THIRUMAL,

thirumaleee@gmail.com.

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ABSTRACT
Many electrical apparatus like transformers, line conductors, rotating machines,
etc. produce unwanted electrical signal in the radio and high frequency (television band,
microwave bands, etc.) ranges. These signals arise due to corona discharge in air, internal
or partial discharges in the insulation, to see that the noise voltages generated in the radio
and other transmission bands are limited to acceptable levels, and hence the radio
interference voltages are limited to acceptable levels, and hence the radio interference
voltages measurements are of importance. It has been found that the surface conditions of
the overhead conductors subjected to high voltage stresses and varying atmospheric
condition greatly influence the magnitude of the noise voltage produced. In case of solid
insulators, the bonding between the porcelain and the metal pin, the binding of high
voltage conductor and the insulator surface and the surface pollution were found to be the
source of the noise.

PARTIAL DISCHARGE:
Electrical Discharge: The movement of electrical charges through an insulating
(dielectric) medium, initiated by electron avalanches.
Partial Discharge: An electrical discharge that only partially bridges the
dielectric or insulating medium between two conductors. Examples are: internal
discharges, surface discharges and corona discharges.
Internal discharges are discharges in cavities or voids which lie inside the
volume of the dielectric or at the edges of conducting inclusions in a solid or liquid
insulating media.
Surface discharges are discharges from the conductor into a gas or a liquid
medium and form on the surface of the solid insulation not covered by the conductor.
Corona is a discharge in a gas or a liquid insulation around the conductors that
are away or remove form the solid insulation.

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CORONA DISCHARGE
If the electric field is uniform, a gradual increase in voltage across a gap produces
a breakdown of the gap in the form of a spark without any preliminary discharges. On the
other hand, If the field is non-uniform, an increase in voltage will first cause a discharge
in the gas to appear at points with highest electric field intensity, namely at sharp points
or where the electrodes are curved or on transmission lines. This form of discharge is
called a corona discharge and can be observed as a bluish luminescence. This
phenomenon is always accompanied by a hissing noise, and the air surrounding the
corona region becomes converted into ozone. Corona is responsible for considerable loss
of power from high voltage transmission lines, and it leads to the deterioration of
insulation due to the combined action of the bombardment of ions and of the chemical
compounds formed during discharges. Corona also gives rise to radio interference.

The voltage gradient required to produce visual a.c. corona in air at a conductor
surface, called the corona inception field, can be approximately given for the case of
parallel wires of radius r as.

Ew = 30 md [1+0.301/√dr]
For the case of coaxial cylinders, whose inner cylinder has a radius r the equation
becomes.
Ec = 31md [1+0.308/√dr]
Where m is the surface irregularity factor which becomes equal to unity for highly
polished smooth wires; d is the relative air density correction factor given by,

d = 0.392b/(273+t)
where b is the atmospheric pressure in torr, and t is the temperature in 0C, d=1 at
760 torr and 25 0C. The expressions were found to hold good from atmospheric pressure
down to a pressure of several torr.

On the high voltage conductors at high pressure there is a distinct difference in the
visual appearance of the corona under positive and negative polarities of the applied

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voltage. When the voltage is positive, corona appears as a uniform bluish which sheath
over the entire surface of the conductor. On the other hand, when the voltage is negative,
the corona will appear like reddish glowing spots distributed along the length of the wire.
Investigation with point-plane gaps in air showed that when point is negative, corona
appears as current pulses as the applied voltage is increased and decreases with decrease
in pressure. On the other hand, observations when the point is positive in air showed that
the corona current increases steadily with voltage. At sufficiently high voltage, current
amplification increases rapidly with voltage, up to a current of about 10-7A, after which
the current becomes pulsed with repetition frequency of about 1 kHZ composed of small
bursts. This form of corona is called burst corona. The average current then increases
steadily with applied voltage leading to breakdown.

