IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Vol. 9 No.

5,OctoberZOOZ 763

Partial Discharges
Their Mechanism, Detection and Measurement
R. Bartnikas
lnatitut de Recherche d'KydroQuehec, Varennes,Quebec, Canada

ABSTRACT
Different partial discharge (PD) detection and measurement procedures suitable for use on ca-
bles, capacitors, transformers and rotating machines are examined and compared. Both narrow
and wide bandwidth PD detectors are considered; particular attention is given in regard to their
suitability to different types of electrical apparatus and cable specimens under test as well as
their applicability to discharge site location and their capability to detect different forms of PD.
A rather substantial portion of the discussion is devoted to the use of intelligent machines as
applied to PD pattem recognition in terms of either PD pulse-heightldischarge epoch (phase)
distributions or discharge pulse shape attributes.

1 INTRODUCTION
T HE subject of PD or corona discharges, which represents an an-
tecedent term that has been commonly applied to them in the past,
constitutes a field of endeavor which can be traced back to the begin-
nings of the twentieth century [14]. While the study of PD may thus
be considered as a well developed field, its preeminent importance as
a tool for assessing the quality and performance characteristics of HV
equipment has been responsible for sustaining a high level of activity in
investigations related to its mechanisms, physical and chemical effects,
detection and measurement techniques: 15-71, Over the years, the level
of investigative effort in the PD field has varied considerably both as re-
gards to the type of electrical apparatus under consideration as well as
the type of discharge behavioral aspect being examined, e.g. nature and
form of the discharge, detection sensitivity, degradation of insulation
exposed to PD, discharge pulse quantities recorded such as the apparent
charge transfer, pulse repetition rate, energy loss, distributions of pulse-
heights, discharge epochs (phase) and pulse separation time intervals,
as well as pulse pattern recognition in terms of the sources causing the
discharge.
Perhaps nowhere are the different tendencies in PD studies and test-
ing procedures easier to follow and evaluate in their chronological de-
velopment over last five decades than those applicable to solid extruded
dielectric insulated power distribution cables. Tnis is attributable to a
large extent to the relatively simple geometry of cables and their trans-
mission line behavior, which greatly facilitate the interpretation of the
I'D measurements. While few interpretational difficulties arise in low
capacitance lumped HV components such as bushings and capacitors,
the detection of PD in capacitors of high capacitance poses substantial
difficulties. Discharge detection and its accurate measurement in trans-
former specimens becomes appreciably more complicated as a result of
a more complex transmission line behavior of the coils as well as cou-
pling and resonance effects between the windings. Similar interpreta-
tional and calibration difficulties are encountered also with rotating ma-
chines, where, in addition to the difficulties inherent with transformer
specimens, the magnitudes of the detected pulses may vary apprecia-
bly, ranging from low levels generally intrinsic to internal discharges
within stator bar insulation to extremely high levels ordinarily associ-
ated with slot discharges. Also the question of calibration has not been
resolved and there is indeed considerable controversy as to whether or
not calibration should be a prerequisite for rotating machine specimens.
The intent of this paper is to examine the PD mechanism and its behav-
ioral characteristics and to delineate and compare the I'D detection and
measwement procedures that have evolved over the past five decades,
which are either currently, or may be, utilized on different HV electrical
apparatus and cables.
2 PRELIMINARY
CONSIDERATIONS
Oscillograph methods have been employed in the detection of PD
in electrical apparatus and cables, following the work reported by
Tykociner et ai. in 1933 [8,9]. These techniques respond principally
to pulse type discharges; while pulseless glow and pseudoglow dis-
charges can readily occur, their appearance is generally accompanied
by the occurrence of pulsed type discharges that can be readily detected
so that in the vast majority of cases conventional PD pulse detectors are
effective indicators of the presence of PD. However, it should be borne
in mind, that pulsed PD detectors may not always indicate the full ex-
tent of intensity of the PD present. There are bridge type PD detectors
available that respond to both pulse and pulseless discharges 15,101,
but their intrinsically lower sensitivity has tended to impede their large
scale implementation in the PD area.
Although the fastest rise time limit of pulse type discharges at the

107&9878/2/$3.00 0 2002 IEEE

764 Bartnikas: Partial Discharges

PD site of origin may be established theoretically, historically the fastest
measurable rise times, claimed to be recorded experimentally, tended
to suggest a monotonically decreasing relationship with the bandwidth
capability of the oscilloscopes utilized. With the availability of GHz
bandwidth oscilloscopes,it is now generally agreed that PD pulses may
have rise times as short as 1 to 2 ns, which should however not be
taken tacitly to infer that most discharges do exhibit these rapid rise
times. Thus detection of PD pulses at frequencies at bandwidths up
to 1 GHz is suitable; but cognizance should be made of the fact that
the energy content of PD pulses is a decreasing function of frequency
Commercially available conventional PD detectors for routme use on
sification and recognition as well as any attending statistical treatment
of such data to render it more amenable to interpretation. Yet it must
be observed that the statistical treatment of PD pattems whether of the
pulse-height/phase distribution [36] or pulse shape [30,37] type have
yielded some interesting practical results.
The 1990s saw the introduction of rapid response digital circuits for
PD measurement applications 138,391. While the use of digital tech-
niques in PD pulse detection, measurement and acquisition has been
growing markedly, commercially available PD detectors have retained
their separate analog and digital measurement options. In this respect
it should be emphasized that the peak PD pulse magnitude determined

-
cables, capacitors and transformers are of the narrow band type and are
designed to operate within the band of 30 to 400 kHz; they are charge
integrating devices and may be calibrated directly to provide the charge
by the digital system will not generally be the same as the true mag-
nitude determined in real time by the analog circuit because of its de-
pendence upon sampling rate, bandwidth and storage capacity (if the
transfers associated with detected discharge pulse in accordance with digital system. It should be also pointed out that normally the analog
ASTM method D1868 [ll]. Higher bandwidths are utilized in research circuitry precedes the digital acquisition system for the purpose of PD
related work, where faithful reproduction of the PD pulse shapes is signal amplification andtshaping [40]. Also often the PD sensing cir-
of paramount importance. Also for improved pulse resolution, wider cuit may be of an analog-digital hybrid configuration 1411. The variety
bandwidths are employed on work involving discharge site location of digital circuits, available and in-use for PD measurements over the
in cables (- 20 MHz), rotating machines (800 lcHz to 1 GHz) and bus last decade has evoked the publication of a position paper by the IEEE
ducts as well as compressed gas cables (- 1GHz). Committee on Digital Measurement Techniques [42] and a subsequent
The early PD detection systems employed analog instrumentation. paper with invited discussions by experts in the field [43]. We shall
This instrumentation performed adequately well for discharge incep- devote a considerable effort in the paper towards a critical examina-
tion and extinction voltage measurements; with the PD pulse pattems tion of the various analog and digital techniques either currently in use
displayed oscillographically on a power frequency time base and cal- or with possible future application to PD measurements on HV power
ibrated ordinate scale, the charge transfers associated with the dis- apparatus and cables.
crete discharge pulses could be estimated visually and the approximate
phase relationship between the pulses and the applied voltage noted by
3 PD MECHANISMS
the observer performing the tests. The availability of crystal controlled Proper design, application and deployment of PD sensing and mea-
pulse counters in the 1950s, allowed the counting of PD pulses per unit surement circuits entail a certain degree of cognizance and understand-
time and thereby the determination of the pulse density of discharge ing of the PD processes. It is important to use proper and correct ter-
patterns 112,141, and permitted as well the development of differential minology in reference to different forms of PD to maintain clarity in the
pulse-height analyzers [15] and single channel pulse-height analyzers subject. For example, it is one matter to refer to some PD as ‘streamer-
[16]. The availability of low cost A/D converters led to the commer- like’ discharges and another matter to refer to the same form of dis-
cial introduction of multi-channel analyzers in the 1960s suitable for charge as ‘a streamer discharge’. The streamer discharge theory de-
PD pulse-height distribution analysis [17]. The area of discharge pulse veloped independently by both Rather [44] and Meek [45], considers
interval and discharge pulse epoch (phase) distribution measurements large gaps, in which the relatively short times of gap breakdown are
developed rapidly thereafter in the 1970s [la, 191and was extended into accounted for by the occurrence of streamer discharges, which propa-
the practical area with application to rotating machines [ZO]. This was gate rapidly across long gaps due to ionizing photon radiation at the
shortly followed by the introduction of computerized techniques for streamer tips or leads. Thus, the use of the term ‘streamer’by itself,
the measurement of PD pulse distributions [21-231. when applied to PD in relatively short gaps or small cavity diameters,
ne advent of PC computers in the 1980sand their extensive use in introduces unnecessarily a misleading term in the PD lexicon.
the 1990s rapidly altered the approach in the PD pulse distribution anal- PD, when occurring in short gaps, may assume different forms:
ysis area in that the measurement systems shifted away from the hard- rapid and slow rise time spark-type pulses, true pulseless glows or
ware based instrumentation to software dominated techniques [24-28]. pseudoglow discharges [46-52]. All these forms of discharges are cath-
This study area eventually led to investigations on discharge pattern ode emission-sustained discharges i.e. they are essentially Townsend
recognition and classification, involving the use of neural network (NN) discharges in contradistinction to streamer discharges whose distin-
129-321 and fuzzy logc [33]. Early studies indicated that the magnitude guishing features are their independence on cathode emission and their
of a discharge pulse and its epoch or phase of occurrence is strongly dependence upon photoionization in the gas volume. The classical
influenced by the occurrence of a preceding pulse or pulses (341. This Townsend discharges are characterized by weakly ionized plasma hav-
non-Markovian point process was rigorously analyzed using a stochas- ing a small space charge producing field, which is negligible compared
tic approach by van Brunt 1351 in order to elucidate the conditional sta- to the externally applied field. Its electron temperature is approxi-
tistical nature of the discharge mechanism. The obtained results pose mately 104 K and the dominant ionization process is by direct ioniza-
some serious questions concerning the effectiveness of PD pattern clas- tion.
IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Val. 9 No. S,October2002 765

4000, i0.5

(a) -100 0 I00

Time (pS)
Figure 1. Glow discharge in a 0.5 m m gap in nitrogen at atmospheric pressure. (a) voltage across gap photomultiplier current; (b) microavalanche
discharge site pattern on ground electrode (after Miralai el ai. [62]).

4000 I I

5' 2000
v
a'
2
a
.

a
>
0
-& -2000
B
.-
4
-4000 1 , , ~ , ]

Figure 2. Spark (pulse)discharge in a 0.5 nun gap in nitrogen with an oxygen admixture at atmospheric pressure. (a) voltage across gap, photomulti-
plier current (b) discharge site pattem on ground electrode (after Miralai el ai. [63]).

