Electrical Hot Spot Inspection and Preventative Maintenance - Megger

11/06/2024, 13:59 Electrical hot spot inspection and preventative maintenance | Megger
Electrical hot spot inspection

and preventative maintenance
Electrical Tester – 10 December 2021
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Author: Ahmed El-Rasheed
Hot spot detection is one of the most useful condition monitoring
measures for electrical systems. It allows early detection of faults
and, therefore, helps prevent insulation deterioration and reduce
the risk of failures. The temperature of electrical circuits has a
dominant influence on insulation life. If a loose joint creates a hot
spot, insulation close to that hot spot can suffer serious
deterioration due to excessive heating, potentially leading to
outages.
Using a thermal camera, which converts invisible infrared radiation
into clear images from which temperatures can be read, it is
possible to identify components that are overheating and those
that are abnormally cool. The images from the camera can be
displayed on a monitor in real time or stored for later analysis. The
use of a thermal camera makes it easier for electricians and
maintenance technicians to hone in on potential failures before
they occur, which is an important benefit, particularly in the case of
critical equipment where failure will result in a major outage.
Once a hot spot is identified, the right tools must be used to
remedy the situation before it progresses. One of the most useful
of these tools is a Ductor™, a low resistance ohmmeter that can
accurately measure resistances as low as milliohms or even
microohms. Such an instrument allows electricians and technicians
to identify any abnormally high resistances within components and
joints. The repair or replacement of the high resistance elements
will reduce heating and resolve the hot spot problem.
Abnormal heating is, in fact, one of the most common causes of
problems in electrical systems and is invariably associated with
unusually high resistance or excessive current flow. Infrared
imaging allows this abnormal heating to be detected quickly and
easily.
Under-sized conductors, loose connections, failing electrical
components, or excessive current flow may cause abnormal
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heating, resulting in dangerously hot electrical circuits. Components

can literally become hot enough to melt.
Figure 1: Damage to a motor terminal box
Figure 2: Damage to a conductor in a three-phase connection
Figure 3: Excessive heating of a busbar connection

The photographs in Figures 1 to 3 show insulation failure and major
damage resulting from undetected hot spots.
Figure 4: Hot spot on a conductor joint
Figure 5: Excessive heating of a lightning arrester
Figure 6: Hot spot in a three-phase supply terminal
In contrast, Figures 4 to 6 show thermal images of hot spots that

have been detected before they led to failures. Many operational
situations can lead to the development of hot spots. Examples
include:
Loose joints because of vibrations and shocks
Loose connections as a result of severe short circuits or aged
clamping arrangements
Mechanical damage to sliding power contacts due to poor
handling of equipment
Increased contact resistance resulting from oxidation or
corrosion due to environmental issues such as high humidity
and air pollution
Extended maintenance intervals due to difficulties taking
equipment out of service
In the specific case of electrical substations, some of the items
whose thermal signatures should be examined for potential
precursors to failure include:
Power transformers (oil levels and pump operation)
Load tap changers (oil levels, other internal problems)
Insulator bushings (oil levels and bad connections)
Standoff insulators (moisture, contamination, degradation)
Lightning arresters (degradation of metal oxide disks)
Circuit breakers (oil or SF6 leakage)
Mechanical disconnects (bad connections, contamination)
Motor or generator terminals (contamination, bad connections)

Cable joints and terminations (contamination, poor
workmanship)
Control cabinets (wear and tear on fans, pumps, and other
components)
Batteries
When carrying out thermal imaging inspections on electrical line
and substation equipment, some important considerations need to
be kept in mind. Among these are:
Load: the system should be running at 40 % or more of peak
load during the inspection – higher, if possible. This loading
level will allow enough energy for a hot spot to appear. And
once a hot spot is located, one should consider how much
more heating will occur when the load increases to 100 %.
Wind: if the inspection is being performed outdoors, and the
wind speed at the component under investigation is 10 mph
(16 km/h) or greater, then allowance must be made, particularly
considering that the hot spot heat may increase at lower wind
speeds.
Phase comparison: unless there is a load imbalance between

the phases, they will typically function at similar temperatures.
If a component on one phase is warmer than the equivalent
component on the other phases, further investigation is
needed.
Temperature: a hot spot should not be ignored even if it is
small and the temperature difference seems insignificant. Even
small temperature increases can indicate serious problems. It
is advisable to judge an identified hot spot by the potential
consequences of failure instead of some predetermined
temperature-based prioritisation.
Accuracy: when carrying out thermal inspections, work well
within the imager’s measurement resolution and compensate
accurately for both emissivity and background temperature.
For substations, the recommended procedure is to start with the
exterior using a thermal imager. Scan the transmission line feeding
the station, the circuit from the transmission line, high side
insulators (arresters), and then hone in on specific components. For
example, on a transformer, look at the bushings, the tap changer
tanks, and so on. Recording the results and trending them over
time can provide invaluable additional information, as illustrated in
Figure 7.
Figure 7: Tracking the temperatures over months for three-phase

