Testing the state of high-voltage insulation

Preemptive and regular testing of partial discharges can enable you

to detect the impending breakdown of electrical devices
Rene Hummel, Application Engineer – Partial Discharge
rene.hummel@omicron.at
OMICRON Energy Solutions GmbH, Berlin

Partial discharges (PDs) can damage the insulation in electrical devices that are subjected to high voltages.
This can lead to the total destruction of the device. To prevent a sudden breakdown and carry out
preemptive repairs, partial discharges can be measured and evaluated. Partial discharge measuring
systems enable you to quickly assess the state of affected equipment - this can be done both offline and
online. The results indicate the current state of the insulation and enable asset managers, product
developers and users to quickly detect, assess and locate faults, to prevent breakdowns before they occur.

What is a partial discharge?

Partial discharges are small discharges that occur in high-voltage equipment and can permanently damage
the insulation. A breakdown bypasses the entire insulation gap whereas a partial discharge only bypasses a
small section.

If the insulator is air, it is ionized during a partial discharge and therefore becomes a temporary conductor.
Due to air exchange and recombination, the insulation resistance of the air returns to its initial state for the
most part. If, however, partial discharges occur in solid insulation materials, they can be irreparably
damaged. Once damaged, most insulation materials lose their insulating property. As a result, the partial
discharges become more frequent and dangerous.

Where do partial discharges occur?

Partial discharges can occur anywhere on equipment that is subjected to high voltages. When using high-
voltage devices, strong electrical fields are generated. Partial discharges can occur inside as well as on the
outside of the insulation material. Insulation materials age with use, encouraging partial discharges to occur.

When do partial discharges occur?

Partial discharges occur when the local electrical field strength is too high. When developing high-voltage
equipment, it is important to avoid an excessively high field strength. Production errors, damage incurred in
transit and wear and tear of the insulation material can affect the insulation of the electrical fields.

© OMICRON Page 1 of 6
 Figure 1a Figure 1b Figure 1c
An electrical field in normal Cavity in the insulation The equipotentials indicate
running order material an accumulation near the
cavity

This should explain what causes such an excessively high field strength. Figure 1a depicts an electrode on
both the right and the left. Between these two, a homogeneous field forms in the solid insulation material.
Figure 1b shows the same scenario, except here there is a cavity in the insulation material. The dielectric
constant (εr) of the solid insulator is εr=3; but it is εr=1 for the gas -filled cavity. The variable dielectric
constants create an inhomogeneous field. The electrical field in the cavity is three times larger than that in
the solid insulator.

The equipotentials in figure 1c indicate an accumulation near the cavity. The voltage in the cavity is almost
three times larger than that in the solid insulator. If the electrical field strength is too high, it causes partial
discharges.

During production, impurities can accumulate, which then cause cavities to form. Thermal stresses to the
insulation material can cause cavities and tearing. Such thermal stresses can form under normal operation
due to cyclical heating and cooling or due to overheating.

As with plastic and air, it is always in those spots where insulation materials meet that have different
dielectric constants that the skin effect can occur. This is mostly undesirable and goes unnoticed.

Why are partial discharges so dangerous?

Partial discharges cause a plasma-channel to form that can generate a temperature of several thousand
Kelvin. This incredible heat is what causes all nearby insulation materials as well as metals to be damaged
beyond repair. As most partial discharges occur repeatedly per voltage cycle, it is not unusual to have
several hundred partial discharges per second. The speed at which damage occurs is not affected by the
location of the partial discharges and the insulation materials used. This means you cannot carry out an

© OMICRON 2015 Page 2 of 6

 accurate life cycle analysis on the affected equipment. Apart from a few very lim ited exceptions, partial
discharges reduce the life cycle of affected equipment.

If partial discharges go unnoticed, breakdowns can occur without warning and cause you to incur great
costs. If the equipment is damaged through an explosion or production is brought to a standstill, the costs of
a sudden breakdown are often higher than the device or its acquisition costs by a factor of four. By detecting
partial discharges early on, repairs or replacements can be planned and carried out for the affected parts.

How do you measure partial discharges?

Partial discharges can be measured either online or offline. Both methods have advantages and
disadvantages.

