WHITE PAPER:

TRANSIENT CAPTURE VS. WAVEFORM CAPTURE

Contributed by Chris Mullins, July 2015

ABSTRACT

Most PMI recorders include waveform capture,

and the Revolution optionally includes a high-
speed microsecond-level transient capture system.
Although PMI waveform capture and transient
capture seem very similar on the surface, they are
best used for different types of events, and the trig-
gering mechanisms are fundamentally different.
This whitepaper illustrates their similarities and
differences and gives some best practices for each.

TRANSIENT CAPTURE BASICS

The Revolution features optional transient capture

ability. This includes a voltage input range of
+/-5000 Volts (that is, 10 kV peak-peak) on the
same voltage inputs used for regular monitoring.
The voltage is sampled at 1 MHz on each channel,
giving 1 microsecond per sample. This is 65 times
more resolution than regular waveform capture.
The current inputs also have high-speed sampling
250 kHz on each channel, or 4 microseconds per
sample.
current channels. With a 1 MHz sampling rate, Figure 1. Transient Capture
1000 samples is a 1 millisecond time period. This setup in ProVision
is long enough to capture most high-speed impulse
transients; but if the event still exceeds a threshold
after 1 millisecond, another transient capture will
trigger immediately.

Triggering for transient capture is very simple. WAVEFORM CAPTURE BASICS

A single peak voltage threshold exists for each
channel. Transient capture is triggered by ex-
ceeding the peak voltage threshold on any voltage
channel. If the instantaneous voltage (e.g. one or
more 1 microsecond samples) exceeds the thresh-
old, a transient capture is triggered. The threshold
is bipolar: if the voltage falls below the negative
of the threshold, a transient is also triggered. For
example, a threshold of 1500V will cause a tran-
sient trigger if a single 1 us voltage sample exceeds
1500V, or is below -1500V.
Another important transient setting is actually
a waveform capture setting waveform capture
cross-triggering. In the Cross-Triggers section of
the Waveform Capture wizard page, a checkbox
for Transient Capture is shown (Figure 1). If this
is checked, a transient capture trigger will also
trigger a waveform capture.
When a transient is triggered, a 1000 sample
transient waveform is captured for all voltage and
In the Revolution, the 1MHz high-speed sam-
ples are fed to the transient capture system, then
filtered and downsampled to form the 256 sam-
ples/cycle data streams used by regular wave-
form capture, RMS and power calculations, etc.
Other recorders sample the inputs directly at 256
samples/cycle. In any case, all waveform sampling
is on a timescale thats roughly 65 times slower
than transient recording. The captured waveforms
themselves are much longer than those in transient
capture typically several 60Hz cycle, with very
long captures in the dozens or hundreds of cycles.
All waveform threshold triggers work on the same
principle. For each trigger, theres a parameter
measured every 60Hz cycle. Each cycle the value
is compared to the previous cycles value: the
difference exceeds the threshold, the trigger is
fired. For example one trigger parameter is RMS
voltage with a threshold defaulting to 5V. With
this setting, if the RMS voltage changes from one

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WHITE PAPER:
TRANSIENT CAPTURE VS. WAVEFORM CAPTURE

cycle to the next by more than 5V (either higher

or lower), then the trigger condition is met and
a waveform is captured. If the change in RMS
voltage was less than 5V, then the new RMS value
is saved for the next cycle, when the comparison is
performed again. Thus, the voltage could theoreti-
cally change by up to 4V per cycle and not trigger
a waveform capture. The intent is to trigger on
changes that represent discrete events on the
power line, not slow changes in line conditions
(usually caused by an aggregate of many loads, not
a specific event). The waveform capture settings
screen is show in Figure 2. There are many more
choices than with transient capture, ref lecting the
broader spectrum of problems waveform capture
may be used for.

In addition to voltage triggers, waveform capture

may be triggered on RMS current or waveshape
(as measured by a change in THD). A waveform
may also be cross-triggered automatically from
transient capture or event capture, and can also be
configured to auto-trigger on a periodic basis.
When a waveform capture is triggered, the
waveform samples from the triggering cycle are
recorded for all channels, and at least one pre
and post-cycle. The pre and post lengths can be
adjusted up to several hundred cycles each to
capture very long or complex multi-cycle (or even
multi-second) disturbances.
USING WAVEFORM CAPTURE VS.
TRANSIENT CAPTURE
To illustrate the differences between whats Figure 2. Waveform Capture
recorded for transient capture and waveform cap- setup in ProVision
ture, a pulse generator was used to produce a stan-
dard 1.2/50us pulse, as described in IEC 61000-
4-5. This pulse shape is designed to simulate
high-voltage transients commonly found in CAT
III or CAT IV locations. Its defined by a fast
1.2 microsecond rise time, and a 50-microsecond
decay time, with a 2-ohm source impedance. The
Revolution was connected to 120VAC through
the pulse generator, and the generator configured
to deliver a 1 kV transient superimposed on the
120VAC waveform. This event was captured with
transient and waveform capture.
The transient graph in ProVision (Figure 3) shows

