Rt = R1 + R2 + R3
PARALLEL CIRCUIT
In a parallel circuit, total current and total
resistance are calculated as follows:
It = I1 + I2 + I3
Rt = 1/ (1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3)
PARALLEL-SERIES CIRCUIT
In a parallel-series circuit, total current and total
resistance are calculated as follows:
It = I1 + I2 = I3 = I4 + I5
Rt = 1/ (1/R1 + 1/R2) + 1/ (1/R3 + 1/R4)
CLAMP-ON TEST METHODOLOGY
The head of a clamp-on ground tester includes
two cores. One core induces a test current and
the other measures how much was induced.
The input or primary voltage of the test current
inducing core is kept constant, so the current
actually induced into the test circuit is directly
proportional to the loop resistance.
The important thing to remember with
clamp-on testing is that clamp-on ground
testers effectively make loop resistance
measurements. Clamp-on measurements
are loop measurements. For the clamp-on
method to work there must be a series-parallel
resistance path (and the lower the better).
The more electrodes or ground paths in the
system the nearer the measurement gets to the
actual electrode under test’s true resistance.
The following figure shows a pole ground
configuration, one of the most effective
applications of the clamp-on ground tester.
The circuit diagram for this configuration
follows (based on a clamp-on ground tester
being clamped around pole 6):
The clamp-on ground tester is clamped around
one of the electrodes and then measures the
resistance of the entire loop. The remaining
ground electrodes are all in parallel, and, as a
group, are in series with the ground electrode
being measured. If the clamp-on tester is
clamped around pole #6, the measurement
of the resistance of the entire loop would be
calculated using the following equation:
Rloop = R6 + (1/ (1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3 + 1/R4 + 1/R5))
For 6 similar ground electrodes with a
resistance of 10Ω each, the measurement of
the total loop resistance would be:
Rloop = 10 + (1/ (1/10 + 1/10 + 1/10 + 1/10 + 1/10))
Rloop = 10 + (1/ (5/10))
Rloop = 10 + 2
Rloop = 12Ω
The measurement of the loop resistance is
relatively close to the resistance of the ground
electrode being tested. If there were 60 similar
ground electrodes with a resistance of 10Ω
each, the measurement of the total loop
resistance would be:
Rloop = 10Ω + 0.17Ω = 10.17Ω
The more ground electrodes in parallel, the
smaller the impact of the resistance of the
electrodes not being tested and the closer
the loop resistance is to the resistance of the
electrode being tested.
If the electrode being measured has a high
resistance, the test will indicate that there is a
ELECTRICAL
TESTER
problem. Using the six electrode example, if
electrode number 6 had a resistance of 100Ω
and all the other electrodes had resistances of
10Ω, the measurement of the loop resistance
would be:
Rloop = 100 + (1/ (1/10 + 1/10 + 1/10 + 1/10 + 1/10))
Rloop = 100 + (1/ (5/10))
Rloop = 100 + 2
Rloop = 102Ω
In this example, the clamp-on ground tester
would indicate the bad ground. If the 100Ω
electrode was one of the electrodes not
being measured, the impact on the overall
measurement would be minimal:
Rloop = 10 + (1/ (1/10 + 1/100 + 1/10 + 1/10 + 1/10))
Rloop = 10 + (1/ (41/100))
Rloop = 10 + 2.44
Rloop = 12.44Ω
Note that the measured resistance will always
be higher than the actual resistance of the
ground electrode being tested. Any error
present is on the side of safety, as resistance
guidelines are for maximum ground resistance.
This means that if the measured resistance is
below target level for the ground electrode, the
operator can be assured that actual resistance
will also be below the target.
SUMMARY
A clamp-on ground tester measurement is a
measurement of the resistance of the entire
loop. There must be a loop resistance to
measure. If there isn’t a loop to measure the
operator can create one with a temporary
jumper lead. The greater the number of parallel
paths, the closer the measured value will be
to the actual earth resistance of the electrode
under test. The clamp-on ground tester can
easily indicate a poor electrode whether
there are a few parallel paths in series with
the measured value, or many parallel paths
present. The earth path must be in the circuit
to measure ground resistance.
3

The industry’s recognised information tool
Lengthy advances in long-range TDR
measurements
Leif Pedersen -
SebaKMT Nor AB
NorNed is a HVDC submarine power cable
between Norway the Netherlands
Time domain reflectometer (TDR) measurements
are an invaluable tool for pre-locating faults
on power cables, but there are significant
challenges involved in making these
measurements successfully on cables that are
longer than about 100 km. For operators of
the long HVDC submarine power cables that
are increasingly being used for the country-
to-country transfer of electrical power these
challenges are a particular concern, as there
are few, if any, cost-effective alternatives for
locating faults on these cables.
With this in mind, Seba Nor as, has recently
been evaluating the performance of a new
extended-range TDR test set that has been
specifically developed for use on HVDC
submarine cables. The evaluation was carried
out on the NorNed HVDC cable, which is
a joint project of Statnett and TenneT, the
operators of the power grids in Norway and
Holland respectively.
The 580 km long NorNed cable, which
operates at 450 kV, is the longest submarine
power cable in the world. It runs between
Feda in Norway and the seaport of Eemshaven
in the Netherlands, and it interconnects the
power grids of the two countries.