The true glow or pulseless discharge consists of weakly ionizing
diffused plasma generally occupying all available interelectrode space.
Appreciable space charge formation occurs in both the proximity of
the anode and cathode and the discharge process as in the case of the
classical Townsend discharge is maintained through cathode emission.
A glow discharge is not in local thermal equilibrium and the electron
temperature ranges from lo4 to 2x104 K. Direct ionization plays a
significant role and step-wise ionization, while negligible at low cur-
rents, may become appreciable at currents in the range of 10' mA. The
pseudoglow discharge is similar to the pulseless glow in the degree of
ionization, electron temperature and particle densities, but exhibits at
the same time the presence of minute discharge pulses having features
characteristic of spark type discharges. The presence of the minute
pulses is readily detected electronically [Ma] or optically by means
of a photomultiplier 153,541.
The presence of oxygen within a discharging cavity tends to inhibit
the occurrence of pseudoglow and pulseless glow discharges, because
of the electronegativity of the oxygen gas, which reduces the availabil-
ity of free electrons necessary for discharge initiation and limits the
expansion of discharge channel necessary for the formation of glow
discharges. This is evident from the very regular pulse-type discharge
behavior observed with oxygen [55] as compared to the predisposition
of other gases to support atmospheric pressure glow discharges un-
der certain conditions [48]. It also accounts from the predominance of
spark or pulse type discharges in air and the transition from a glow
discharge process to pulse discharge type behavior in other gases (He,
Ar, N?) upon the addition of small trace amounts of oxygen [56,57].
It is also observed that in cavities containing air-like atmospheres, de-
pletion of oxygen from the atmosphere and the surrounding surfaces
coupled with increases in the conductivity of the walls due to depo-
sition of acidic reaction products created by the discharge, will also
cause a transition from spark (pulse) to pseudoglow and pulseless glow
766
discharges to take place 153,541.
A gap space undergoing pseudoglow or pulseless glow discharge
can superficially exhibit a uniform glow over its surface, which may
not be always uniform in a strict sense, but consists of a multiplicity of
light emitting dots that are caused by microavalanches [SE, 591. The ar-
rangement or array of the microavalanche sites, constituting the overall
dot pattern, is a function of their density, which in turn is a function of
the applied voltage 158-621. The microavalanche dot patterns may be
readily observed via a light transparent indium tin oxide ground elec-
trode deposited upon a glass surface, which acts as dielectric barrier to
the discharge in metallicidielectric electrode gap. An intensified charge
injection device (CID) camera is used to record the discharge site/dot
images, employing a voltage-phase resolved synchronizing circuit in
conjunction with a pulse generator required to trigger the CID camera
shutter 1631. Figure l(a) depicts the voltage waveform across the gap
and the recorded light pulse produced by the glow over each half cy-
cle of the applied voltage wave and Figure I@)portrays the resulting
microavalanche site configuration pattern. Figures 2(a) and 2(b) illus-
trate the effect of an oxygen admixture to the nitrogen as the discharge
pattern reverts back from a glow discharge to a spark/pulse type dis-
charge, with numerous pulses in evidence in the photocurrent trace;
the evidence of some minute pulses in the trace is indicative of a pseu-
doglow, which OCCUIS concurrently with the large pulse (spark) type
discharges. The audio frequency test voltage accentuates the phenom-
ena, which also occur over lower frequencies.
The short gap pulse or spark PD is similar to the pulseless glow and
pseudoglow discharges in that it is also a Townsend type discharge,
its underlying distinguishing attribute being that it is characterized
by a higher degree of ionization and conductivity; but the discharge
is still far removed from having achieved local thermodynamic equi-
libration. It occurs within a brightly luminous narrowly constricted
channel as opposed to the relatively faint emitted diffused glow of a
pulseless or pseudoglow discharge; yet it also is sustained by cathode
emission. Its electron density is still considerably below cni3.
Spark-type PD are commonly classified as rapidly and slowly develop-
ing sparks or pulses, which are detected by the external PD sensing cir-
cuits as high-amplitude fast rise time and low amplitude slow rise time
pulses respectively 151,521. The former are also frequently referred to
as 'streamer or 'streamer-like discharges', and the latter as Townsend-
type discharges [64-68]. The term streamer-like has been applied to
rapid rise-time short-duration pulses, because of its similarity in form
to the rapid streamer pulses in long gaps [64,65]. However, there is an
important subtle difference in the mechanisms of these two forms of
discharge. Since the mechanisms of development of streamer related
pulses in long gaps involves ionization wave propagation in a very high
field region where the ionization and influx of electrons at the discharge
head is produced by a space charge field due to separation of positive
and negative charges, the use of the term 'streamer' to denote a rapidly
developing discharge pulse in a short gap is misleading. Both rapidly
and slowly developing sparks or discharges pulses involve the cathode
feedback mechanism of the Townsend type, albeit that in the rapidly
developing pulse discharge, the classical ion induced cathode emission
process plays a very minor role because of the predominance of the
space charge mechanism in the vicinity of the cathode which gives rise
Bartnikas: Partial Discharges
to very intense photoemission at the cathode.
In the field of PD measurement, there has been relatively little atten-
tion paid to the detection or measurement of pulseleas glow and pseu-
doglow discharges [5,6,34,46,47,52,54,69,70]. Traditionally,since the
early introduction of oscillographic techniques to PD studies, PD in elec-
trical apparatus have, in the most part, been predominantly detected
and measured on electrical apparatus and cables in terms of pulsetype
discharges. In retrospect much of this tendency must be attributed
to the ease with which pulse-type measurement techniques may be
deployed and utilized, particularly more recently with increased us-
age of signal processing procedures. This inordinate preoccupied ten-
dency with only pulse discharges has resulted in relegating the ex-
istence of pulseless glow and pseudoglow discharges to convenient
oblivion. Nevertheless, it must be also emphasized that the form of
discharge in physical cavities is rarely, if ever, only of the pulseless
or pseudoglow type; most frequently, it is found that all these types
of discharge, namely pulseless gloM: pseudoglow and pulse or spark
type may occur simultaneously over each applied voltage cycle. This
then is the redeeming feature of PD pulse detection methods: they are
sufficient per se to indicate the presence of PD, the PD inception point
and the PD pulse intensity, even though they may not always indicate
the full extent of the overall discharge process that may comprise the
concurrent occurrence of pulseless glow and pseudoglow discharges
to which they fail to respond. A case in point is the dissipation factor
(tan d) measurement, which is normally performed on stator bar insu-
lation and oilipaper insulated cables to assess their quality, using either
a Schering or a ratio-arm bridge. Frequently, it may be found that the
increase in tip-up of the tan 6 value with voltage may not be fully ac-
countable by sum of the PD pulse type losses and the dielectric losses,
conceivably indicating significant pulseless and pseudoglow discharge
loss contribution to the overall tan 6 value.
Attempts have been made to ascertain theoretically the conditions
that favor discharge channel expansion i.e. transition from a spark to
a glow discharge. Numerical model studies have been carried out on
the short gap breakdown to examine the theoretical aspect of discharge
channel constriction and expansion in helium, hydrogen and air at at-
mospheric pressure 149-52,71-75]. Discharges were found to exhibit an
increased propensity towards discharge channel broadening when di-
electric. surfaces are involved as is substantiated in Figure 3 1751. While
-
initially the electrons are confined to a relatively constricted channel of
a radius of 1mm at dischargedevelopment timeof2.l0ns, the radius
of the channel is seen to broaden to = 7 nun at a time of 4.47 ns. The
positive ion density within the discharge channel is found to exhibit
similar tendencies. Further calculations made by Nikonov et al. 176,771
show that the discharge channel expansion rate is also influenced by the
magnitude of the charge density and its distribution remaining from
previous discharges. Experimental data have also demonstrated that
accumulation of surface discharge products and the associated changes
of surface conductivity (which affect the surface charge distribution)
favor the occurrence of glow and pseudoglow discharges.
In view of the current emphasis on PD pulse detection techniques
as concerns electrical power apparatus and cables, we shall omit fur-
ther detailed discussion on pulseless and pseudoglow discharges and
devote the remainder of the paper to an in-depth discussion on the sub-
IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Vol. 9 No. 5,OctoberZOOZ 767

of changes in the breakdown voltage and, hence, the resultant PD pulse

--duce voltage breakdown across the cavity. This means essentially that
Radial distance. r (mml
Figure 3, calculated radial distribution of the relative eleckon den.
sity,with time as a parameter at ,+,int for 0,500 "gap with a,,
insulating anode in an air-like mixture at ahnospheric pressure, sub-
jected to a geometrical field of 65.4 kVcd (after N o d and Bartnikas
W1).
magnitudes, which are caused by variations in the statistical time lag
i.e. the time required for a free electron to appear in the cavity volume
where it is necessary to initiate the electron avalanche required to pro-
the discharge epoch of a preceding discharge pulse will influence the
discharge epoch or phase with respect to the applied voltage wave at
which the subsequent discharge will occur. However, in addition the
position of the discharge epoch of each subsequent discharges will in
turn be also affected by the time of appearance of initiating electron in
its own environment. The overall result of the precession of discharge
epochs is that each discrete pulse discharge event in a given cavity is
controlled to some extent by the time occurrence of its preceding dis-
charge. This stochastic discharge behavior, which has been more re-
cently examined to a considerable depth by van Brunt and von Glahn
138,391, poses Some important ramifications as to the degree of accu-
racy with which PD patterns may be recognized and related to cavity
size and its location in different types of power apparatus and cables.

ject related to PD pulse characteristics and associated test methods. If

we consider an idealized cavity occluded within an insulating system
that is subjected to a sinusoidally varying applied voltage and further
assume that the cavity undergoes only pulse or spark type discharge,
zy-
I 0.6 -
1 AV = 1.9~10" V Pa-!

then the cavity will discharge when the voltage across the cavity attains
its breakdown value. At this point in time or voltage wave phase (dis-
E
i
OS -
,, - Total current
Ion current
0.4 -
charge epoch) the voltage across the cavity will collapse abruptly either C
to zero or some finite value normally named the 'residual voltage'. Tne 3 0.3 - AV= 1 . 1 x104VPa-1
resultant generated voltage step will excite the FD pulse detection cir- 8
9 0.2 -
cuit and the spark-type generated event will be detected as a discrete e,
PD pulse. Further pulses will be generated along the ascending and m 0.1 - AV = 33x10-5 V Pa-
descending portions of the sinusoidal voltage wave each time the ap- n
"-
plied voltage exceeds an integer value of the breakdown voltage value 0 10 20 30 40 SO 60 70 80 90 100
in the two polarities [34]. If the breakdown and residual voltages in the Time, t (ps)
two polarities equal and constant, all detected PD pulse will be of equal Figure 4. Calculated breakdown current pulse forms of a 0.5mm gap
magnitude. However, this is not a common occurrence in practice. in air at atmospheric pressure under negligible space charge condi-
The response of PD pulse detectors decreases with increasing rise tions, with the overvoltage A V as a parameter. The electron current
time of the detected DI' pulses [78]. The rise time of the incident PD is given by the difference between the total and ion current values
pulse front at the PD detector input is determined by the initial PD pulse (afterBarhikas and Novak [SO)).
front rise time at the discharge site and any subsequent degradation
of the PD pulse rise time along its transmission path from its site of The effects of the statistical time lag on the PD pulse shape, magni-
origin to the PD detector end. The latter effect is of particular impor- tude and rise time have been analyzed theoretically by Bartnikas and
tance in specimens which exhibit transmission line behavior, e.g. cables, Novak [SO]. The retarded appearance of the initiating electron in a
transformers and rotating machines. However, there are also some im- given cavity means that in the absence of the electron at the point in
portant variations within the spark discharge mechanism per se, which time when the applied ac voltage becomes just equal to the breakdown
may effect significantly the rise time of the discharge pulse formed at voltage of the cavity, breakdown will not occur and the applied voltage
the site of its origin as the cavity undergoes successive discharges. w d l continue rising until such time when an initiating electron becomes
When the PD pulse discharge pattern is viewed superimposed upon available. The consequence will be that the breakdown of the cavity
the power frequency sinusoidal wave, it is observed to exhibit appre- will take place at a higher voltage, thereby generating a greater mag-
ciable instability The amplitudes of the discrete pulses are perceived to nitude PD pulse. To illustrate the effect of a protracted statistical time
undergo substantial fluctuations accompanied by significant displace- lag upon the magnitude and rise time of the ensuring PD pulse, one
ments of the associated discharge epochs themselves. The phase vari- must consider the manner in which the PD pulse shape is altered as a
ations of the PD pulse positions with respect to the applied sinusoidal function of the overvoltage across a cavity or short gap.
voltage wave have been referred to as 'precession of discharge epochs' Figure 4 portrays the shapes of calculated breakdown current pulses
[34,79]. This precession of discharge epochs may be explained in terms obtained with a 0.5 nun gap in air under atmospheric pressure at low
 768 Bartnikas: Partial Discharges