switchgear in a substation, showing trends and issues
detected(Tomas Kozel et al, Medium Voltage Switchgear
Temperature Monitoring, ABB, 2016)
When a hot spot is identified, repairs can be carried out during a
scheduled shutdown. This avoids an unplanned shutdown and is an
effective form of preventative maintenance. When carrying out the
repairs, tests should be carried out with a dedicated low resistance
ohmmeter such as a Ductor™. An ordinary digital multimeter (DMM)
will not provide sufficiently accurate or reliable results. Let’s see
why.
A DMM and a low resistance ohmmeter both use a similar test

voltage of just a few volts, but they use very different test currents.
For a DMM, the test current is typically around 5 mA, but the most
common test current for a low resistance ohmmeter is 10 A, and
there are types available that use test currents of 100 A, 200 A, or
even 600 A. A DMM will read down to a tenth or possibly a
hundredth of an ohm, whereas a low resistance ohmmeter will read
in microohms or even tenths of microohms.
So why do these differences matter? The primary function of the
low resistance ranges of a DMM is to perform continuity tests.
Electricians use these tests to make certain that there are no wiring
mistakes at a junction box and that all connections are correct and
tight. In many cases, the actual measurement isn’t needed because
the DMM has an audible beeper or buzzer activated at a pre-set
resistance value. The handheld DMM is ideal for this type of testing.
In contrast, a low resistance ohmmeter’s primary purpose is to
accurately measure resistances below 1 Ω in applications where
merely checking for continuity is not enough. There must be the
certainty that the circuit or joint being tested will operate reliably
without overheating. Some examples of applications include
grounding for lightning protection, fault clearance, the mating of
contact surfaces for maximum transfer of energy without heating,
and maintenance of bolted connections and solder joints. For
demanding applications like these, a change of just a few
microohms in resistance can indicate an existing problem, or even a
developing problem that needs to be corrected before any damage
occurs.
Figure 8: A Megger AVO830 DMM showing 0 Ω when testing a

busbar joint
Figure 9: A Megger DLRO10HD low resistance ohmmeter reading

10 μΩ when testing the first section of the same joint as in Figure 8
Figure 10: The same low resistance ohmmeter reading 1.131 mΩ

when testing the second section of the same joint as in Figure 8,
which reveals a substandard connection
Figures 8, 9, and 10 clearly show the difference between low
resistance measurements made with a DMM and a dedicated low
resistance ohmmeter. The DMM measures the resistance of the
entire two-section busbar joint as zero and, therefore, does nothing
more than confirm continuity. However, the low resistance
ohmmeter gives a reading of 10 μΩ for one section and 1.131 mΩ
for the second section. The low resistance ohmmeter has identified
a bad connection on the busbar when the DMM could not find any
difference in resistance. In general, low resistance measurements
are compared with the resistance of other similar
joints/components to decide whether the value is within the normal
range.
Hopefully, this article has demonstrated that the combination of
thermal imaging and the use of a dedicated low resistance
ohmmeter is an essential part of electrical preventative
maintenance. There is enormous value in carrying out regular

thermal imaging inspections because it helps identify issues before
they lead to costly damage and disruption. There is also a great
deal of value in using the right tools to investigate further and
remedy the problems that have been identified by thermal imaging.
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11/06/2024, 13:59 Electrical hot spot inspection and preventative maintenance | Megger

Electrical hot spot inspection

heating, resulting in dangerously hot electrical circuits. Components

Figure 1: Damage to a motor terminal box

Figure 2: Damage to a conductor in a three-phase connection

Figure 3: Excessive heating of a busbar connection

Figure 4: Hot spot on a conductor joint

Figure 5: Excessive heating of a lightning arrester

Figure 6: Hot spot in a three-phase supply terminal

In contrast, Figures 4 to 6 show thermal images of hot spots that

Phase comparison: unless there is a load imbalance between

Figure 7: Tracking the temperatures over months for three-phase

A DMM and a low resistance ohmmeter both use a similar test

Figure 8: A Megger AVO830 DMM showing 0 Ω when testing a

Figure 9: A Megger DLRO10HD low resistance ohmmeter reading

Figure 10: The same low resistance ohmmeter reading 1.131 mΩ

maintenance. There is enormous value in carrying out regular

Buy, rent or lease

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Register your product

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AVO Diagnostic Services

Diagnostic Solutions Limited

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Copyright © 2024 Megger, all rights reserved.

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