BACKGROUND
To establish a baseline for the evaluation
of the new instrument, experimental TDR
measurements were made on the NorNed
cable in 2010, using an existing TDR test set
(Teleflex MX) in conjunction with a special
submarine cable adaptor (LDE 800). With
1st Place Competition winners! - Commercial Academy, Freiberg
Georg Halfar - Marketing communications
manager, Germany
We’ve all been there. In our late teens or
early twenties, we thought we knew it
all, we had short attention spans and we
4 ELECTRICAL TESTER - January 2014 www.megger.com
The TDR test set with extended range and
features optimised for work on long cables
this arrangement, a cable fault 72 km from
the point of connection of the test set
was successfully detected, but it proved
completely impossible to detect the end of
the cable at 580 km.
A sample of the new TDR test set (Teleflex
VX) with extended range and new features
optimised for work on long cables was
presented to Statnett at a meeting in April
2013, where it was agreed that the instrument
would be used to attempt to detect the end of
the cable during the next planned shutdown of
the DC link in September.
PREPARATION
The NorNed cable was taken out of service and
grounded at both ends, in accordance with the
scheduled maintenance plan, one week before
the TDR evaluation was due to commence,
thereby eliminating the risk of the instruments
being damaged by return voltage. Extended
test leads were also prepared to allow easy
connection of the test set.
MEASUREMENTS
The first measurements were made on phase
PK1 of the cable using the new TDR test set
connected at the Norwegian end of the cable.
The test parameters were carefully adjusted
to optimise the results and the averaging
were easily bored. It’s perfectly normal
to go through that phase, and electrical
apprentices and trainees are no different
from every other group in that respect –
apart from being slightly quicker on the
uptake than the average trainee, maybe.
function – one of the new features of the new
instrument – was used. This function rapidly
makes and compares 256 measurements, and
only impedances that are detected as being
stable are shown in the final trace.
Reflections were visible from known cable
joints and from the remote end of the cable. It
was clear, however, that the distant reflections
were affected by constantly changing noise
and that without the averaging function, the
end reflection would have been undetectable.
Photographs of the trace obtained is shown
in Figure 2 and it will be seen that there is
a small end reflection at approximately 600
km. This trace was, however, obtained before
the pulse velocity, V/2, had been fine-tuned
by identifying a known joint at 154 km and
adjusting the V/2 value so that this distance on
the trace matched the known length.
When this had been done, further
measurements were made, and they showed
the cable end at the correct distance of 580 km.
More measurements were then made using the
instrument’s zoom function, and these revealed
another cable joint at 304 km. This matched
exactly the information in Statnett’s records.
Next TenneT was contacted and asked to remove
the grounding at the Netherlands end of the
cable, with the object of seeing whether the form
Sparking interest . .
2nd Place - Hellwegg- Lippe training centre
That typical profile left Megger Germany
with a challenge and an opportunity. How
could they help the young engineers of the
future with their training, while keeping
them interested and engaged?
Part of the answer is shown in the pictures
here. Working with Hager, a German
manufacturer of electrical installation
products, apprentice schools and colleges
throughout Germany received a set of 4
educational posters showing a Megger
MFT1835 with wiring diagrams and advice on
electrical installations according to the German
norms. Apprentices were asked to have their
ELECTRICAL
TESTER
Figure 2 - trace obtained before the pulse
velocity had been fine-tuned.
of the end reflection would change. The results
with the ungrounded cable were compared with
results that had been stored in the instrument’s
memory when the cable was grounded, and the
change in form could be clearly seen, providing
incontrovertible proof that the instrument had
indeed detected the end of the cable.
Finally, the complete test set up was moved
from phase PK1 to phase PK2 and all of the
measurements were repeated. The results were
almost identical with those from phase PK1
with reflections from the joint at 154 km and
the cable end at 580 km clearly visible.
CONCLUSION
After the tests had been completed and the
results examined in detail, all parties agreed that
the evaluation of the new instrument had been
a great success. TDR measurements showing an
end reflection at 580 km on a submarine DC
power cable had never before been possible,
and the impressive results obtained proved that
the technology used in the new instrument
meets or even exceeds all expectations.
This is a particularly important achievement as
further long undersea cables linking Norway
with Germany and England are planned and
technology capable of locating faults accurately
will play a key role in the economical operation of
these and of the many existing undersea cables.
3rd Place - OSC Uckerman Education Institute
photograph taken next to the posters, with
valid entries going into a prize draw.
About 10% of 320 colleges entered the
competition, with some very creative
images submitted– some of them not
suitable to be shown in a technical
magazine like Electrical Tester!
The winners of the top 3 entries, drawn at
random, received brand new electrical test
equipment with free training.
Congratulations to all the trainees and
colleges taking part; you’ve proved us
wrong. You were paying more attention
than we thought!

The industry’s recognised information tool
Fault location in power cables
Peter Herpertz - Product manager,
power, SebaKMT Germany
Pinpointing – finding the exact location of a
cable fault – should always be preceded by the
use of an accurate prelocation procedure, so
that pinpointing only needs to be performed
on a short section of the cable. This saves time,
as well as reducing stress on the cable and
associated accessories. This article, the third in
our series on cable fault location, provides an
introduction to prelocation techniques.
CABLE FAULT PRELOCATION
Basic considerations
The most commonly used cable fault
prelocation techniques depend on pulse
reflection. With these techniques, the fault
must have certain characteristics if it is to
be detectable and measurable. However,
even faults that don’t intrinsically have these
characteristics can often be made detectable
by burning them to make them permanent, or
by applying a short-term high voltage to create
a flashover at the fault location.