values of overvoltage in ascending order of magnitude [SO]. Note that

in order to take into account gas pressure effects, the overvoltages are
expressed in VPa-' units. At low overvoltages, the peak breakdown
current is seen to decrease very substantially with falling overvoltage;
the marked reduction in the peak value of the breakdown current is alsd'
accompanied by a pronounced increase in the rise time of the pulse.
The slow low amplitude current pulses are essentially pulses formed
by the movement of ions across the gap, since the electrons, released
from the cathode due to ion impact necessary to sustain the Townsend
type discharge, are more rapidly swept out of the gap than the slow 1
moving ions. Time, t (ns)
Figure 6. Calculated breakdown current pulse of 0.5 mm gap in air
at atmospheric pressure under intense space charge conditions at high
AV = 2.3~10-4V Pa-1
overvoltage (alter Bartnikas and Novak [SO])

Greatly enhanced space charge induced photoionization at the cath-

ode, at applied voltages appreciably above the breakdown voltage,
3 0.5 Total current leads to PD current pulses with very much reduced rise times and
0
Ion current greatly augmented peak amplitudes as illustrated in Figure 6. Conspic-
uously absent from the breakdown current pulse form is the protracted
ion tail component, which is prominent at modest space charge densi-
12.8 12.9 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6
ties in the vicinity of the cathode (Figure 5). The relatively miniscule ion
Time, t (ps)
current contribution (due to the ion impact phenomena at the cathode)
Figure 5. Calculated breakdown current pulse form of a 0.5 mm gap to the overall discharge pulse at high overvoltages is now completely
in air at atmospheric pressure at a higher overvoltage under modest obscured by the very intense electronic current component caused by
space charge conditions (after Bartnikas and Novak [80]). photoemission at the cathode associated with the pronounced space
charge formation in the proximity of the cathode. The PD current pulse

- -
Hence the contribution of electrons to the breakdown current pulse form is typical of a large spark-type discharge, whose rise times may
is relatively small, as indicated in Figure 3. It is thus palpably ev- range from 1to 10 ns. The probability of occurrence of large mag-
ident that at extremely low overvoltages across a cavity undergoing nitude rapid rise time pulses would be expected to be greater in areas of
Townsend type pulse discharge, the generated pulse magnitudes with insulation well shielded against cosmic radiation and free of electrical
inherently long rise times, may render their detection difficult with con- field enhancement sites to reduce the availability of free electrons. As
ventional PD pulse detectors having high lower cut-off frequencies. At concerns the physical process in the generation of the rapid rise time
higher overvoltages, increasingly more electrons are emitted from the pulses, it should be noted that at high overvoltage across the cavity, the
cathode leaving behind the slower moving ions of polarities, causing higher resultant electrical field E increases the ionization frequency v,
the accumulated space charge due to the positive ions to augment the in accordance with
ionization rate in the proximity of the cathode. As the positive ion U" = neaEpe (1)
space charge effects become more predominant in the relation to the where ne is the electron density, a the first Townsend ionization co-
classical Townsend process of electron emission resulting principally efficient, and p e the electron mobility An enhanced value of y~ leads
from positive ion impact at the cathode, the pulse form of the current to a rapid rise in the number of electrons and positive ions within the
is perceptibly altered. cavity Since the electron density in the proximity of the cathode is con-
Figure 5 delineates the positive ion space charge influence, which strained by the cathode emission influx while the positive ion density
becomes readily perceptible at ion densities of 10"' ~ m - ~In. addi- is determined by the rate of volume ionization and influx from within
tion with a significant overvoltage across the gap, resultant rise in the the cavity, the positive ion charge, under intense ionization conditions,
electrical field leads to a substantial increase in cathode emission due rapidly exceeds the electron charge thereby giving rise to a very in-
to photoionization, which results in a breakdown current pulse with tense cathode field. This results in a reduction in the field across the
a shorter rise time and larger magnitude as compared to the current remainder of the cavity, causing the major portion of ionization to be
pulses in Figure 4 obtained under negligible space charge conditions. confined within a thin layer adjacent to the cathode in the pr6sence
This occurs as the space charge field attains a value of zz 30% of the of a very substantially augmented photoemission. Estimates place the
external field. Note the protracted ion current tail evinced in the overall positive ion density beyond 10" which is approximately two
pulse current shape, which is caused by the ion drift current and the orders of magnitude in excess of the electron density Under such con-
associated electron current due to electron emission resulting from ion ditions, the cathode field may attain values as high as 1.5 MV/cm, i.e.
impact at the cathode (following the curtailment of photoemission at in the region of the field emission threshold; at these fields, formation
the cathode). of thermal emission spots is likely to occur. This may account for the
 ~

IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Vol. 9 No. 5, October ZOO.? 769

initiation of electrical trees at the extremities of discharging cavities in initiate the ionization process. However, free electrons should become
which the discharge process is dominated by rapid rise time spark type readily available at higher electrical stresses due to Schottky emission
discharges. or the hot (mobile) electrons within the structure of solid or solid-liquid
dielectrics [XZ].

2.4
-si- Positive ions BJ

Figure 7. Integral value N of the number of ionizing events (which

equals the number of electropositive ion pairs) as a function of the
Time. t ($)
ionization development time of a 5 pm microcavity subjected to an
electric field of 270 kV/cm (after Novak and Bartnikas [811). Figure 8. Charge transfer due to electrons and positive ions across a
5 microcavity us. the ionization development time at an electric
The statistical time lag, which determines the value of applied volt- field of 270 kV/cm (afterNovak and Bartnikas [Sl]).
age at which breakdown ensues across a given cavity, has important
practical ramifications in the area of PD detection and measurement,
because it influences the rise time, magnitude and shape of the detected
PD pulses. Since the appearance or occurrence of free discharge initiat-
ing electrons is controlled by cosmic radiation or other sources (such as
field emission at field enhancing asperities) at or in the vicinity of the Lower elecmnic
occluded cavities, a single discharge site in a cavity of given size and J
gas pressure within may generate pulses of different shape, amplitude 4
and rise time depending upon the statistical variations in the appear-
ance or absence of the initialing electrons. In juxtaposition, two identi-
cal discharge sites in two similar cavities, located at different areas in a
given insulating system, even though under identical stress conditions
may produce dissimilar PD pulse shapes and pulse distribution spectra
because of a difference in the rate of free electron availability in the two
respective cavity locations, This aberrational behavior, coupled with
the !act that the response of PD detectors is PD pulse rise time depen-
dent, may result in considerable interpretation difficulties in PD pattern Time. t (s)
recognition related work. Figure 9. Number of excited molecules (upper and lower electronic
Often the question arises as to what extent an ionization process may levels) within a 5 pmmicrocavity us. the ionization development time
be maintained in microcavities and whether it can lead the develop- at an electric field of 270 kV/cm (after Novak and Bartnikas [811).
ment of PD. A recent study of a 5 p m size microcavity indicates that at
atmospheric pressure, while an ionization process may be initiated, the Figure X depicts the charge transfer associated with electrons and
number of collisions are by far too few to result in PD development [XI]. positive ions as a function of the ionization development time in the
Figure 7 shows the number of ionization events DS. the ionization de-
velopment time in a 5 p m microcavity subjected to an electrical field of
270 kV/cm, a value corresponding to the maximum field gradient at the
-
5 pm cavity, Compared to even the lower measured levels of the charge
transfers due to PD (e.g. 0.1 pC), the charge transfers involved are
indeed minuscule. While in terms of the energy dissipated their effects
conductor in HV polymeric transmission cables. Following the release may be negligible compared to actual PD, in the long term they may
of a free initiating electron at the surface of the cathode, the number of produce degradation of the insulating material. The ionization process

-
ionization events is seen to increase rapidly with the ionization process
attaining full development after an elapse of 7 11s; the total num-
ber of ionization events (electron/positive ion pairs produced) is found
to be equal to 7 and is reached after 0.72 ns. Here it should be noted
that n a b a l radiation within a miniscule gas space of 5 p m is unlikely
to provide a free electron within a reasonably short time necessary to
within the 5 p m cavity results in the production of excited states, whose
energies may be sufficient to cause bond scission of polymeric materi-
als which may lead to gradual deterioration of the insulant. This long
term process will result in the enlargement of cavities and electrical
tree formation with attending PD 1811. Figure 9 portrays the number of
molecules excited into upper and lower electronic states as a function
770 Bartnikas: Partial Discharges

with the consequence that newly produced polymeric cables leaving

HV supply R.F.choke
the manufacturing facility are now free of discharges not only at the
operating voltage level, but also at voltages above those levels which
can he envisaged to be imposed upon the cables under surge voltage
....
conditions.