Figure 3. Test impulse cap-

tured by transient capture

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WHITE PAPER:
TRANSIENT CAPTURE VS. WAVEFORM CAPTURE
the full peak voltage. Here we see a peak to over
1100V (the nominal 1 kV pulse plus the peak of
the 60Hz waveform, followed by the slower decay.
Zooming in and enabling data point markers
(Figure 4) shows the very fast rise time the full
voltage is developed in just a few microseconds.
The waveform capture display in ProVision shows
the transient (Figure 5), but with much coarser
time resolution. Due to the slower 65 us sample
width (from 256 samples/cycle), the peak voltage
of the transient is not fully realized. The peak is
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Figure 4. Impulse risetime in
the microsecond range
just under 500V in the waveform capture record-
ing this is due to the very fast 1-2 microsecond
peak being averaged into a 65 us standard wave-
form capture sample.
Since transient capture sampling is 65 times faster
than regular waveform capture, 65 transient
capture points occupy the same time period as a
single waveform capture point. In the plot above,
65 transient capture points are shown. This entire
sequence is averaged into a single data point in
regular waveform capture.
Figure 5. Same impulse as
seen with waveform capture
WHITE PAPER:
TRANSIENT CAPTURE VS. WAVEFORM CAPTURE

However, it is useful to see the entire 60Hz wave-

form, and the slower undershoot and recovery is
well characterized by the waveform capture, most
of which is too slow to be captured with transient
capture. This is an example where transient cap-
ture cross-triggering can provide detailed infor-
mation with high speed sampling, and more broad
information with a waveform capture.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Fast transients are often caused by high-speed

events such as lightning strikes or arcing from
switches (e.g. cap bank or tap changer operations).
These are termed impulsive transients, and can
occur in just hundreds or even tens of microsec-
onds. The peak value of such transients can exceed
thousands of volts, even if just for a few microsec-
onds. Another high-speed transient type is a local
medium-frequency resonance, in the 5 500 kHz
range (as defined by the IEEE). Figure 6 shows an
example of a transient captured during a 3 phase
motor start. The scaling on channel 3 voltage (left
axis) is much less than the others (including the
ground), indicating an unbalanced event. Since
the 2000V spike is only a few microseconds long, recorder location is important in characterizing or Figure 6. 2.2 kV impulse
the sinusoidal portion of the waveform appears even detecting these events. from motor start
nearly f lat at this timescale.
With impulsive transients, often the peak voltage
The high-speed nature of these transients implies is the most important parameter involved, or the
a high frequency, wide bandwidth characteris- volt-seconds product (which is a measure of how
tic. Since the power line system attenuates high energetic the impulse was). Equipment damage is
frequencies, these transients are typically localized often the main concern with dealing with impul-
the further away from the source, the lower the sive transients, and an accurate peak voltage a key
peak voltage, and slower the transient becomes. parameter to measure. For this, high-speed sam-
Consequently, its important to place the recorder pling with a very high input range is required.
as close as possible either to the service entrance,
to the most sensitive equipment, or to the sus- Waveform capture is designed for a wider variety
pected transient source, depending on the moni- of slower, but more common events. Depending on
toring goals. For example, if a particular piece of the nature of the event, the volt-seconds product,
equipment is experiencing unexplained resets or waveshape, missing area from a voltage notch,
failures, monitoring right at the equipment dis- ringing frequency, etc. could all be important
connect is best. If the voltage feed to a customer is factors gleaned from the waveform. Often just
being assessed, monitoring at the service entrance, characterizing the event from the waveform shape
or point of common coupling is best. Or, if a is the key job. Figure 7 shows what appears to be
capacitor bank or voltage regulator is suspected of a line-line fault on a single-phase service, possibly
generating switch noise or arcing during opera- caused by insulation breakdown in Figure 8; a
tion, monitor as close as possible to it. A distance ringing low frequency resonance is graphed, with
of a few hundred feet can significantly reduce the the point table being used to compute the reso-
peak voltage of a high frequency transient, so the nance. This could aid in filtering out a trouble-

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WHITE PAPER:
TRANSIENT CAPTURE VS. WAVEFORM CAPTURE
some harmonic. Figure 9 shows a deep voltage
notch. These are usually caused by commutating
loads such as VFDs, which only draw current
during small portions of the waveform. There are
many different types of waveforms possible, mak-
ing this graph an important general-purpose tool,
with a much wider focus than transient capture.
CONCLUSION
Transient and waveform capture are both trig-
gered by changes in voltage or current, and both
record a time series of raw data samples. However,
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Figure 7. Waveform capture
of insulation breakdown
they are used for different purposes, and capture
different types of events. Transient capture in the
Revolution is essential if impulsive, high-voltage
events must be recorded and accurately measured.
Although waveform capture data can indicate a
possible transient problem, high-speed sampling is
needed to see the true voltage peak. On the other
hand, waveform capture samples at a rate more
suitable for the much more common, wide variety
of disturbances found at a slower, but still sub-cy-
cle timescale. Insulation breakdown, ringing,
notching, and other events have characteristic Figure 8. Waveform capture
waveform shapes identifiable in the graph, and are of ringing
WHITE PAPER:
TRANSIENT CAPTURE VS. WAVEFORM CAPTURE

Figure 9. Waveform capture

of voltage notch

better triggered with the waveform mechanisms

than with the transient peak-voltage method. Be
sure to check both transient and waveform capture
for important clues in each power quality investi-
gation.

Chris Mullins
VP of Engineering and Operations
cmullins@powermonitors.com
http://www.powermonitors.com
(800) 296-4120

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