Prelocation techniques are divided into two
groups – those based on pulse-reflection
(TDR or Teleflex) technologies, and those that
use HV transient methods. This article deals
primarily with techniques in the first group.
The basis of all pulse reflection techniques is
to inject a measuring pulse at the local end of
the cable. This travels to the fault location at
a velocity (V), which is a characteristic of the
cable. When it reaches the fault, the pulse is
reflected back toward the point where it was
injected – see Figure 1. The time taken for the
pulse to travel to the fault and back to the
point of injection is measured and multiplied
by the propagation velocity, V/2. The result is
the distance to the fault.
Figure 1 - Reflection at fault (negative) and
cable end (positive)
Reflection at joint (positive / negative or
negative / postitive)
Propagation velocity of
the pulse (V/2)
v = lg
1x = t v
2 2 t that is nearly infinite. Such faults cannot be
lx = Distance to fault | lg = Overall cable
length | t = Travelling time in µs
The measurement accuracy that can be
achieved is primarily influenced by external
factors – it is affected only slightly by the
intrinsic accuracy of the reflectometer. One
of the main external factors that affects
measurements is the accuracy of the value
used for the propagation velocity V/2, which is
influenced by many factors, including:
„„Characteristic impedance of the cable
„„Dielectric material (for example, XLPE,
PVC, PILC, insulation colour)
„„Age of the cable
„„Temperature
„„Moisture content (water in the cable
reduces V/2 to around 65 m/µs)
„„Conductor position within the cable (for
communication cables)
Complications can also occur when different
types of cable are used in the same cable run.
www.megger.com ELECTRICAL TESTER - January 2014
In practice, there are many cases where the
factors that influence propagation velocity
cannot be evaluated accurately and completely.
Reflection factor (R)
Every change in the uniformity of the cable
construction produces a change in the
inductance and/or capacitance, and also in the
conductivity (G) at the location of the change.
As a result, there is a change in impedance (Z)
at this location. This impedance change reflects
a certain amount of energy from the pulse
back toward the transmitter.
Figure 2 - Length measurement at different
propagation velocities (V/2)
In most cases, only part of the energy in the
pulse is reflected, with the remaining energy
continuing on to the next impedance change
where, once again, all or part of that energy
is reflected back toward the source. The
measured amplitude of the reflected pulse is
determined by the reflection factor (R) and the
cable attenuation. In long cables with small
cross sections, faults need to be much better
defined (with either very low or very high
resistance) if they are to be detected.
Figure 3 - Equivalent circuit of a length of cable
R = longitudinal resistance
L = inductance
G = conductivity
C = capacitance
No impedance change in cable
– no reflection
Large impedance change in cable
– large reflection
Short circuit or open circuit
– total reflection
Cable faults often have resistances significantly
above 2 kΩ and many faults have a resistance
detected using normal reflection methods. In
these cases, fault conversion must be used,
where the fault is changed, for a short time
at least, into a form that is detectable by the
reflectometer.
PULSE WIDTH
Depending on the cable length (fault distance),
pulses of different widths must be used.
Narrow pulses are only suitable for short
ranges, but they give very high resolution with
a lot of detail. On long cables, wide pulses
have to be used, but this reduces resolution
and potentially increases the dead zone.
On most reflectometers, the pulse width is
automatically set to suit the measuring range,
but provision is usually also made for the
setting to be changed manually.
Typical pulse widths are:
1 ns – 3 µs High-resolution
reflectometers for
communications cables
35 ns – 5 µs Reflectometers for general
use on power cables
ELECTRICAL
TESTER
50 ns – 20 µs Special reflectometers for
long cables (subsea cables
and overhead lines)
DEAD ZONE IN RELATION
TO PULSE WIDTH
5 ns pulse width – dead zone
approximately 2 m Figure 5 - Cable attenuation and dispersion
500 ns pulse width – dead zone
Dispersion is another factor that influences
approximately 90 m
pulse shape. Higher signal frequencies are
3 µs pulse width – dead zone attenuated more than lower frequencies,
approximately 400 m
which makes pulses that have travelled long
The dead zone is the length of cable distances appear much broader than those
covered by the transmitted measuring pulse. that have travelled shorter distances. The
Depending on the design of the reflectometer, combination of attenuation and dispersion
faults cannot usually be seen in this zone. means that distant reflections are sometimes
However, it’s not true that absolutely no detail difficult to evaluate.
can be seen within the dead zone, as changes Distance-related amplitude correction allows
in the measuring pulse are still detectable. all events to be displayed at the correct size,
Additionally, with the best reflectometers, the
irrespective of distance. This makes it much
effects of the measuring pulse are suppressed,
easier to recognise and to evaluate these
which means that even within the dead zone,
faults can be detected. events and assess their relative size.
Pulse width Travelling time
Distance range
(at V/2 = 80 m/µs or NVP = 0.533)
100 ns Up to 6.25 µs Up to 500 m
200 ns 6.25 µs – 31.25 µs 500 m – 2.5 km
500 ns 31.25 µs – 93.75 µs 2.5 km – 7.5 km
1 µs 93.75 µs – 375 µs 7.5 km – 30 km
2 µs 375 µs – 750 µs 30 km – 60 km
5 µs 750 µs – 2 ms 60 km – 160 km
10 µs 2 ms – 10 ms 160 km – 1,000 km
Note: NVP = nominal velocity of propagation, expressed
as a fraction of the speed of light in a vacuum.