Figure IO. Early schematic circuit arrangement for the measurement

of the pulse discharge rate and differential PD pulse-height analysis
on short cable specimens cn. 1966 (after Bartnikas 1151).

of the ionization development time in the 5 p m cavity. Here the upper

excitation levels denote the energy range between 8.4 to 15.7 eV and the
lower levels from 8.4 down to 7.5 eV Since estimates of cleavage of C-C
and C-H bonds fall in the region of 10 to 11eV 184,851and 7 to 10 eV 186,
871 respectively, the electronic levels of the excited molecules within
the 5 p m ionized cavity would thus he sufficient to result in long term
damage of the insulating system. Hence, the theoretical analysis sug-
gests that while microcavities are insufficientin Sire to Support PD, the Figure 11. Terminated cable with PD detector and PD pulse height
ionization events within them that are too minute to register a response distribution measuring apparatus (after Bartnikas 1961).
on conventional PD pulse detectors, are still capable of producing long
term ionization damage in organic insulating systems.
? 350, , , . , , . , . , - 10

4 CABLE SPECIMENS
s
~

9
103
210
20
0
-
8
:: I W -20
The introduction of polyethylene (PE) extruded cables into the power 5 .e 2
distribution sector in the early 1950s required a rapid development of 1 Im
,; m
1%
- 6 0 -
-80 5
PD detection techniques and testing standards to assess the reliability s o ;
of these cables. Much development work went into characterizing the 'I
p m
-30
-ILu
-,*I1
-140
2
PD behavior in these cables as well as determining their resistance to u-150 -3MI
ICQHZ iOMi(l 2 0 M 30- u)Mi(l
PD induced degradation 151. In Figure 10 is delineated a schematic con- FrrgUUICY
nection diagram of an early arrangement used in the late 1950s and
early 1960s by the author for the measurement of the PD discharge Figure 12. Characteristic impedance and phase angle us. frequency
of 25 kV XLPE insulated power cable (after Bartnikas 1951).
rate and differential pulse-height distribution on cables [12-15]. Short
cable lengths (shown as CJ, which acted as lumped capacitance spec-
imens at the frequencies of measurement (calibrated using the square In view of the foregoing discharge operating constraints, PD tests
pulse generator shown), were used for these investigations. There w'as on newly manufactured polymeric cables are essentially go-nogo type
a general consensus that PD originated from cavities from within the tests in that the cable specimens are rejected if they exhibit the presence
extruded insulation or at the interfaces between the insulation and the of discharges at the prescribed sensitivity and voltage test level or ac-
semiconducting conductor and insulation shields. It became soon ap- cepted in their absence [88-92]. Long power cable specimens behave
parent that, in contrast to oil/paper insulated cables, polymeric cables as transmission lines and must, therefore, he terminated in their char-
were highly susceptible to PD induced degradation and could not oper- acteristic impedance, if measurement errors due to PD pulse reflection
ate in the presence of PD without undergoing eventual failure. Accord- effects are to he obviated 1931. Since routine PD measurements are car-
ingly, PD test standards were devised, which required the polymeric ried out on newly manufactured cables with the specimens invariably
cables to he free of discharges at operating voltage, when tested at a unterminated, pulse reflection errors occur but these are minimized by
detection sensitivity of 5 pC. With the improvement in the extrusion specifying the so-called LY pulse shape response of the detection cir-
processes of solid polymeric dielectrics and smooth, low contaminant cuit whereby the integration errors due to pulse overlap are additive,
containing extruded semi-conducting conductor and insulation shields, resulting in increased rather than decreased detection sensitivity, The
the PD test standards became proportionately more stringent, necessi- a response simply refers to a highly damped pulse in which the first
tating the polymeric extruded cables to meet the 5 pC sensitivity re- peak of oscillation represents the maximum amplitude of the PD pulse
quirements at voltages substantially above the operating voltage level. [94,95). Additional sensitivity is achieved with suitably designed noise
With this added requirement an additional safety factor was introduced filtering circuits to reduce extraneous interference.
 ..
IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Vol. 9 No. 5, October 2002 771

With the stringent PD specifications in place to eliminate cables at

the production site, which are subject to PD, the current effort and activ-
ity in the cable area has shifted to elaborate PD measurement schemes
-
5
0

-20

to locate discharges and asses their severity in cables in the field that 9
.-6 40
may either be introduced in the course of mishandling during the their 5
installation or through aging developed discharge activity If identi- 3a
a
fication of the type of discharge sites is attempted in terms of the PD -80
pulse-height and discharge epoch distribution patterns, then, in order
lO.106 m.id 40"10* Mhld 80110b ICQxlo6
to eliminate pattern errors due to reflections from the far end, the cable Frsqucn~y,f (Hz)
specimen under test must be terminated by its characteristic impedance
Ro, utilizing a HV termination arrangement as depicted in Figure 11 Figure 14. Attenuation frequencyOf 25 kV XLpE power
[96]. The resistor Ro, approximating the magnitude of the character- ble terminated "ith its approximate characteristic impedance of37 R
(alter Barmikas [951). Measurement time interval = 60 5. Base line
istic impedance of the cable, is placed in series with a discharge-free = 470 resolution capacit~= 1024 channels (a) at c,v b)at
capacitor C, which is equal in value to the discharge-free coupling ca- 1.6 kV above cIv (c) at 3,6 k" above cIv (d) at 5,6 k" above cIv,
uacitance C,..The latter acts as a short to the much hieher
" freauencv PD 1 ,

currents, but presents a high impedance at the power frequency Dis-
charges at the cable ends are prevented by the use of oil cups into which
the ends of the cable are immersed. At very HV, the oil cup terminations
must be replaced by ones containing De-ionized water. Note that with
the arrangement shown, the incident PD current pulse at the detector
end contains only half the charge content released at the discharge site,
since the other half is transmitted to the terminated far end of the cable
specimen under test.
. . . . i .
. .
i .
~
Figure 13 demonstrates the rapid degradation in the rise time of a pulse
that occurs even over a relative short length of a polymeric distribution
cable [95]. In Figure 14 are presented the high frequency attenuation
characteristics of the same cable.
When new cable designs are evaluated in terms of their PD pulse
height and discharge epoch distribution characteristics for which pre-
cise measurements of the discharge pulse amplitude and the actual
number of discharge pulse are necessary, it is expedient to employ short
. .
cable specimen lengths. With sufficiently short lengths of cable, pulse
. ,I .
, reflection effects from the far end of the cable do not arise when con-

. . ~ . I . .
. . +
... .... . ... , . . . .T ' .~. . . . :. . . ,.,. . I . . '. .. .. ventional low frequency narrow band detectors are employed. Figures
..
. .
15 and 16 portray typical pulse-height distribution curves on two early
vintage short lengths of ethylene propylene rubber (EPR) and cross-
linked polyethylene (XLPE) distribution cable with applied voltage as
a parameter. While these characteristics were obtained utilizing a mul-
tichannel pulse-height analyzer, the current approach would be to em-
ploy a computerized system shown as an alternative in Figure 11. It
should be observed that the data presented in Figures 15 and 16, when
normalized to a 1 s measurement time interval, can be used to derive
. . . . i
the average PD current, which in such circumstances is given by the
---t 20nsldiv integral of the area subtended by these curves. PD pulse interval mea-
surements also may be made readily by means of the technique devel-
oped by Bapt et ai. [la, 191. The foregoing type of distribution is now
less commonly used, though it provides an important measure of the
PD pulse density in terms of the time separation between the discrete
pulse. It has complements and supplements the PD discharge epoch or
phase distribution, which gives the respective position of the PD pulses
with respect to the phase of the applied sinusoidal voltage wave [20].
The widespread usage of computer based techniques in the mea-
surement of PD has provided added flexibility in the treatment of P D test
data and associated signal processing techniques. With computer as-
sisted techniques, it is readily possible to display simultaneously three-
dimensional plots of PD pulse charge transfer, discharge rate or pulse
number at the discharge epoch of occurrence of the individual pulse
with applied voltage or testing time as parameter. A convenient display
of PD pulse data consists of simultaneously obtained plots of the num-
bers of PD pulses and PD pulse amplitudes as a function of the discharge
epoch or phase obtained over a given time interval at a given value of
applied voltage. Such PD patterns, portrayed in Figure 17 obtained on
772 Bartnikas: Partial Discharges

I 1 I I
L
Charge transfer - AQ (6)
b 2.9 3.9 7.8 ' 9.8
Charge transfer - AQ (pC)

!
3 5
I
10
, 20
I

z Charge transfer - AQ (pC) 0 219 3.'9 7.k 9.8

z Charge transfer AQ (pC) -

z 3 5 IO 20
Charge transfer - AQ (pC)

1 I 1 I I
0 2.9 3.9 7.8 9.8
Charge transfer - AQ (pC)
(d
Figure 16. PD pulse-height distribution characteristics as a function
of applied voltage obtained on an early 25 kV EPR insulated power
10 20 cable (after Barmikas 1961).
Charge transfer - AQ (6)
(d) and are judged to be in imminent danger of undergoing failure 1951.
Figure 15. PD pulse-height distribution characteristics obtained on The portable PD locating techniques available for solid and solid-liquid
an early 15 kV XLPE power cable as a function of applied voltage (after type cables can essentially be categorized into probe and non-probe test
Bartnikas [5]). Measurement time interval = 60 s. Base line = 281 methods. There are a number of non-probe PD site location methods,
channels, resolution capacity = 1024 channels (a) at CIv (b) at 2.0 kV most notably the PD pulse polarity correlator 1971 and a number of vari-
above CIV, (c) at 8.0 kV above CIV. ations of the time domain reflectometry (TDR) procedures [98,99]. The
advantage of the TDR techniques rests in that the measurements may be
a PE cable permit not only the determination of energy dissipated by carried out in-situ on directly buried cables or cables installed in ducts;
the positive and negative PD pulses but may h some cases provide a there are disadvantages, however, in that the TDR methods require tem-
possible means for identifying the defects responsible for the observed porary interruption of service and a portable power supply to energize
PD behavior 1281. the disconnected cables. In contrast, while the probe methods may be
Note that the negative pulses occur over the ascending portion and directly applied on cables under operating conditions, they are by their
positive pulses over the descending portion of the sinusoidal voltage very nature scanning devices and require accessibility to the cable ex-
wave. terior surfaces. The latter disadvantage may in part be circumvented
Over the last decade or so there has been a considerable increase in the case of splice or joint tests, where it is common practice (partic-
in PD measurement activities related to PD discharge site location on ularly in the case of extra HV polymeric transmission cables) to install
both distribution and transmission polymeric type cables in the field; permanent PD detection probes to monitor any possible development
some of the same type of work has also involved oil/paper insulated of PD in the joints.
cables. The objective is to remove cables or sections of cable circuits TDR methods employed for the location of PD discharge sites in
as well as cable joints, which exhibit various degrees of PD activity polymeric cables utilize either low frequency 0.1 Hz voltage sources,
 IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation
02_10_I_CAB_AIR_
LR_02
02_10_I_CAB_AIR_
LR_01
1 00,
\
.-.-
270°
goo
Figure 17. PD pattem associated with a flat cavity in a PE cable at
an applied voltage oi 15 kV measured over a 60 min time period (after
Gulski [ZS]).
Figure 18. Schematic circuit diagram of PD source locator for cables
(after Mashikian el ai. [103]).
which permit the testing of longer cable lengths [lOO], or the usual
power frequency SO or 60 Hz voltage sources, which produce a larger
number of PD pulses per unit time and thus facilitate electronically the
PD site detection,procedure [101-103]. Current TDR methods have been
greatly improved by the use of digital techniques and are capable of lo-
cating PD discharge sites with acceptable precision. Since discharge site
location is determined in terms of the incident PD pulses and the time
delay between their multiple reflections, the accuracy and precision of
discharge site location is a function of the rise time and pulse width of
the discharge pulses, their distortion and broadening as they propagate
along the cable as well as the signal-to-noise ratio characteristics of the
detection circuit.
A schematic circuit diagram of a TDR type PD site locator developed
by Mashikian et al. [101-103] is delineated in Figure 18 in which the
cable specimen in-service is disconnected from the remaining power
distribution network and energized by means of a 60 Hz power supply
The high pass filters utilized are of the RC type with a pass bandwidth
of 10 MHz having a lower frequency cut-off to reject the power fre-
quency and its harmonics. The detected PD pulses are transmitted via
a buffer amplifier in tandem with an isolation transformer to a digital
Vol.9 No. 5, October 2002 773
25
r2 = 1.10 p
9
E
20 I, = 2.64 ps
v
$
-I
.-
15
e
-9
%
$ 5
IO
2
c
P O
a
-5
0 2 4 6 8 10
Pulse xparation time (ps)
Figure 19. TDR incident and reflected PD signal haces obtained on
an XLPE insulated power distribution cable of 223 m length (after
Mashikian el al. [l03]).
oscilloscope, which is interfaced by means of an IEEE 488 bus with a
microcomputer equipped with a National Instruments type accelerator
board and utilizes Labview IITM software that permits signal process-
ing of the digitally stored discharge pulse data in the oscilloscope. Al-
though the algorithm is not specified, there are several digital process-
ing techniques such as deconvolution, linear prediction and maximum
likelihood estimation that are amenable for accomplishing the required
task [104].
In Figure 19 is represented a typical trace of the incident and re-
flected PD pulses obtained on a 223 m long XLPE insulated power dis-
tribution cable, with the measurements being recorded at the near end
of the cable (point n in Figure 18). The discharge site location is taken
to be at (1 - Al), so that the first pulse in the TDR trace represents
the incident pulse that has traversed a distance (1 - Al)from the site,
where Al is the distance to the site from the far end of the cable spec-
imen (point bin Figure 18). Its associated reflected pulse propagates a
+
total distance equal to (A/ 1) and reaches point a with a time de-
lay of t Zwith respect to the incident pulse. The incident pulse and its
associated reflected pulse are in turn reflected at the near end a, and
then after traveling to the far end bare again reflected, such that upon
arriving at the near end a the separation between the incident pulse
and its reflected pulse becomes equal to t l . The reflection process of
the pulse couplet continues until they are attenuated beyond the sensi-
tivity limit of the TDR detection system. In reference to Figures 18 and
19, the position of the discharge site AI is thus given by
In discharge site location tests on in-service aged cables, it is desir-
able and appropriate to utilize detector sensitivity levels of S pC, since
newly manufacture cables are rejected with discharges at and above this
specified level. As the extraneous noise levels in service environments
generally exceed this level, suitable noise rejection filters must be incor-
porated in the test circuitry. Communications related electromagnetic
interference occurs at fixed frequencies and is, therefore, most simply
removed by band rejection or notch filters. Another simple noise elim-
 774 Bartnikas: Partial Discharges

