IPEC Ltd

Partial Discharge

Quick Guide

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 Introduction

What is Partial Discharge?

Definition
Theory

Where does PD happen?

Switchgear
Table of Contents
Cable

What are the effects and consequences of PD?

Effects
Consequences

What to do next?

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 Introduction

Partial Discharge (PD) is generally

accepted as the predominate
cause of long term degradation
and eventual failure of electrical
insulation. As a result, its
measurement is standard as part
of the factory testing of most
types of high voltage equipment.
In addition, partial discharge
activity is often monitored on in-
service equipment to warn against
pending insulation failure.

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 What is Partial Discharge?
Definition
‘Electrical discharge that does not
completely bridge the space between
two conducting electrodes’
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PD is an electrical discharge that
does not completely bridge the
space between two conducting
electrodes.
The discharge may be in a gas
filled void in a solid insulating
material, in a gas bubble in a liquid
insulator or around an electrode in
a gas, known as surface tracking or
corona.
 What is Partial Discharge?
Theory

Voltage
Air
20mm Breakdown strength: 3kV/mm V
Relative permittivity: 1.0

Breakdown of full air gap at 60kV applied

Consider two parallel electrodes 20mm apart with air in the gap between them. If a voltage is applied across the electrodes, the electrical stress in the air
insulation will increase. The stress field is evenly distributed across the gap and it increases until it exceeds the breakdown strengths of the air. As the air
breaks down, an arc will bridge the gap between the two electrodes. If the electrodes were 20mm apart, this would happen at approximately 60 kV as the
breakdown strength of air is about 3kV per millimetre.

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 What is Partial Discharge?
Theory

Voltage
Polyurethane
20mm Breakdown strength: 10kV/mm V
Relative permittivity: 4.0

Breakdown of polyurethane insulated gap at 200kV applied

Imagine now the air insulation were replaced with a solid conductor, for instance polyurethane, with a breakdown strength of 10kV per millimetre. Now when
voltage is applied across the electrodes, the electrical stress in the insulator increases, again evenly distributed across the gap. Owing to the increased
dielectric strength of the polyurethane, this time an applied voltage of 200kV will be required before the insulation breaks down.

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 What is Partial Discharge?
Theory

Polyurethane
Breakdown strength: 10kV/mm Voltage
Relative permittivity: 4.0
1mm
20mm
Air filled cavity
V
Breakdown strength: 3kV/mm
Relative permittivity: 1.0

Breakdown of the air in a 1mm cavity at 17.25kV applied

If, however, we consider the case where there is solid insulation between the electrodes but that insulation has a defect, for instance a 1mm air filled cavity,
an interesting phenomena that occurs when a voltage is applied between the electrodes, the electrical stress across the gap is no longer evenly distributed in
the region of the cavity. As air has a significantly lower permittivity than the solid installation, a disproportionately large portion of the applied voltage will fall
across the cavity increasing the electrical stress in the air inside.

Now, as the voltage is increased, because the cavity is small and the air insulation inside relatively weak, discharge occurs at a much lower applied voltage. In
this case the breakdown strength of the air in the cavity would be exceeded when only 17.25 kV is applied across the electrodes. As the discharge in the cavity
does not bridge the full gap between the electrodes they are called partial discharges and it can be seen from this example how they can occur at relatively
low voltages.

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 What is Partial Discharge?
Assume a solid insulator of thickness ‘d’ contains a disc shaped cavity of thickness ‘t’ and area ‘A’, as shown in Figure 1. In the equivalent circuit the
capacitance ‘Cc’ corresponds to the cavity, ‘Cb’ corresponds to the capacity of the dielectric that is in series with ‘Cc’ and ‘Ca’ is the capacitance of the rest of
the dielectric.

Theory
e 0e r A
C=
d
e0= permittivity of free space = 8.854 x 10-12 Fm-1
er = relative permittivity
A = area between electrodes
d = separation of electrodes

Voltage in the cavity: Electrical stress in the cavity:

Va d
Vc = Ec = Ea
1 d   1  d 
1 +  − 1
er  t  t 1 +  − 1
 er  t 

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 What is Partial Discharge?