Automatic setting of the pulse width ensures Figure 6 - Distance related amplitude correction
that the measurement pulse is always
optimally matched to the fault distance. COMPENSATION AND ADAPTATION
Manual adjustment of the pulse width is also
supported in most instruments as, in suitable Compensation is one of the foundations
cases, this allows the operator to reduce the of reflection measurement methods, and is
pulse width to reveal more detail. used to eliminate, or at least greatly reduce,
the dead zone effect. Fig. 7 shows how this
As shown in the following diagrams, a wide
is achieved.
measurement pulse shows all reflections
clearly and on a large scale. If higher levels of
accuracy are needed the pulse width must be
reduced to make small changes and details
visible. Limits set by attenuation mean, that
the pulse width cannot be reduced indefinitely,
which is why pulse widths below a certain
minimum are not supported by reflectometers.
Figure 7 - Terminating set, compensation and
adaptation in the reflectometer
The variable resistance R is compared with the
impedance of the cable, and is adjusted until
the impulse currents I1 and I2 are as nearly
as possible identical, which means that they
cancel each other out in the transformer. The
reflectometer does not, therefore, see the
measurement pulse.
In practice, R should be set using the
reflectometer’s lowest measurement range and
should be adjusted until the positive and negative
reflections are equal in size and as small as
possible in amplitude. Reflected pulses produce
current I3 in the transformer, and are completely
unaffected by the compensation circuit.
Adaptation means matching one parameter
to another, in this case the output impedance
of the instrument to the impedance of the
Figure 4: Reflections with pulse width of 50 nc cable. In reflectometers, impedance matching
(Gain = 22dB) and 1µs ) (Gain = 3 dB) is usually done with a transformer, to enable
maximum possible transfer of energy for both
CABLE ATTENUATION AND DISPERSION the transmitted and received pulses.
Both the cross-section and length of the cable
The next article in this series will look in
have an effect on the amplitude and form of
more detail at reflectometer technology
the pulse transmitted into the cable.
and, in particular, will explore the sometimes
Attenuation causes the reflected signal to unexpected factors that can affect instrument
become smaller with increasing distance, and is
performance and accuracy.
shown by the red line in Fig. 5. As attenuation
follows an exponential law, it can be calculated If you would like to see the previous
and corrected. This distance related amplitude two articles in the series please email
correction is shown in Fig. 6. electricaltester@megger.com
5

The industry’s recognised information tool
The hazards of electricity – how much do
you know?
Steven C. Foutch -
Vice President Of Sales & Operations
AVO Training Institute, USA
Electricity is often referred to as a “silent killer”
because it can’t be tasted, seen, heard or
smelled. It is essentially intangible. Electricity
has also long been seen as a serious workplace
hazard with the potential to expose employees
to three major risks: electric shock, arc flash
and arc blast. Any of these can lead to serious
injury or even death.
It’s important to remember always that
electricity is no respecter of persons – the
laws of physics apply equally to everyone,
and electricity will injure or kill an office
worker or homeowner just as fast as it
will injure or kill an electrical engineer
or technician. This is amply borne out by
statistics published on the UK Electricity
Safety Council website (www.esc.org.uk).
These statistics reveal that in 2010 there were a
total of 28 deaths in Great Britain as the result
of electrocution and fatal electrical burns from
low voltage supplies, and that six of these deaths
were work related, while the remaining 22
occurred in home or leisure environments. These
figures are, however, only the tip of the iceberg.
The statistics also report that a staggering 2.5
million people per year in Great Britain receive a
mains voltage electric shock, and that 350,000
of them suffer serious injury as a result.
These statistics, and similar data from other
countries around the world, show clearly that
the hazards of electricity must be taken very
seriously and, in the remainder of this article,
we’ll look more closely at the most common of
these hazards – electric shock.
Basic knowledge about the shock hazard and
its physiological effects on the human body is
vital to an understanding of electrical safety.
Electric shock occurs when a person’s body
completes the current path between two
energised conductors in an electrical circuit,
or between an energised conductor and an
earthed surface or object. Essentially, when
there is a potential difference between one part
of the body and another, a current will flow.
The effect of an electric shock can range from
a slight tingle to an immediate cardiac arrest.
The severity of the effect depends on many
factors, including:
Nick Hilditch - Marketing group manager,
Megger Limited, UK
Did you drink some coffee from a thermos
flask on your way to work today, or
perhaps ride on an escalator? Or maybe
you took a couple of aspirins because you
had a headache? And now perhaps you’re
wondering what any of this has to do with
Megger? The answer will soon become
apparent, but let’s start by pointing out that
the first two sentences of this item contain
three former trademarks that have been legally
declared as generic in at least one major global
market. Did you spot them all?
Thermos is possibly the most obvious. This
trademark was registered by Thermos GmbH
in 1904, but has long been recognised in the
USA as a generic term for a vacuum flask.
The other two may be less obvious. There
are probably few people who realise that
Escalator was originally a trademark of the
Otis Elevator Company, or that Aspirin was,
and in some countries still is, a trademark of
pharmaceutical company Bayer.