Concentric neutral jumpper over joint
[102]. Consequently, the pulse response associated with a discharge at
any point along the cable specimen may be correlated with the mea-
sured noise i.e., the location of the PD site corresponds to that value,
wluch yields the maximum cross-correlation coefficient.
As has been mentioned already, the alternative procedure for the 10-
cation of PD sites in solid polymeric and oil-impregnated-paper cables
involves the use of scanning probes, which may be of the capacitive
[lo51 or inductive [lo61 type. For completely shielded cables only in-

T-
Conductor olcahle. rpecimen
. . -.
.-
. -. ductive probes are effective. Capacitive probes function well only on
unshielded or poorly shielded cable sections, where the shield may ,

CT
cp! I
Se"m1uame >held
~
P? I be interrupted or damaged or at cable ends and poorly shielded ca-
ble joints. Capacitive probes may be also installed permanently under
C C shields in joints to monitor or detect newly initiated discharge activ-
Concentric neutral ity. It should be also pointed out that acoustical probes which function
0 >
r r I well with compressed gas cable or bus sections, do not perform well
on polymeric or oil impregnated-paper cables that are characterized by
high acoustical impedances.
The usual capacitive probe normally consists of a dielectric film ca-
Figure 20. Discharge site location by means of capacitive probes (af- pacitor of narrow width with cooper plate electrodes suitably bent to
ter Morin el nl. [107]). (a) Position of capacitive probes with respect fit the cylindrical contour of the cable specimen. The capacitive probe
to joint. @) Equivalent circuit of capacitive probes and cable speci- may be mounted on an insulated rod to facilitate scanning along poorly
men: here represents the incremental distributed capacitance of the shielded cable joints. In order to locate the PD sites, it is always nec-
cable dielectric and C the capacitance of the probe inserted between essary to work with two probes placed some distance apart that may
the concentric neutral and the semiconducting shield. be varied to establish whether the fault is between the probes or to
either side of the probes. Though tedious, capacitive probes may be
installed on distribution cables with concentric neutrals with the two
capacitive probes being inserted between the concentric neutral and
semiconducting shield of the cable. For cable joints ha\'in ' g concentric
Probe
#1 neutral jumpers, the capacitive probes may be placed as indicated in
Figure 20 [107].
If the discharge site in Figure 20 is exactly in the middle of the cable
Probe joint, the PD pulse arrival times at the two probes will be equal and the
#2 two respective transmitted pulses from the PD site will be of equal mag-
nitude. Had the two probes been inserted under the concentric neutral
at 0.76 and 1.4 m on the right hand side away from the cable joint,
the situation would be quite different as is demonstrated in Figure 21
for the case nThere the separation distance between the two capacitive
Chl lOmV Ch2 lOmV Ions Chl probes is 0.61 m. The pulse at probe No. 2, which is 0.76 m from the
Figure 21. Response of two capacitive probes with probe #2 located joint, is seen to arrive before that of the more attenuated pulse at probe
a distance of 0.76 m and probe #t 4.5 1.36 m from a joint of two 25 kV No. 1, which is placed 1.4 m from the joint. As has been already dis-
XLPE distributioncables containing a discharge source at its midpoint; cussed, the losses in the semiconducting shields as well as in the solid
Vertical scale, 10 mVIdiv., horizontal scale, 10 nsldiv. (afterMorin el dielectric of the polymeric distribution cables give rise to substantial
nl. j1071).

ination procedure is available for the rejection of interference pulses

that are generated from switching events which bear a definite phase
relationship to the applied sinusoidal voltage wave, such that blanking
circuitry may be employed to eliminate all pulses within the applied
voltage segments over which the interference pulses appear. When di-
rect operator intervention in the noise filtering approach is not feasible,
resort to adoptive digital filtering techniques can he made [102,104]. If
the pulse response of a full cable specimen length as well as its attenua-
tion and phase constants are known, the response due to a discharge at
any point on the cable may be derived in terms of its transfer function
-
attenuation of the magnitude of the transmitted PD pulses; likewise,
they are found to reduce the velocity of propagation to 58% of that
of free space.
A single capacitive probe scan of a cable surface is frequently use-
ful as an initial step for detecting gross PD faults at poorly concentric
neutral shielded covered cable sections, joints and terminals. For this
purpose rf type I'D detection circuitry is employed, whose sensitivity
is calibrated in pC but whose output consists of both an indication in
dB units as well as an audible noise level that is proportional to the PD
intensity. Such a device is depicted in Figure 22; it utilizes two probes:
a contact capacitive probe and ungrounded rod probe, which acts as an
antenna. The latter probe is employed for ascertaining the overall PD
JEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation
Figure 22. Schematic diagram of rf capacitive probe PD locator de-
signed for application on polymeric power distribution cables (after
Morin et ai. IlOS]).
Copper lnsulaling cylinder
b 9
Cable
I I
Figure 23. I'D source location on joints of 275 kV XLPL power trans
mission cable (afterKatsuta et ai. [lOS]).
activity or ambient noise in a given area, i.e. in the vicinity of cables
installed in substations or at openings of man-holes. If such activity
is observed, the accessible portions of the cables are scanned with the
contact capacitive probe, which is generally found to be effective in
locating very intense discharge sources; however, its PD site locating
capability is seriously compromised in areas exhibiting high ambient
levels of interference. The capacitive probe PD site locating device has
a calibrated output A readable directly in dB units, given by the empir-
ical relation [lo61
A = KluAQkb (3)
where I< and bare constants and the value of AQ in pC refers to a
train of calibration excitation pulses at a specified repetition rate, i.e.
the calibrated dB scale is a function of both the magnitude of the PD
pulses as well as their repetition rate.
Since the presence of PD in polymeric type cables under operating
conditions cannot be tolerated due to the high susceptibility of the poly-
mer dielectrics to PD induced degradation, discharge onset monitoring
of h-service HV power transmission cables is of paramount importance
[109,110]. The appearance of PD may necessitate immediate removal of
the accessory of the polymeric cable segment in which the I'D source is
located in order to avert service interruption due to a high probability of
imminent failure at elevated voltages. Figure 23 portrays schematically
a PD site locator arrangement, which has been successfully deployed
in-service applications on installed 275 kV XLPE power transmission
cables. It utilizes a balun circuit, which provides an unbalanced output
[109]. The two capacitive probes are applied in the form of a metallic
foil over the cable jacket; an insulating ring separates the metallic shield
at the mid-point of the joint. Essentially each capacitive probe views
one half of the joint and cable length on its respective side. A sensitivity
of 2 pC is claimed by the authors.
Vol. 9 No. 5, October2002 775
Probe
#I
-
Probe
#2 -
Chl 20mV Ch2 20mV lOns Chl
Figure 24. Pulse responses from a discharge site situated equidistant
between two inductive probes; horizontal scale: 10 nsldiv., vertical
scale: 20 mvldiv. (after Morin et nl. [107]).
C0"trcl
P*
Figure 25. Schematic circuit diagram of a commercial ultrasonic PO
detector [1081.
Although inductive probes have been deployed for PD site location
purposes for several decades [106,111], their application to cables ap-
pears to be a relatively recent phenomena [107,112-115]. In shielded
cables, the signal of the discharge site is coupled electromagnetically to
the concentric neutral and the induced current pulse propagates along
the neutral in both directions from the discharge site. The induced volt-
age pulse magnitude developed across the inductive probe increases
with the mutual inductance between the inductive probe and the con-
centric neutral. In general, ferrite core coils exhibit greater sensitiv-
ity and have better frequency response characteristics than multi-turn
coils. While higher frequency response inductive coils have better sig-
nal resolution characteristics and provide greater accuracy in the lo-
cation of I'D sites, it is advantageous with longer cable specimens to
use inductive probes that respond principally to the lower frequency
components of the discharge pulse and can, therefore, 'see' further into
the cable specimen. b e d and Srinivas [llS] have described ferrite
-
core probe designs that can sense discharge sites 600 m away How-
ever, for precise discharge site location, inductive coil probes of a few
turns [107,112,114] or even a single turn 11131 are required. Figure 24
shows the response of two inductive coil probes of 6 turns each, placed
equidistant (44.5 cm) from a PD source [105].
While acoustical methods are relatively ineffective for PD tests on
polymeric and oil/paper-impregnated cables, they are ideally suited
for PD site location on compressed SFa cables and bus limes. Tnis can
be readily accomplished using conventional commercially available ul-
trasonic detection circuitry depicted in Figure 25 [108]. SF, gas, which
776 Bartnikas: Partial Discharges