From the equations it can be seen that the voltage across the dielectric at which discharge activity will initiate in the cavity, Vai, is given by;

Theory

Therefore voltage at which discharge is initiated Vai:

 1  d 
Vai = Ecb t 1 +  − 1
Ecb = Breakdown strength of the

 er  t
gas in the cavity


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 What is Partial Discharge?
For a practical example, we can imagine a 20mm Polyurethane insulator with a 1mm air filled void. Normally the insulation should be able to withstand up to
200kV. But at the void, we would see a partial discharge occur at just 17.25kV

Theory
Va Relative permittivity
Air 1.0
Polyurethane Polyurethane 4.0

Breakdown strength kV/mm

20mm
1mm Air 3.0
Polyurethane 10

 1  d 
Vai = Ecb t 1 +  − 1
 er  t 
Voltage at which discharge initiates = 17.25kV

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 What is Partial Discharge?
Theory

1 Power Cycle

When the insulator is subject to a sinusoidal alternating voltage, charge builds up within the void as the applied voltage increases or decreases. This causes a
series of discharges with charge first moving in one direction, then the other.

This results in PD having a distinctive pattern. When viewed in the power cycle this is called a PRPD.

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 Where Does PD Happen?

Q&A

1 2 3 PD can occur either phase

Q: Where in insulation does PD
to phase or phase to earth.
occur? Anywhere we can find
A: In electrically stressed electrical stressed
insulation due to a defect.
insulation either
• Phase to Phase
• Phase to Earth

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 Where Does PD Happen?
Examples

• Gas filled voids in solid insulation

PD can occur in gas filled
voids in solid insulation,
bubbles in liquid insulation,
and around electrodes in
• Bubbles in liquid insulation air.

• Around electrodes in air

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 Where Does PD Happen?
In Switchgear, generally it is categorized as two types. First is surface tracking, which is PD that occurs across the surface of electrically stressed insulation,
maybe due to contamination or proximity to other HV assets. Second is internal discharge, a generic term given to PD occurring inside components or
insulation within the switchgear.

Switchgear

(Surface) Tracking: Internal Discharge:

Electrical tracking over Void or defect within
contaminated insulator component

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 Where Does PD Happen?
The vast majority of PD in underground cable systems is seen in joints or terminations, as this is the most likely place an air gap can form. However, in some
cases we can see PD in the pure insulation also, likely due to a manufacturing defect.

Cable

Joints and Accessories: Cable Insulation Defect:

Void or defect within a joint Void or defect within cable
or accessory section

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What are the Effects and Consequences of PD?

Cause of Damage

Mechanical
PD is very low in energy,
Ionic bombardment
(measured in pC) however,
it’s very repetitive and
localized to the defect
Thermal point. Over time it will
cause further damage to
Local heating at discharge site the defect area.

Chemical

Discharge energy breaks chemical bonds

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 What are the Effects and Consequences of PD?
Effects

Electrical trees Carbonisation

Inside solid insulation this damage will likely result in electrical tree growth, and on the surface of insulation it will cause carbonization. Both of these defects
will result in the PD increasing in severity, until the defect is large enough to withstand a catastrophic failure of the insulation.

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 What are the Effects and Consequences of PD?
Consequences of Cable Failure

Loss of supply Unplanned outage

Increased Customer
Interruptions and Failure point must
Customers Minutes be found
lost

In cable networks, when the cable fails, we see a loss of supply, unplanned outages, increased customer down time (and resulting fines or performance
measure impact). The failure point must then be found and repaired as emergency work which can cause disruption.

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 What are the Effects and Consequences of PD?
Consequences of Switchgear Failure

Serious safety
Collateral damage
implications

Major disruption Very expensive

In switchgear, there is a potential risk to life with asset failure. Additionally, failed switchgear will result in a wide area of damage to neighboring assets and
the substation. This will cause major disruption, and be extremely expensive to repair.

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 What to do next?
Handheld PD Instruments Permanent PD Monitors

There are a different solutions available to prevent failures caused by Partial Discharge. The key is to understand the PD condition of assets.
Different equipment is available for this function; from handheld PD instruments to permanent PD monitoring systems to monitor assets 24/7.

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IPEC Ltd

Made in 2018 www.ipec.co.uk