PD Measurement Pays Dividends
PD Measurement Pays Dividends
PD Measurement Pays Dividends
Partial Discharge (PD) activity are transforming the way assets are managed around the world. Converts report significantly improved network reliability and better customer service at lower cost. So how has PD measurement technology developed and what are its implications?
By Neil Davies, EA Technology International Just like people, electrical assets age and deteriorate. And as with human medicine, there have been tremendous advances in recent years in the ability to diagnose the ailments suffered by assets in their early stages, enabling us to keep them healthy and productive for longer. The revolution in asset management is being driven by two factors which are inextricably linked: new techniques for accurately measuring the condition of live assets, plus new methodologies for managing assets more effectively, based on their actual condition. There are many techniques available for assessing the condition of live assets, including oil sampling and analysis, plus thermal imaging. But the most useful is the detection, location and measurement of Partial Discharge (PD) activity in HV and MV assets, which are typically found in substations. The collection of condition data using PD instruments has become virtually standard practice in the UK electricity industry: an innovation which has been driven in large part by the need for operators to provide detailed evidence of the state of their assets to the electricity regulator, Ofgem. In other parts of the world, notably the Middle East, China and Singapore, PD investigations have been taken up with great enthusiasm as a cost-effective means of improving network reliability and performance (see examples below). Perhaps surprisingly, however, detailed PD measurement as the basis of condition-based asset management is still in its infancy in many parts of the developed world, including the USA. Many operators still have no clear information on the condition of their assets until they fail and need replacing. Unlike the worlds most efficient network operators, such as Singapores SP Powergrid, they accept unpredicted asset failures and loss of customer service as a fact of life.
Visible evidence of PD A partial discharge is an electrical discharge or spark that bridges a small portion of the high voltage insulation between two conducting electrodes or a conducting electrode and earth. Partial discharge can occur at any point in the insulation system, where the electric field strength exceeds the breakdown strength of the insulating material. Partial discharge can occur in voids within solid insulation, across the surface of insulating material due to contaminants or irregularities, within gas bubbles in liquid insulation or around an electrode in gas (corona activity).
PD failure process
Catastrophic failure caused by partial discharge activity Once present, partial discharge ALWAYS tends to increase: but the way in which it increases is both measurable and predictable. EA Technologys experience of working with network assets for more than 30 years shows that Partial Discharge (PD) activity is a factor in around 85% of disruptive substation failures. It has thus become increasingly apparent that the ability to detect and measure PD is the key to assessing the health of assets. PD activity provides clear evidence that an asset is deteriorating in a way that is likely to lead to failure. The process of deterioration can propagate and develop, until the insulation is unable to withstand the electrical stress, leading to flashover. The ultimate failure of HV/MV assets is often sudden and catastrophic. The best case scenario is that growing PD activity causes protection systems to trip out unexpectedly, resulting in outages. The worst case scenario is an explosive release of energy, causing major damage, injury and death.
Partial discharges emit energy, the effects of which can be detected, located, measured and monitored:
Electromagnetic emissions, in the form of radio waves, light and heat. Acoustic emissions, in the audible and ultrasonic ranges. Ozone and nitrous oxide gases.
The most effective techniques for detecting and measuring PD activity in live assets are based on quantifying:
Ultrasonic Emissions
PD activity creates emissions in both the audible and ultrasonic ranges. The latter is by far the most valuable for early detection and measurement. Measuring airborne ultrasonic emissions is the most effective way to assess surface PD activity, where there is an air passage e.g. vents or door in the casing of an asset. Where chambers are completely sealed, ultrasonic contact probes can be used although these are less sensitive than the airborne microphones.
UHF emissions
PD activity can also be measured in the UHF range, and is particularly useful in monitoring EHV assets.
The latest handheld instruments measure PD activity as both ultrasonic and TEV emissions
New multiple sensor systems continuously monitor assets for critical PD activity, record data and automatically trigger alarms if activity exceeds acceptable thresholds
SP Powergrid, Singapore
SP Powergrids network includes nearly 10,000 substations, 40,000 switchgear sets, 14,000 transformers and 30,000km of cable. Since incorporating condition monitoring into its systems, it has dramatically improved an already excellent performance. The companys System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI) averaged less than 1 minute pa over a recent three years period.
NB: The blip in 2004/5 was caused by a third party supply issue outside SP Powergrids control. SP Powergrid estimates that over the eight financial years to 2008, condition monitoring enabled it to avert 450 network failure incidents, with a net financial saving of US$29 million. In addition to improving customer service, it has been able to pass cost savings on to them.
Conclusion
The ability to assess the condition of MV and HV assets by measuring PD activity is increasingly driving a step change in power asset management. At its simplest level, it enables operators to identify and fix faults before they develop into failures. Used to its full extent, it is one of the technologies behind much more effective management of whole networks, based on a fuller understanding of asset condition. The result: greater network efficiency, availability, reliability and safety, with lower capital and revenue costs. Based in the UK, EA Technology has offices in Shanghai, Abu Dhabi and Australia, together with more than 30 distribution partners serving 80 countries. The company won the UKs top industrial honor, the Queens Award for Enterprise: Innovation 2007, for the UltraTEV Detector the worlds first dual sensor handheld PD detection instrument.