6 ELECTRICAL TESTER - January 2014 www.megger.com
„„ Body resistance (whether the skin
is wet or dry makes a big difference)
„„ Circuit voltage
„„ Amount of current flowing
through the body
„„ Current path through the body
„„ Area of contact
„„ Duration of contact
Many studies have been performed to
determine the level of current that produces
each effect. Table 1 shows values of current
and the resulting effects based on a number
of studies carried out in the USA. It should be
noted that the current values listed are averages
and do not provide specific information about
how a particular individual will react.
Current Effect
Current Effect
1 mA Barely perceptible
1 to 3 mA Perception threshold
(in most cases)
3 to 9 mA Painful sensations
9 to 25 mA Muscular contractions
(inability to let go)
25 to 60 mA Respiratory paralysis (may be
fatal)
60 mA or more Ventricular fibrillation
(probably fatal)
4 A or more Heart paralysis (probably fatal)
5 A or more Tissue burning (fatal if vital
organs affected)
Table 1 – Current rating and effect
Table 2 gives comparisons between AC and DC
shocks. Since the table is of American origin,
the AC frequency is shown as 60 Hz, but the
effects will be very similar for 50 Hz currents.
Note particularly that direct current shocks can
be just as hazardous as shocks received from
alternating current.
60 Hz AC current DC current
0.5 to 1.5 mA up to 4 mA
1 mA to 3 mA 4 mA to 15 mA
3 mA to 22 mA 15 mA to 88 mA
21 mA to 40 mA 80 mA to 160 mA
40 mA to 100 mA 160 mA to 300 mA
>100 mA >300 mA
Table 2 – Shock comparison for AC and DC
Megger tester or not?
Clearly it’s a bad thing for a company that’s
spent a lot of time, effort and money on
promoting a trademark to lose control of it,
but why does it matter to anyone outside
that company? The answer is that a good
trademark is not just a valuable promotional
tool, it’s also an important protection for those
who buy the company’s products.
Consider this. If you buy a genuine Megger
insulation tester, the first thing that you benefit
from is the reputation of the company for
supplying test equipment that’s safe, accurate
and reliable. Then, if you have any technical
queries, you know exactly where to find
support, and you can be sure that the support
will be dependable and reliable. Finally, in the
unlikely event that you do have a problem
with a genuine product, you can be sure that
a solution will be readily available. In short,
that trademark gives you, the purchaser, a
whole range of valuable benefits that are most
unlikely to be matched by generic products.
Although the majority of electrocutions are
the result of ventricular fibrillation, burns are
the most common shock-related injury. An
electrical accident can result in an electrical
burn, an arc burn, a thermal contact burn, or
a combination of burns. Electrical burns are
among the most serious burns and require
immediate medical attention. They occur
when an electric current flows through tissue
or bone, generating heat that causes tissue
damage. The body cannot dissipate the heat
generated by the current flow and, therefore,
burns occur.
To further illustrate how easily a person can
receive a fatal shock, consider a voltage that
is found almost everywhere in the USA and is
common in many other parts of the world – 120
V AC. Under average working conditions where
the person is perspiring and has resistance of
only 1,000 ohms between his or her hands, a
simple Ohm’s law calculation will quickly show
that the current flow through the person’s body
in the event of a shock will be 120 mA.
Examination of Table 1 shows that this value of
current is likely to cause ventricular fibrillation,
which is fatal in most cases. In Europe and in
the many countries where the normal mains
supply voltage is 220 V or higher, the risks are,
of course, even greater.
Effect
Perception
Surprise (reaction)
Reflex action (let go)
Muscular inhibition
Respiratory block
Usually fatal
That’s why we at Megger have always
vigorously defended our trademark – records
show that as far back as 1913 we were in
court doing just that – and why we will always
continue to do so. Certainly, our trademark is
a valuable commercial asset, but we also want
our customers to be confident that, if they
buy a Megger instrument, they get a Megger
instrument, with all of the benefits that implies.
Nevertheless, in these days of global trade
and Internet auctions, we can’t possibly
tackle every individual or small supplier
who decides, knowingly or unknowingly, to
misuse our intellectual property, so there has
to be an element of “caveat emptor” – let
the buyer beware.
If you’re looking to buy one of our instruments
new, the very best advice is to buy it from an
approved distributor. If you’re buying secondhand
– and we’re proud to say that our products retain
their value very well, even if the latest versions
invariably give the best functionality – then you
need to be a little more careful.
ELECTRICAL
TESTER
The overall effects of resistance, voltage and
current can be seen in a shock appraisal chart.
Using the chart, typically the resistance values
are set at a maximum of 1,000 ohms for
voltages of 600 V and greater. This is because
shocks at these voltages immediately penetrate
the skin, thus allowing the current to travel
through the body without being impeded by the
skin resistance. Entrance and exit wounds are
generally present when this happens
Some ways to prevent these accidents are
through the use of insulation, guarding,
earthing, protection devices and safe
working practices.
It is very important that individuals who may
be exposed to the hazards of electric shock are
aware of the physiological effects of current
flowing through the body. It is also important
for them to be aware of the factors that
reduce or increase the body’s resistance. The
best practice overall, however, is to STAY OUT
OF THE CIRCUIT!
In the USA, the “Shock Hazard Analysis”
required by NFPA 70E Standard for Electrical
Safety, the most recent edition of which was
published in 2012, provides the guidance
needed to determine the level of shock
hazard. This analysis also determines the shock
protection boundaries as well as the approach
limits for qualified and unqualified employees.