is normally under a pressure of 5 atmospheres transmits ultrasonic 0.1 pC depending on the extraneous noise rejection filter employed, de-
signals much more efficiently than under atmospheric pressure [1161, termines at an elevated sensitivity whether discharges are present and
though appreciable attenuation occus at flanges and spacers 11171; con- the probe is then slid along the exterior of the metallic tube enclosure of
sequently, the cables should be scanned in steps between the individual the cable to locate the PD sources. Difficultiesare encountered with this
flanges. The acoustical attenuation cy (in dB/cm) between the spacers of procedure when the electrically detected discharge levels are low and
a compressed SF6 l i e may expressed by the Kirchhoff formula, which fall beyond the sensitivity capabilities of the ultrasonic scanning probe.
is valid for a tube geometry [116], The output across the detection impedance z d may be used also to gen-
27.6x10W5ff? erate the usual PD pulse distribution functions when measurements are
cy=
T
(4) phase synchronized with the power frequency
where f denotes the frequency in Hz and T is the radius of the cable The nearly dielectric loss-free character of SF6 lines renders them
tube in cm. Even though attenuation is much lower over the audio ideally suited for high frequency PD detection techniques. Frequencies
frequencies (<20 Wz), acoustical tests on SF6 l i e s must be carried at in the range from 300 MHz to 1 GHz commonly are utilized in a de-
higher frequencies of the ultrasonic regime (e.8.50 kHz) in order to cir- tection scheme whereby the detection impedance z d and the coupling
cumvent the high ambient interference normally encountered over the capacitance C, of the traditional PD detection circuit become incorpo-
audio frequency band. Acoustical methods may achieve sensitivity lev- rated as parts of a high frequency transmission lime to yield the desired
els of 10 to 25 pC [116],that are substantially less than those of electrical frequency response [119-1231. In straight portions of SFa bus ducts or
PD detectors, which fall in the range between 0.1 to 1.0 pC. It should be cables, the detection of discharges and their site location is achieved by
also added, that while acoustical methods can readily detect discharges measuring simultaneously the pulse arrival times at two suitably dis-
due to the movement of particles and those initiated at asperities on the placed coupling capacitors along the transmission line. Discharge sites
surface of the cable conductors, they are quite ineffective in detecting have been shown to be located to within 1 m over straight portions of
the low level PD pulses which occur within the occluded cavities of the a duct l i e at sensibility levels as high as 0.1 pC [120,122]. Figure 27
spacer insulators 11161 depicts a number of typical PD coupling devices for use with wide band
discharge detection systems. While the shown coaxial coupler exhibits
a good frequency response, it is characterized by a high coupling loss,
which may, however, be eliminated by the use of a solid-dielectric cou-
pler. If a Faraday cage is available to provide adequate shielding for
the measuring capacitor, a sheath coupler is also suitable for use with
the proviso that an isolated section of the cable sheath is disposable for
T
- this purpose.
It was demonstrated that high frequency PD detection techniques
may also be employed for continuous PD monitoring on gas-insulated
system (GIs) 11201. Since PD measurements in the range from 300 MHz
to 1 GHz are well beyond the upper limit of the frequency spectrum
of surface corona discharges, interference from overhead transmis-
Figure 26. P D site location and PD level test with an acoustic sensor sion l i e s is effectively eliminated. Fixed frequency interference from
in conjunction with a narrow band PD detector [116,118]. portable telephone communications and television may be circum-
vented by suitable filtering techniques. Should the latter approach have
Coaxial
short comings, then PD detection may carried out at selected high fre-
cable or
Solid dielectric -;;Coaxial coupler
quencies, which correspond to the characteristic resonant frequencies
FET pmk of the SFg gas duct structure under test as shown in the detailed anal-
ysis by Kurrer et nl. 11241. These groups of resonant frequencies are a
complex function of the geometrical configuration of the GIs bus i.e., its
overall length, interconnections, T joints and ends of ducts [121-1261:
7
When the PD pulse amplitudes become very large, the number of res-
cableor onant peaks increases, leading to a very dense frequency spectrum of
FET p m k
the resonant peaks.
Figure 27. Tpes of couplers for high frequency PD measurements In closing the discussion on PD measurements on cable specimens
on SFa line specimens (after Boggs et nl. [120,122]). some remarks ought to be made in regard to PD site location tests at
cable manufacturing facilities. PD site location tests were freauentlv
I ,

A common procedure employed for PD detection and PD site loca- and in some cases routinely carried out on polymeric cables until the
tion in SFs power transmission cables, based on a technique developed early 1970s. As solid dielectric extrusion techniques improved along
earlier by Konig [US, 1181,involves the usage of a conventional narrow with the introduction of extruded semiconducting shields that replaced
band PD detector in conjunction with an ultrasonic probe as delineated the antecedent carbon-tape shields, the occurrence of PD in newly man-
in Figure 26. The PD detector, whose sensitivity may be as high as ufactured cables diminished markedly The most effective technique
IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Elech'cal Insulation Vol. 9 No. 5, October 2002 777

for locating rn sites in polymeric extruded insulation and cavities at

interfaces between the conductor semiconducting shield and the ex-
truded insulation, involved the use of the so-called Gooding train (1271,
whereby a polymeric cable without the outside insulation semiconduct-
ing shield was passed through a hollow cylindrical HV electrode situ-
ated at the center of a long pipe, containing high resistivity De-ionized
water. Tne water column at the ends of the type was grounded via two
grounded tanks, thereby causing the cavity or cavities to undergo max- /

imum discharge intensity at the center of the tube. In some installations

the Gooding train PD scanning procedure was carried out shortly after
the extrusion head as the cable was being extruded. Since the Good-
ing train technique could not be applied directly to finished cables with
insulation semiconducting shields in place, X-ray techniques were uti-
lized to scan voltage energized cables 11'28,1291. X-ray irradiation of
cavities provided the free electrons to initiate and maintain the PD in
the cavities, which normally could not have undergone discharge.
5 CAPACITORS 0 Phase (degrees) 360

Capacitor specimens behave as lumped circuit elements; thus PD
tests on capacitors constitute a simple procedure with the proviso that
their capacitance is not too large. Unfortunately, this is not the situation
with the vast majority of HV power and energy storage capacitors. If C,
represents the major portion of the capacitance of the capacitor, which
Figure 29. Effect oftemperatureuponthe op pulse distribution char-
acteristics of a 4.6 /IF dielectric liquid impregnated plastic-film power
capacitor: (a) at PDIV = 1 . 9 8 ~rated voltage and -25T; @) at PDlV =
2 . 8 2 ~rated voltage and 15°C (after Hantouche and Forme (1341).

;:;:-'I
shunts the series combination of the capacitance of a discharging cavity dielectrics permitted to increase the operational stresses to 60 V/pm
in series with an extremely small portion of the dielectric, then in terms for the power capacitors; however, this increase was accompanied by
of the detected peak discharge pulse voltage signal Vd,the associated more stringent PD level requirements, which stipulated a permissible
apparent charge transfer is given by rn level of only 20 pC relative to that for oil/paper insulated capacitors
AQ = AV&, of 200 pC 1132-1341. This partially reflected the greater concern for the
(5)
use of plastic films, which tend to undergo more severe degradation in
the presence of PD as compared to the well proven high reliability oil,'
--5 95w
2 paper insulating systems. With capacitors that are constructed of sev-
eral unit capacitors placed in parallel, it is common practice to test the
units for PD individually and thus gain sensitivity as opposed to having
.e3 8 wo the entire capacitor itself tested, which represents a specimen of much
higher capacitance. As an additional safety feature, efforts are made to
2 '8"l design capacitors such that they are free of discharges for at least twice
e 7Mo
the rated voltage, whose associated charge transfers are = 20 pC. It is
"-25 -15 -5 o 5 IO I5 interesting that the latter level is four times greater than the 5 pC value
Temperature ('C) utilized as a criterion for the rejection of polymeric power cables. Yet,
Figure 28. PDIV us. temperature characteristic of a 4.6 pF dielectric while the electrical stresses in the polymeric cables are relatively high,
liquid impregnated plastic foil power capacitor (after Hantouche and they are still substantially less than the stresses at the stress enhance-
Forture (1341). ment sites of the metallic foil edges of capacitors [80]. In comparison to
cables, the PD charge transfer levels even on low voltage capacitors are
Evidently, the detected pulse voltage magnitude decreases inversely found to be relatively high, ranging between 8 and 49 pC [135].
with the specimen capacitance C,, eventually approaching a situa- A general characteristic of HV insulating systems is that with aging,
tion where PD detection with electrical PD detectors becomes increas- the PD inception voltage (PDIV) frequently is observed to diminish very
ingly more difficult when the specimen capacitances begin to exceed gradually with time as a result of both physical and chemical degra-
much beyond 5 pF. Extraneous noise elimination and reduction in PD dation which take place within the insulating systems. With dielectric
tests on high capacitance specimens, using balanced measurement tech- liquid impregnated system, the Pniv value is significantly affected by
niques, represents one effective practical means for compensating in temperature, usually decreasing with falling temperature as the viscos-
portion for this reduced measurement sensitivity 151. Early dielectric ity of the impregnant increases and cavities are either created or minute
liquid impregnated-paper power capacitors were designed for opera- cavities coalesce to form larger macroscopic cavities that commence to
tional stresses of the order of 12 V/Gm and had to comply with IEC ionize and discharge. This effect is demonstrated in Figure 28, which
Specification 70 (130,1311. The replacement of paper by plastic film was obtained on a 4.6 pFpower capacitor rated for operation at 3.6 kli
 778 Bartnikas: Partial Discharges

Figures 29(a) and 29@) portray three-dimensional plots of the num-

ber of PD pulses and charge transfer as a function of discharge epoch
(phase in relation to the applied sinusoidal voltage wave) (1341. It can
be discemed from the graphs that the insulating system exhibits a lower
PDIV value at -25°C due to the presence of more intense discharges
centered around 180"; Figure 29@) obtained at a temperature of 15T
reveals a more dense discharge pattern, containing pulses of an appre-
ciably lower intensity Figure 30. Schematic circuit arrangement of an induced voltage PD
PD pulse distribution patterns may also be used to detect coustruc- test on a power transformerspecimen, including a measurement sys-
tion faults in capacitors. In terms of a PD pulse distribution data bank tem for P D pulse-height distribution analysis.
compiled, Gulski [27] was able to correlate PD pulse distribution pat-
terns on a 220 kV, 10 pF capacitor to establish the existence of a PD fault
at a soldering joint between individual capacitor layer packages. HOW-
ever, for such correlations to be effective, previous PD pulse distribu-
tion data must be available on specific types of PD faults on capacitors
having identical construction designs. Acoustical measurements are
particularly attractive for PD detection in capacitor specimens of high
capacitance. They are immune to extraneous electromagnetic interfer-
ence and can achieve sensitivity levels better than 20 pC, which are
difficult to attain with electrical PD sensors when capacitances >LO fiF
are involved [116,136]. The electromechanical transducers or sensors
used for detecting acoustic emissions may be constructed of crystals or
Figure 31. Schematic circuit diagram for a discharge test on a small
ceramics, which possess the property of piezoelectricity i.e., the capa-
transformer, using a separate60 Hz H V discharge-free test source with '
bility of developing electricity upon the application of pressure waves. additional instrumentation for PD pulse-height and discharge epoch
Rochelle salt, lithium sulfate and ammonium dihydrogen phosphate distribution measurements.
crystals, barium titanate and lead zirconatelead titanate ceramics are
materials that exhibit piezoelectric properties. The piezoelectric crys- 6 TRANSFORMERS AND
tal and ceramic acoustical sensors may be used within the frequency REACTORS
regime extending from 0.1 Hz to 25 MHz and may be either broad or
narrow bandwidth devices [116]. The frequency range within which PD measurement and its interpretation on transformers and reactors
acoustical sensors are used in the area PD detection is determined by represent a far more complex and intricate task than that on cables or
the acoustical transmission characteristics of the power apparatus or capacitors. A transformer is an inductive device; as the electrical PD
cable specimens undergoing test as well as the ambient acoustical in- measurements are carried out at the terminals of the transformer, any
terference spectrum at the test site. In insulating systems containing di- discharge site within the windings of the transformer is separated from
electric liquids, which are characterized by low acoustical impedances, the terminals by a sizable inductance, which appears in parallel with
a sensitivity level of 1 pC would appear to be achievable under ideal a distributed capacitance and is as well shunted to ground by another
test conditions [116]. distributed capacitance. The PD pulse emerging at the discharge site
It has been demonstrated that ultrasound methods are capable of must travel over a complex LC network prior to reaclung the terminal
detecting discharges in capacitors having capacitances as high as 40 pF of the transformer. As the PD pulse propagates along the transformer
[116]. The physical size of liquid-filled power capacitors attains suffi- winding, it is both attenuated and distorted as increasingly its high
ciently large dimensions to permit acoustical coupling of the ultrasonic frequency content is removed or filtered out. In addition, the occmence
transducers via a film of glycerine to the steel casing of the capacitor. of resonances, between windings and tums within the windings, can
For such large-sized capacitors, acoustical sensors resonant in the fre- introduce errors into the measured PD quantities should these resonant
quency regime between 60 to 80 ldlz appear to be most effective. How- frequencies fall within the bandwidth of the PD sensing system.