TRANSFORMER OIL

As already mentioned, transformer oil is the most commonly used liquid dielectric
in power apparatus. It is an almost colorless liquid consisting of a mixture of
hydrocarbons which include paraffin, iso-paraffin, naphthalene and aromatics. In this
liquid dielectrics as possess much higher dielectric strength of the order of 10^7 V/cm as
according to the Paschen’s law. When in service, the liquid in a transformer is subjected
to prolonged heating at high temperatures of about 95 0C, and consequently it undergoes
a gradual ageing process. With time the oil becomes darker due to the formation of acids
and resins, or sludge in the liquid. Some of the acids are corrosive to the solid insulating
materials and metal parts in the transformer. Deposits of sludge on the transformer core,
on the coils and inside the oil ducts reduce circulation of oil and thus its heat transfer
capability gets considerably reduced. Complete specification for the testing of
transformer oils are given in IS 1866(1983), IEC 296(1969) and IEC 474 (1974).

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HEAT TRANSFER CHARACTERISTICS
In equipments filled with a liquid dielectric (transformer, cable, circuit breaker,
etc.), heat is measured mainly by convection. Under natural atmospheric cooling
conditions convection (N) is given by
N=f (K3 AC/v) n
Where
⇒ K-Thermal conductivity
⇒ A-Coefficient of expansion
⇒ C-Specific heat per unit volume
⇒ v-Kinematics viscosity
⇒ and n- 0.25~0.33
The main factors that control the heat transfer are thermal conductivity (K) and
viscosity (v). Form above equation it can be seen that a higher value for K is preferable
for apparatus likely to operate continuously at a high temperature. On the other hand, a
low value of K and high viscosity can lead to localized overheating or even electrical
“burn out”.
Silicone oils do not exhibit these properties and therefore can pose severe overheating
problems in equipment that use these dielectric oils.

CHEMICAL STABILITY
In service, insulating liquids are subjected to thermal and electrical stresses in the
presence of materials like O2, water, fiber and decomposition products of solid insulation.
These, either singly or in combination, cause degradation of the liquid with the result that
soluble solid and gaseous products are found, which can result in corrosion, impairment
of heat transfer, deterioration of electrical properties, increased dielectric losses,
discharges and arcing. In the absence of any remedial action, this cycle continues and
produces an ever-worsening liquid purity and equipment condition.

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THERMAL BREAKDOWN
In general, the breakdown voltage of a solid dielectric should increase with its
thickness. But this is true only up to a certain thickness above which the heat generated in
the dielectric due to the flow of current determines the conduction.
When an electric field is applied to a dielectric, conduction current, however
small it may be, flows through the material. The current heats up the specimen and the
temperature rises. The heat generated is transferred to the surrounding medium by
conduction through the solid dielectric and by radiation from its outer surface.
Equilibrium is reached when the heat used to raise the temperature of the dielectric, plus
the heat radiated out, equals the heat generated. The heat generated under D.C. stress E is
given as
WD.C=E2σ W/cm3
Where,
⇒ σ-D.C conductivity of the specimen.

Under A.C. fields, the heat generated

WA.C= (E2fεr tan δ/1.8X1012) W/cm3

Where,
⇒ f= frequency in Hz,
⇒ δ= loss angle of the dielectric material, and
⇒ E= rms value,
⇒ εr= Relative permittivity.
The heat dissipated (WT) is given by
WT = CV dT/dt+ div (K grad T)
Where,
⇒ CV= Specific heat of the specimen,
⇒ T=Temperature of the specimen,
⇒ K=Thermal conductivity of the specimen, and
⇒ t= Time over which the heat is dissipated.