The IEC 60270 norm sets out how you can carry out a partial discharge measurement offline with a separate
voltage source, a coupling capacitor and measuring impedances. Most limit values for equipment partial
discharges are set out in this norm. To test this, a higher-than-operating voltage is used.

Especially damage to the insulation shows hysteresis behavior regarding partial discharge inception and
extinction voltages. It is therefore possible that partial discharge inception occurs in the insulation during
short-term voltage surges, with extinction only occurring if the voltage is set a few kV lower t han operating
voltage.

These standard tests are especially recommended for equipment when it is being manufactured, once it has
been assembled, before use and thereafter during repeated testing. It often falls to the buyer to contractually
agree on such a test and carry them out with later users.

Figure 2
Partial discharge
measurement

© OMICRON 2015 Page 3 of 6

 If you carry out an online partial discharge measurement, you only need the sensors - you don't require a
separate voltage source. If you leave with sensors on the equipment being tested, you can easily carry out
repeat tests and long-term measurements. With suitable measuring systems, trend analyses can be made
over time, which reveal how fast the deterioration is occurring.

When should you measure for partial discharges?

When working with high-voltage equipment, it is recommended to carry out measurements not only during
first use but also at regular intervals thereafter. The frequency of such tests is determined by the importance
and the prior damage of the part being tested. If frequent partial discharges have already been detected,
multiple tests should be carried out per year.

Sudden changes in the intensity of partial discharges indicate a higher chance of the equipment breaking
down. By carrying out repeated tests or through continuous monitoring, the equipment's remaining life cycle
can be estimated. Equipment can therefore be used based on its status and not just on its running time.

How are test results evaluated?

The most important criteria for evaluating different partial discharges are the discharge voltage, frequency
and the number of sources. If any of these criteria should increase, so does the risk. The interpretability of
test results depends greatly on interference levels that may occur during testing. If the measurement is
carried out according to established standards with the right testing facility, the results are usually easy
enough to interpret.

Figure 3
Disturbance sources are excluded in the results thanks to specially developed methods. This allows
you to easily analyze different PD sources separately.

© OMICRON 2015 Page 4 of 6

 Special hardware and software solutions - like the MPD 600 PD measuring system from OMICRON - enable
synchronous PD measuring on multiple bandwidths with freely selectable frequencies for measuring and
gating. Thanks to this method, interference sources can be excluded from results and different PD sources
can be analyzed individually. By changing filter settings, the MPD 600 can flexibly adapt to the conditions of
the environment. This ensures the highest possible level of measurement sensitivity. It also enables you to
carry out effective measurements even in environments with high disturbance levels. This means the
acquisition of specially shielded test facilities is no longer required.

OMICRON offers PD measuring systems for diagnostics and for continuous monitoring. The measuring
systems have a modular design, meaning they can easily be added to if the user should need to do more
with it. The measuring systems can be used on all devices that run at high voltages. This not only includes
energy providers, high-voltage equipment and their manufacturers. These measuring systems are also used
in medicine, the automotive and aeronautical industries as well as at universities. www. omicron.at

About the author

Rene Hummel works for OMICRON in Berlin as an applications engineer on partial discharges. He studied
electrical engineering at the Technical University Berlin, with a focus on high-voltage technology, power
electronics, analog and digital electronics as well as microelectronics. As a partial discharge measuring
expert at OMICRON, Hummel carries out commissioning tests and runs specialized PD training programs
on-site for clients across the globe. As a member of the IEEE PES/ICC work group F04W, he helps to
establish directives for on-site PD measuring. He also teaches and lectures at universities on PD-related
topics.
.

© OMICRON 2015 Page 5 of 6

OMICRON is an international company serving the electrical power industry with
innovative testing and diagnostic solutions. The application of OMICRON products
allows users to assess the condition of the primary and secondary equipment on
their systems with complete confidence. Services offered in the area of consulting,
commissioning, testing, diagnosis and training make the product range complete.

Customers in more than 140 countries rely on the company’s ability to supply leading-
edge technology of excellent quality. Service centers on all continents provide a broad
base of knowledge and extraordinary customer support. All of this together with our
strong network of sales partners is what has made our company a market leader in the
electrical power industry.

For more information, additional literature,

and detailed contact information of our
worldwide offices please visit our website.

www.omicron.at | www.omicronusa.com © OMICRON