In the UK, relevant legislation includes the
Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, and
the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989.
Equivalent legislation exists in most other
countries of the world, although details of
requirements may differ.
Don’t trust the
description –
find the model
number and
then check
our website or
contact us to
confirm that
it is a genuine
product. Or,
even easier,
if there’s
a decent
photograph,
take a close
look. If it
doesn’t say
Megger on
the product,
it almost
certainly
isn’t, and
you’ll be missing out on all of those important
benefits we mentioned earlier.

The industry’s recognised information tool
Useful facts about harmonics
Alan Purton -
Technical support group, UK
Electrical supplies today are becoming
increasingly vulnerable to harmonic
disturbance, as the amount of equipment that
uses electronic switch-mode power supplies
and the like grows year on year. Among the
most common harmonic sources are:
„„ Variable speed drives for motors
„„ Uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs)
„„ Office equipment with switch-mode
power supplies (photocopiers, fax
machines etc.)
„„ Home appliances (televisions,
microwave ovens etc.)
„„ Arc welders
„„ Battery chargers
„„ Personal computers
„„ Discharge lighting with electronic
ballasts (fluorescent, mercury,
sodium etc.)
Harmonics are undesirable, not least because of
the detrimental economic effects they produce
in installations where they are present. These
effects include:
„„ Increased energy costs
„„ Premature ageing of equipment
„„ Production losses resulting from
reduced efficiency of power units
One interesting effect of harmonics in the
public supply system is flicker. This is covered by
European standard EN 61000-3-3:2008, which I = 100 amps for fault levels at the PCC > 10 kA
came into force on 1st September 2011.
Flicker is concerned with the visual disturbance
of the light output from filament lamps caused
by supply voltage fluctuations, and is rather
verbosely defined in the standard as the
“impression of unsteadiness of visual sensation
induced by a light stimulus whose luminance
or spectral distribution fluctuates with time.”
Flicker is ultimately the result of the finite
source impedance of the mains supply and
changing load impedances.
Flicker is very low frequency phenomenon
produced by changes in the rms mains voltage,
and is a special case of the more general
problem of voltage fluctuations produced by a
varying load across the finite mains impedance.
These fluctuations are specified as the relative
voltage change with respect to the nominal
operating voltage.
Keith Wilson - Electrical Engineer, UK
The USA has had a series of major blackouts
in the last few years, and India recently had
a huge blackout that is considered one of
the worst since global electrification. These
blackouts, and all others in recent history,
www.megger.com ELECTRICAL TESTER - January 2014
To help ensure that the levels of harmonics
in the public electricity supply do not
constitute a problem for users of that supply,
the Energy Networks Association published
Engineering Recommendation G4/5 in 2001.
This recommendation, which was updated to
become G4/5-1 in October 2005, identifies
consumers by their point of common coupling
(PCC) to the public supply network, and defines
limits for the level of harmonics present at that
point. It is the responsibility of the consumer to
ensure that these limits are met and failure to
do so can lead to heavy penalties.
Based on G4/5-1, electricity supply companies
have drawn up specifications that their
consumers must observe. What follows is a
typical specification for “maximum deleterious
voltages caused by a consumer’s load”.
The maximum voltages at a point of common
coupling (PCC) caused by harmonics, load
unbalance or sudden load changes, expressed
as a percentage of the declared phase-to-earth
voltage, shall not exceed the rms values given.
1. HARMONICS – the harmonic voltage is not
to exceed the following limits:
1.1 Individual 1%
1.2 Total (square root
of sum of squares) 3%
Basic calculations to predict the levels of
voltage distortion:
The harmonic voltage cannot be determined
without knowledge of the system
impedance. These formulas give maximum
values of harmonic currents that, in general,
satisfy the restrictions on harmonics:
h VF = Mc x 100%
n Msc
Ih = Isc amps for fault levels at the PCC < 10 kA
100n
Where Ih is the expected harmonic current,
n is the harmonic number and Isc is the
corresponding minimum three-phase short-
circuit current in amps at the PCC.
2. UNBALANCE LOAD – the negative sequence
voltage (V2) is not to exceed these limits:
2.1 For a continuous single-phase load that
is connected phase-to-phase – 1%
2.2 For multiple single-phase loads that are
continuously varying in magnitude and
are connected to alternate phases, or
three-phase loads that may be unbalanced
for short periods – 2%
stemmed from problems with protection and
control. The protection went awry and the
faults cascaded down an infrastructure not
properly islanded or with control systems not
properly in place to prevent cascades.
To minimise the risk of blackouts in the short-
term, utilities need to think about these four
currently available game changers:
An unbalanced load gives rise to an unbalanced
three-phase supply voltage. The degree of
unbalance is usually expressed in terms of a
negative phase sequence voltage denoted
V2. In the case of single-phase loads fed from
a delta-star transformer, the negative phase
sequence voltage V2 will be less than 1% if the
load is less than 1% of Msc, where Msc is the
minimum three-phase short-circuit level in MVA
at the PCC.
A higher value of V2 may be acceptable with
varying multiple single-phase loads, such as AC
traction supplies, provided that the loads are
spread across all three phases.