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 Equilibrium is reached when the heat generated (WD.C or WA.C) becomes equal to
the heat dissipated (WT). In actual practice there is always some heat that is radiated out.
Breakdown occurs when WD.C or WA.C exceeds WT .
This is of great importance to practicing engineers, as most of the insulation
failures in high voltage power apparatus occur due to thermal breakdown. Thermal
breakdown sets up an upper limit for increasing the breakdown voltage when the
thickness of the insulation is increased. For a given loss angle and applied stress, the heat
generated is proportional to the frequency and hence thermal breakdown is more serious
at high frequencies. Table gives the thermal breakdown voltages of various materials
under d.c. and a.c. fields.
It can be seen from this table that since the power loss under a.c. fields is higher,
the heat generation is also high, and hence the thermal breakdown stresses are lower
under a.c. conditions than under d.c. conditions.

THERMAL BREAKDOWN STRESSES IN DIELECTRICS

Maximum thermal breakdown stress

in MV/cm
Material D.C A.C
Muscovite mica 24 7.18
Rock salt 38 1.4
High grade porcelain - 2.8
H.V. Steatite - 9.8
Quartz-perpendicular to
axis 1200 -
Quartz-parallel to axis 66 -
Capacitor paper - 3.4-4.4
Polythene - 3.5
Polystyrene - 5.0

LOSSES
Over Fluxing
The flux density in the transformer core is proportional to the ratio of the voltage
to frequency i.e. V/ƒ. The transformers are designed to work with certain value of flux
density in the core. In the generator transformer unit, if full excitation is applied before
generator reaches its synchronous speed then due to high V/ƒ the over fluxing of core

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may result. Higher core flux means more core loss and overheating of the core. The
saturation of magnetic circuit is also the probable cause for the over fluxing operation.
Separation of Core Losses
The core loss of transformer depends upon the frequency and the maximum flux
density when the thicknesses of the core lamination are given. The core loss is made up
of tow parts
(i)Hysteresis Loss
Wh= PB max1.6ƒ2
Where
P= Active Power,
P= VI cos Ф,
B= Magnetic flux density,
ƒ= Frequency,

(ii)Eddy Current Loss

We=QB2max ƒ2
Where
Q= Reactive Power,
Q= VI sin Ф,
B= Magnetic flux density,

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 ƒ= Frequency,

Eddy Current
(iii)Total Core Loss
Wi = Wh+We
Wi= PB max1.6ƒ2 + QB2max ƒ2
Wi=VI cos Ф B max1.6ƒ2 + j VI sin Ф B2max ƒ2
Wi= ( VI cos Ф B max1.6 + j VI sin Ф B2max ) ƒ2
Wi/ ƒ2= VI cos Ф B max1.6 + j VI sin Ф B2max

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MEASUREMENTS OF RADIO INTERFERENCE VOLTAGE
The noise generated in the radio frequency band as a result of corona or partial
discharges in high voltage power apparatus may be measured.

By the radio frequency line to ground voltage known as the radio influence
voltage or RIV, and

As an interfering field by means of an antenna known as the radiated radio
interference voltage or RI.

Normally, the tests and measurements done in the laboratories are RIV
measurements, where as field investigations with portable radio receivers are RI
measurements.
A radio noise meter used in the laboratory consists of a portable radio receiver
with a local oscillator, a radio frequency amplifier, a mixer, an intermediate frequency
amplifier, and a detector similar to that of a standard radio receiver and operates in the
frequency range 150 kHz to 30MHz. In addition, the radio noise meter has multi-input
circuits to accommodate a number of pick-up devices, attenuators, calibrators, and output
circuits containing special detectors and meters. The detector circuit consists of a diode
detector in series with a series resistance Rs, charging a parallel R-C circuit. The detector
circuit is provided with a measuring device to measure either.
a) The average value,
b) The peak value,
c) Quasi-peak value.
The quasi-peak value of the impulse noise is equal to the rms value of the sine
wave at the center frequency of the pass band which produces the same deflection in the
meter scale as that of the of the impulse. The voltmeter provided at the end of the detector
has an input impedance of 50 to 75Ω.

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REFERANCE INDEX

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REFERANCE
A Text Book Of Electrical Technology In S.I. UNITS Volume II By
B.L.THERAJA, A.K THERAJA.
High Voltage Engineering By M.S. Naidu, V.Kamarju

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