3. VOLTAGE DIPS CAUSED BY SUDDEN
LOAD CHANGES
In general, the voltage dips (VF) can be
calculated from the equation:
Where Mc is the change in load expressed in
MV, and Msc is the minimum short-circuit level
in MVA at the PCC. This equation is particularly
applicable to loadings of long periodicity, such
as those associated with mine winders, slab
mills and motor starting.
In the case of open-arc furnaces, the voltage
dips or fluctuations can be calculated from the
equation:
Source Impedance (ZS) Risk of problems on clean loads with interference
Load impedance (ZL)
200 or greater Very little chance of problems
100 - 200 Moderate risk of problems
< 100 High risk that problems will occur
Test instruments can help with
blackout prevention
Smart grid technology. Yes, making items
of equipment like meters, circuit breakers,
bus bars, transformers and synchrophasors
readily able to talk to each other in fractions
of a second will make a difference. Cascade
tripping happens because technology didn’t
react fast enough. So make it faster.
Cloud technology. It stores all the data from
that smart technology without the utilities
themselves having to invest in better IT
systems, a cost that would have to be passed
on and would likely upset consumers. So, avoid
the upset (and the delay inevitably caused by
the upset) and find a company with a decent
cloud offering for your smart grid data.
Substation and line hardware. It’s time
to replace 50-year-old infrastructure – not
just meters. Yes, meters are a hot issue right
now. But blackouts are usually caused by tiny
ELECTRICAL
TESTER
VF = 0.12 Mt x 100%
Msc
Where Mt is the maximum steady-state short-
circuit power in MVA that would be drawn
from the furnace transformer if the electrodes
were lowered into a bath of molten steel.
VF should not exceed 0.25% in the case of
submerged arc furnace.
The generation of harmonics are possible on
any electrical supplies, if the short-circuit power
– which for most practical purposes is the same
as the ratio ZS/ZL for any given supply – is not
sufficiently high enough to cope with the non-
linear loads present. This is a secondary reason
for knowing the value of the PSSC when
carrying out loop impedance testing, as the
loading effect of a harmonic generating device
can be determined by a knowledge of the short
circuit or PSSC value(see table below).
The following values should be used when
sizing a supply where harmonics could be
present due to the influence of non-linear
loads connected to the same network. As
a guide, this table shows the relative values
below which it can be expected that harmonic
disturbance will occur.
from ‘dirty loads’
little widgets of things inside substations. So,
think past meters: think poles, lines, circuit
breakers, synchrophasors. Bury some of them.
Replace some of them. Check all of them, and
throw out the old stuff that has reached its
manufacturer’s life limit.
Test and measurement equipment.
Maintain the old stuff and keep an eye on
the newer stuff, such as testers that can tell
a substation operator if that circuit breaker
is ready to go when needed or if that relay
is behaving properly. As the industry moves
smarter technology into the mix, there will
be a volatile period of evolution that involves
a blending of old and new equipment.
During those years, keeping up with test and
measurement schedules in the substation
and the field is your final line of defence
against blackouts!
7

The industry’s recognised information tool
Q&A
Q: In noisy locations, such as along-
side a busy road or even a footpath,
acoustic pin-pointers are hard to use, as
the background noise tends to swamp
the noise produced by the flashover at
the cable fault location. What can be
done about this?
A: Background noise has been a big problem
ever since acoustic pinpointers were first
introduced and various methods including, for
example, noise cancellation, have been tried to
tackle it. None have been completely successful,
however, until the recent introduction of
Background Noise Reduction (BNR) technology.
BNR has its basis in research carried out
by a leading German technical university,
which confirmed that all flashovers produce
a sound that has a characteristic pattern.
The BNR system recognises this pattern, and
For some, thin ice is nice!
Klas Bjorck - Product manager - Megger Sweden
For most people around the world, “skating on
thin ice” is synonymous with doing something
rather foolhardy, which should be avoided
if at all possible. On the other hand I, along
with many of my colleagues and friends, look
for opportunities to skate on thin ice for fun
whenever we can. In fact, skating on thin ice
is something of a national pastime in Sweden,
and it’s not as crazy as it sounds! Let me
explain.
Around Stockholm, the skating season
normally begins in late November, when the
smaller lakes start to freeze. To be reasonably
safe for skating the thickness of the ice must
be around 5 cm. However, after a week or
so, these lakes become useless for skating
as, even though the ice is thicker, they are
covered by snow. Then it’s time to move on,
first to the bigger lakes and finally out to the
archipelago. This means you’re always skating
on thin ice, as it’s rare to find ice thicker than
10 cm that isn’t covered by snow.
Hands on with substation automation
Training in horizontal (GOOSE) and vertical (MMS) IEC 61850 communication is vital for power utility
automation engineers.
In response to the fast-growing demand
for guidance on implementing and testing
systems based on IEC 61850, the global
standard for power utility automation
and Smart Grid implementation, a highly
successful four-day training event was
recently held in Gothenburg, Sweden.
The event was organised and run by STRI,
an independent consultant with extensive
experience of teaching engineers what IEC
8 ELECTRICAL TESTER - January 2014 www.megger.com
ACOUSTIC PINPOINTING IS AN INVALUABLE TECHNIQUE FOR FINDING THE PIN-POINT LOCATION OF FAULTS IN
UNDERGROUND HIGH VOLTAGE POWER CABLES. MANY OF THE LIITATION HAVE BEEN ELIMINATED BY RECENT
DEVELOPMENTS IN TECHNOLOGY, AS THESE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS REVEAL.
also compares the sounds produced by two
flashover events at the same cable fault. After
the second event the BNR system correlates
the acoustic signals, and retains only those
parts that are identical or nearly identical in
both. Other parts of the acoustic signal, which
represent the unwanted background noise,
are discarded. As a result, background noise
is reduced to an almost inaudible level in the
headphones, and pinpointers with BNR are able
to deliver dependable results in locations where
products without BNR are unusable.
Q: When the sensitive ground micro-
phone used in the pin-pointer is moved
from one location to another, this often
produces uncomfortably loud bangs and
crashes in the headphones. How can this
be avoided?
A: All modern pinpointers should
incorporate volume limiters that prevent the
Just as with electrical testing, however, skating
on thin ice doesn’t need to be dangerous,
provided you have the right equipment and
you know what you’re doing. First, you must
learn about the ice, as there are many types all
with different characteristics, and about safety
equipment. And you must never skate alone.
Observe these simple rules and you’ll be safe.
In fact, many hundreds of skaters fall through
the ice every year in Sweden, but it’s rare to
have even a single fatality.
61850 means in practice, and was the most
recent of more than 30 IEC 61850 training
events that STRI has provided for 400
participants in 9 countries since 2008.
Like all STRI training, the Gothenburg event
combined theory with practice to ensure that
the skills it provided would be immediately
useful to power utility engineers and decision
makers. Much of the training made use
of STRI’s unique transportable IEC 61850
audible output of the headphones exceeding 85
dB(A), which is the limit prescribed by the health
and safety regulations in many countries, but
even this level can be uncomfortable. The best
units therefore go further by providing automatic
proximity mute (APM). This is an arrangement
that mutes the headphones when the person
operating the pinpointer puts their hand near to
the instrument handle in order to reposition it.
The muting remains operational for a short time
after the hand has been removed to allow time
for any mechanical vibrations to die down before
the headphones are activated again.
Q: The idea behind acoustic pinpoint-
ing is relatively simple – comparing the
time of arrival of acoustic and electro-
magnetic signals from a flashover at the
fault location – but many pinpointers are
difficult to adjust correctly, and they
A typical pre-arranged skating tour covers
between 20 and 80 km in a day, and there
are also many skating competitions. The best
known of these is the Vikingarännet (Viking
Race) that starts in Uppsala and finishes, after
80 km, in Stockholm. The Vikingarännet
started 14 years ago and is the world’s longest
race over natural ice. It sometimes attracts as
many as 5,000 competitors.
If you’re surprised that I like skating on thin ice,
you may be even more surprised to know that I
interoperability laboratory that includes IEDs,
switches, software and test sets from a large
number of manufacturers.
Using this equipment, STRI’s experienced
instructors provided participants, who were
working in small groups, with step-by-step
instructions that allowed them to configure
a small multi-vendor system. The participants
greatly appreciated this learning-by-doing
approach, which they found to be a very
effective way of learning to understand IEC
61850 and to implement practical applications.
Carefully developed to be vendor neutral
and to cover every aspect of IEC 61850
implementation from specification and
application analysis to engineering, testing
and documentation, the course was made up
of four main modules: “What is IEC 61850”,
which provided an introduction and basic
information; “How the Standard is Applied”,
which discussed general aspects of power
utility automation using IEC 61850; “How
Interoperability is Ensured”, which covered
configuration and engineering with vendor
tools; and “Using Third-Party Tools for
Specification, Design and Documentation”.
ELECTRICAL
TESTER
have complicated displays that are hard
to interpret. Has anything been done to
address these problems?
A: In a word, yes! The latest pinpointers
have automatic gain adjustment for both the
acoustic and electromagnetic signals, which
means that there’s almost nothing to adjust.
These instruments also feature bright colour
displays that are easy to read even in direct
sunlight. They show the distance to fault
directly in metres or feet and, using a “compass
needle” type indicator, they also show the
direction to the fault. Once the fault location
has been reached, the display shows the
depth of the fault. There are no complicated
indications to interpret – it’s just a case of
walking in the direction shown by the compass
needle until the instrument is over the fault.
can see parallels with electrical practice. In fact,
when making customer presentations, I often
explain that, when I’m on the ice, my most
vital item of equipment is my lifeline and that,
in a substation, the tripping battery is equally
vital for safety. This is, of course, why it’s so
important to maintain the battery properly and
test it regularly. After all, just like my lifeline, you
never know when you’re next going to need it!
Andrea Bonetti -
STRI AB – Västerås Sweden
During the training, the STRI interoperability
laboratory was also used to demonstrate
commissioning and maintenance skills using
horizontal (GOOSE) and vertical (MMS) IEC
61850 communication. Both the existing
and new version 2.0 features for test and
supervision were covered, and participants
had ample opportunity to gain experience in
system debugging and network traffic analysis
using third-party and open-source tools.
Those who attended the event were
universally enthusiastic about its content and
presentation. A comment typical of many
was, “This was a genuinely practical and
useful way to learn about IEC 61850. It’s all
very well reading about the standard and
discussing it, but nothing even comes close
to actually using IEC 61850 equipment in
a supportive learning environment. I find it
hard to believe I learned so much so easily in
such a short time.”
For details of future scheduled IEC 61850
courses, or to find out how STRI can provide
custom courses tailored to specific user
requirements, visit the STRI website at
www.stri.se.