-
ever, with capacitors of reduced physical size casings, a frequency of
20 ldlz tends to be most suitable. Small capacitors undergoing PD
tests are frequently immersed in a mineral oil bath, thereby ensuring
good acoustical coupling between the ultrasonic transducers and the
test specimen as well as providing effective shielding to ambient ul-
trasound. Ultrasonic transducers are commonly used for the detection
and monitoring of PD signals as well as discharge site location. PD sites
are often located at the edges of the capacitor metalized films, where
strong electrical stress enhancement takes place; the charge transfers
associated with these discharges fall normally between 10 and 20 pC.
PD tests on the transformers may be performed using either the so-
called induced test or by means of a separate independent power fre-
quency voltage source to produce the voltage stress in the insulating
system [lll, 1371. In the induced test, the voltage is applied across the
low potential winding whereby the voltage stress is impressed between
the individual huns and sections of the windings as under normal op-
erating conditions in service. When this test is employed with larger
transformers, it is common practice to use the third harmonic (180 Hz)
of the power frequency source in order to permit an over voltage test
on the transformer without saturating the magnetic core and thereby
 -.
IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation
causing damage to the transformer. Alternatively, a 400 Hz motor gen-
erator unit may sometimes be considered acceptable. Since high power
transformer are normally equipped with a bushing tap 1111,137-1401 it
disposes conveniently with the requirement of a discharge free coupling
capacitor; Figure 30 delineates schematically the connection diagram
for an induced voltage PD test on a power transformers specimen.
T Time
Figure 32. Schematic circuit diagram lor a discharge test on a reactor
equipped with a bushing tap, using a separate 60 Hz H V discharge
free transformer.
19659 .............. .__....... .. .... .... .... ....
T--.
8.7 17 26
Charge transfer, AQ (pC)
Figure 33. PD pulse-height distribution observed over a 2 min inter-
val on a 55 MVA reactor, containing a damaged screen (after Gulski et
01. [141]).
With smaller transformers, the power frequency voltage is generally
applied to the HV winding by means ofa discharge-free test transformer
as portrayed schematically in Figure 31. The transformer insulation is
thus voltage stressed between the high potential winding and the low
potential winding as well as ground. Note that with this arrangement
a discharge-free coupling capacitor C, is required.
When a PD test is performed on a reactor, a separate test transformer
must also be employed, but no coupling capacitor is necessary because
a bushing tap is provided. Since one end of the reactor coil is grounded,
the insulation is stressed between the turns as well as to ground (Fig-
ure 32). Figure 33 shows ~ P pulse-height
D dishibution obtained on a
reactor, using a multichannel pulse-height analyzer; the PD discharge
pattern was attributed to a damaged screen (1411.
While PD specifications state a permissible bandwidth < 300 knz
in the testing of transformers (1371, a lower flat bandwidth extending
from 40 to 200 kHz has been found to provide improved sensitivity
Vol. 9 No. 5, October2002 779
7
J l J
Figure 34. PD pulse forms obtained with a 3 mm gap in a trans-
former mineral oil at atmospheric pressure suijected to 50 Hz ac of
7 kV rms. Upper trace integrated output of a 300 kHz bandwidth
PD detector (ordinate scale 20 mVldiv); lower trace negative pulses
within a pulse burst output of a 750 MHz k?ndwsidthoscilloscope (or-
dinate scale 10 mV/div); abscissa scale'l'sldiv for both upper and
lower traces (after Pompili et ol. 1152)).
.____
35
Discharge e p h (radians)
Figure 35. Discharge epoch or phase with respect to the applied
voltage wave in a 30 mm transformer mineral oil gap at a 2 kV above
the discharge inception voltage at atmospheric pressure. Trace (a):
discharge epoch and associated charge transfer variation over eleven
consecutive cycles; trace (b): discharge epoch distribution over a 1 s
time interval (after Pompili el nl. 11531).
(1421. Attenuation measurements carried out in the same study indi-
cated that the spectral components in the PD pulses closer to 1 MHz
are much more attenuated than those below 200 Hz.Tuned PD mea-
surements are not performed on transformers and reactors because of
errors introduced due to resonance phenomena arising between turns
and windings, which are principally prevalent above 200 kHz.
The filter connected across the detection impedance Z, must re-
move the power frequency component and its harmonics as well as
factory and communication generated interference. The IEEE Standard
specifies a filter with a signal attenuation of 60 dB at 15 lcHz and 20 dB
at 500 IcHr [137]. Considering that a PD level of 500 pC in oil filled
transformers is deemed to be permissible, analog filters may adequately
meet the noise rejections requirements in most instances. However, un-
der severe extraneous noise conditions, digital filters of the adaptive
 780 Bartnikas: Partial Discharges

rejection type may utilized. Adaptive rejection filters are essentially record each pulse burst as a single integrated charge pulse [152]. This is
mathematical filters: the detected pulses are transformed from the time demonstrated in Figure 34, which shows the response of a PD detector
domain to the frequency domain by means of the fast Fourier trans- to a PD pulse burst in transformer oil; the charge transfer associated
form; in the frequency domain the magnitude of the intense noise fre- with the overall pulse burst is 13 pC, so that the charge transfer associ-
quency components are subtracted and then the noise frequency free ated wi!h each discrete pulse within the pulse burst is substantially less
signal spectrum is transformed back to the time domain by taking its and can be estimated in terms of the relative amplitudes of the discrete
fast Fourier transform inverse. pulses. The PD pulse bursts in oil are initiated at or in close proximity
Calibration of the PD detection circuits is carried out, as in the case the ac voltage peaks, so that the discharge epochs or phase position of
of cable and capacitor specimens, using a small calibration capacitor via the pulse bursts will tend to center around the peaks (Figure 3S), i.e.
which a known charge is injected. The value of this capacitor should at 90" and 270" in lieu of those of the regular PD discharge patterns
be at least 50 pF but should not exceed 150 pF. The square pulse of that center around the voltage zeros [153]. Since the pulse bursts in liq-
the generator should be sufficiently wide to prevent overlapping of the uid dielectrics occur sporadically as opposed to the regularly recurring
simulated PD calibration pulses at the front and the trailing edges of the discharges in the classical cavities in inclusions within the oil/paper
square excitation pulse. The recommended rise time of the front and systems, their detection is more difficult. It has not yet been established
trailing edges of the square pulse should be equalized to correspond to to what extent their presence affects the electrical stability of insulat-
100 ns as recommended in the PD test standards [11,137]. The response ing liquids. In Figure 36 is delineated the experimental arrangement
of PD detectors is a function of the rise time of the PD pulses and, con- for the simultaneous recording of the integrated pulse burst pulse and
sequently, failure to maintain the rise and fall times of the excitation the discrete rapid pulse train within the pulse burst in dielectric liquid
or calibrating square pulse constant and equal will lead to calibration specimens.
errors both with conventional PD detectors and PD pulse-height " distri-
bution analyzers [S, 76,1431.
Also shown in Figures 30 and 31 are PC computer based systems,
which may be used for PD pulse-height and pulse phase distribution
analysis in lieu of the sophisticated multichannel analyzer systems.
While present PD measurement standards on transformers require only
the determination of the PD inception and extinction voltages as well
as the maximum PD charge transfer value and its change with time at
specified voltage levels, the PD pulse distribution measurement systems
may be used to analyze certain PD behavioral features that may bear
some relationship to the type of PD faults as well as their location. In the
interpretation of PD measurements on solid-liquid insulating systems, it
is well to emphasize two distinct discharge mechanisms that may occur
Figure 36. Schematic circuit diagram for the simultaneous measure-
in dielectric liquid filled power apparatus. PD within the physically sta-
ment of the PD pulse burst and the discrete pulses within each pulse
ble macroscopic cavities occluded within the oil-impregnated-cellulose burst (after Pompili et fll. [152,153].
paper fiber interstices or synthetic paper insulation will exhibit the clas-
sic discharge behavior in that the positive discharges will occur along
the descending portions and negative discharges along the ascending
portions of the applied sinusoidal voltage wave. The discharges will

-
thus tend to center on both sides of the voltage zeros or commence just
before the voltage zeros Le., 0"and 180". In addition to the former
behavior, discharges can also occur within transient cavities that are
momentarily created and disappear abruptly in the liquid impregnant
at electrical stress enhancement points such as metallic asperities and
protrusions [144].
These cavities, initiated at the electrical field enhancement sites
within the dielectric liquid, have a propensity expand due to vapor
pressure build-up from within [145-1471. As these cavities grow, the Figure 37. Schematic circuit diagram for off-line test using rf cur-
PD process is initiated, resulting in a series of PD pulses of generally rent transformer (CT) sensors for P D site location in transformers (after
increasing magnitude which reflects the increasing size of the cavity .Fuhretnl. [170]).
until its abrupt collapse due to dynamic instability [147-1511. While
the series of rapid discrete PD pulses, now commonly referred to as The foregoing examples demonstrate that PDpulse distribution pat-
a pulse burst can be readily recorded using a wide band oscilloscope terns may be employed to ascertain the extent and the nature of dis-
(750 MHz 1GHz) with a sampling capability of at least 1 G samples per charge activity in inductive power apparatus; they may also be uti-
second, a conventional 300 MHz bandwidth PD detector simply will lized to differentiate between the discharges emanating from within the
 ~

IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Vol. 9 No. 5,OctoberZOOZ 781

transformers and reactors from that of extraneous noise sources. The rapidly in the presence of PD. Epoxy insulated instrument and power
latter may consist of thyristor pulses, modulated periodic signals, poor transformers have been manufactured since the late 1950sand great ef-
electrical contacts or corona discharges from HV leads and be charac- forts have been expended to ensure that epoxy transformers are free of
terized.by distinctly different pulse distribution patterns. The pulse discharges and remain so during service. Thus, as in the case of solid
discharge patterns from these interferences are so different from the dielectric extruded cables, the PD inception voltage; PDIv, becomes the
normal PD pattems, occurring in transformers or reactors, that they may acceptance or rejection criterion for epoxy transformers. Ideally a PD
be recognized readily by experienced operators using conventional PD detection sensitivity level of 5 pC, as in the case of polymeric cables, is
detectors. In a recent study involving large power transformers and re- desirable, though a level between 10 and 20 pC is considered accept-
actors (1381, it was shown that with the aid of fractal analysis, changes able for epoxy transformers 1159,1611. In an investigation carried out
in the PD pulse distribution pattems could be used to detect gross d e on epoxy transformer coils, Borsi [161] has observed a very substantial
fects that were artificially introduced in the form of decrease of the PDIV value with temperature, which he has attributed
to changes in the permittivity with temperature and the development
1. an aluminum rod extending from the HV sphere of a trans-
of cracks in the solidified epoxy resin.
former,
2; a floating shielding electrode, and There are a considerable number of electrical test methods available
3. absence of a shielding electrode on the test object. for PD site location that may be used on power transformer specimens.
However, while the proposed methods have a good theoretical basis ,
In an antecedent study by Gulski (1541, carried out on electrical ap- and have been proven to be effective when verified on model trans-
paratus using the shape parameters of PD pulse distribution curves, it former specimens, one must nevertheless observe that there is a paucity
was shown to be possible to distinguish between defects and actual in data showing large scale usage of electrical PD site location meth-
PD discharges in electrical power apparatus. However, the recognition ods in practice on actual transformers in the field. In part this reflects
method used was general in the sense that it only determined whether the intricacy and complexity of the problem in actual transformers and
or not the detected discharge pulses emanated from within the test the associated interpretation difficulties. Perhaps the most widely used
specimen. The method proposed did not resolve the primordial PD cog- electrical method for PD site location on three phase transformers in
nitory problem, i.e. how many cavities there were involved, what their the past has been based on the comparison of the PD pulse magnitude
distribution and location was, or provide definite information on their measured at the terminals of the three respective windings [lll,162,
size. 1631. In the procedure, the first peak value of an oscillatory pulse at
Some utilities may require that a radio influence voltage (RIV) test each phase is recorded with a wide band oscilloscope; this peak value
be performed. This pointedly expressed preference can he attributed to of the PD pulse response is due to direct capacitive coupling while the
their extensive interpretive experience accumulated with the RIV test, subsequent oscillatory portion of the remaining PD signal is associated
since the date of its standardization in 1940 1155-1571. Historically, it with the inductance of the winding. The peak voltage amplitude of the
will be recalled that Quinn [9] concurrently published the first paper, PD pulse front is given by (1111
concerning'the use of the resonant circuit for PD detection in trans-
formers, which forms the basis for apparent charge measurements. The
apparent charge Qc (in pC) is a fundamental quantity that allows the where AV,. represents the actual peak voltage of the discharge pulse,
comparison of discharge intensities between different transformer spec- C,7his the shunt capacitance for each coil section of the transformer,
imens, which cannot be accomplished using the RIV value in V that C,, denotes the series capacitance between the successive sections and
constitutes a relative measure of voltage. In the RIV measurement the n, is the number of coil sections between the PD site location and the
RCL type detection impedance in the resonant circuit is substituted phase terminal or bushing. The series equivalent inductance along the
with a 600 0 resistor and a radio noise meter tuned to a frequency winding, which appears in parallel with the series capacitance C,,, has
within the range of 0.85 to 1.15 MHz, is employed in lieu of an oscil- a negligible influence because of its much higher reactance. In the fore
loscope. The radio noise meter employs suitable weighting circuits to going PD site location procedure, the terminal of the transformer, which
provide an outpnt reading in V quasi-peak values. A transformer spec- exhibits the highest detected PD pulse magnitude is assumed to be clos-
imen is considered to have failed the R I V test if the reading exceeds est to the discharge site or, in the case of a number of discharge sites,
100 V.The RIV reading in V is a complex function of the PD pulse mag- to be nearest to the PD site having the highest pulse magnitudes. On
nitude and repetition rate and, as a consequence, does not bear a simple the assumption that transformer windings behave as uniform transmis-
relationship to the measured PD pulse value in pC [158]. sion lines over a given frequency spectrum, Harrold and Sletten [164,
The relatively elevated values of 100 V or 500 pC for the permissi- 1651 have demonstrated that frequency spectra of PD pulses detected
ble PD levels in power transformers are specified for dielectric liquid or at transformer terminals may be utilized to estimate PD site location
oil impregnated insulating systems, which well tolerate moderate dis- in windings. The current at the impedances of the HV bushing and
charge levels. This is home out in practice by oil-impregnated-paper neutral terminal are measured in the frequency range extending from
insulated cables and oillpaper transformer insulations that have given 150 kHz to 1.2 MHz and their ratio is plotted us. the percent winding
decades of reliable uninterrupted service under operating conditions. length with frequency as the parameter. The PD site is determined by
This situation differs appreciably for solid polymeric insulations such the point of intersection of the plot of the foregoing line and the per-
as PE and epoxy (without fillers), which tend to degrade relatively cent winding length axis. If there are several discharge sites involved,
 782 Bartnikas: Partial Discharges

then the method will locate the discharge site having the highest inten- theoretically and experimentally. Fuhr ef nl. [173] approached close to
sity Another simple method, which has been developed by Ganger and the foregoing objective in that their developed technique is capable of
Vorwerk (1661 on Y-connected transformers and extended by Harrold effectively locating single PD sites in new transformers on which ac-
[167]to A-connected transformers, involves the manipulation of wind- quired data, obtained by the injection of simulated PD pulses at various
ing connections and the measurement of the PDI\J for each different points of the windings and measured at different terminals, is stored
connection arrangement. The foregoing procedure provides a simple for future comparative analysis either after commissioning or while in
means of expression the ratio of the distance to the fault to that of the service of the transformer unit.
overall coil length as a function of the ratio of the PD inception voltages. The form of the transmitted PD pulses M'as found to be influenced
The only unknown quantity is then the distance to the fault, which can upon filling the actual transformer specimen with oil [173]. As iantic-
be readily determined from the relationship. The procedure is simple ipated, the magnitude of the capacitively coupled portion of the PD
and has been used with considerable success in industry signal and the resonant frequency of its oscillating component were in-
Tangen [168] used a traveling pulse time-delay technique for the lo- creased upon the addition of the oil filled tank and the HV bushings,
cation of PD sources in hansformers; the method was intended for trans- as the shunt and series capacitances (Cshand C,, in Equation (5))in-
former windings characterized by a low series capacitance that results creased upon oil impregnation; the presence of the grounded tank wall
in low magnitude detected capacitively coupled PD signals compared also augmented the parallel capacitance of the windings.
to the peak signal that arrives later at the coil terminal. The differ- The calibration signal, to determine the response of the transformer's
ence in the arrival times of the PD pulses recorded at the two opposite winding had a rise time of 100 ns and rf current transformer-type PD
ends of the transformer winding is employed to deduce the location pulse sensors were located at the HV and Lv ends of bushings and the
of the PD site. This traveling pulse time-delay approach was verified neutral. The frequency response of the sensors, which was within the
by Theong [I691 and Haroldsen and Winberg [170], using artificial dis- range of 10 kHz to 100 MHz, was beyond the frequency content of the
charge sources. Evidently, the method is compromised when multiple 100 ns excitation pulse rise time. The choice of the upper frequency
discharge sites are involved. range of the sensors is puzzling in that it encompasses the frequency
James ef ni. [171,172] utilized a PD detector at each end the winding regime over which resonance peaks are known to occur. The schematic
in conjunction with a computerized data acquisition system to locate circuit diagram of the experimental test arrangement is portrayed in
discharge sites in transformers. Capacitively coupled frequency com- Figure 37. A time-encoded signal processing and recognition (TESPAR)
ponents of the measured time resolved PD signals were extracted by system is used in conjunction with a digital oscilloscope. The simu-
means of digital filtering and followed by further bandpass filtering lated PD signals are injected at the top, center and bottom and of each
to ensure that the measuring range fell within the frequency spectrum winding to which the pulse response of the insulating system is mea-
over which the transformer behaves as a capacitative ladder network. sured at the bushing and a reference pattern matrix is composed by the
Their measurement scheme was based on the so-called 'valid pulse pair' TESPAR system. Similar data banks can be composed on specific trans-
(pulse separation time criterion) cumulative count as a function of the former designs, whereby PD site location tests can then be carried out
peak voltage ratio of the pulse pairs. However, the PD sources were sim- on transformers of the same construction installed in servibe.
ulated in their reported work and no measurement data was reported The work of Fuhr et 01. [173]was further extended as reported more
on practical units in service. recently in [174,175], where the authors employed a portable discharge-
free power supply to perform off-line PD tests on in-service large power
transformers. This isolated the transformer specimens from the remain-
der of the HV system, thereby eliminating extraneous conductive inter-
ference transmitted via the connections and thus permitted PD tests at
higher sensitivity (c50 pC). The type of Pwfault inferred and its loca-
tion in terms of the. test data appeared to agree acceptably well with
what was eventually found during the repairs of the large power trans-
former. For these tests the authors [174,175] employed again rf current
Figure 38. A schematic circuit arrangement for tuned PD measure- transformer sensors, and again made use of bushing taps as coupling
ment on a transformer undergoing offline induced voltage test, using capacitors. To improve on the signal-to-noise ratio, they carried out
a portable power supply (after Hassig et ni. [175]). tuned the PD measurements within the range of 200 kHz to 5 MHz, us-
ing a spectrum analyzer. However, they do not allude as to how the
For the purpose of discharge site location in transformers, whether question of inter-tum and interwinding resonance disturbances were
in terms of the amplitudes or the separation times between the transmit- dealt with, other than observing that above 1MHz, large differences in
ted PD pulses, the RCL equivalent circuits for the transformer wind- sensitivity were manifest. For subsequent PD pulse-height/phase dis-
ing configurations must be known in order to ascertain the PD pulse tribution measurements a variation of the usual conventional approach
transmission characteristics. This requires access to transformer design described in [I761was used. The schematic circuit diagram is depicted
data as well as to actual full size transformer test specimens, so that the in Figure 38.
frequency regime of the capacitive ladder network can be established At this juncture, it is perhaps appropriate to make an important
and the pulse transmission behavior along the windings analyzed both aside, concerning tuned measurements. In 1976 Bartnikas and Morin
IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Vol.9 No. 5, October2002 783

11771 made use of spectrum analyzers in I'D measurements on power of Barkhansen (magnetostriction) noise [116]. Since the frequencies of
distribution cables; however, it is only recently that the use of spec- Barkhansen noise are usually centered at, or in the proximity of, 40 Mz,
trum analyzers has gained popularity in PD related measurements. The acoustical PD detection is ordinarily carried out at substantially more
principle of tuned PD measurements and spectrum analysis is as old as elevated ultrasouud frequencies. In order to evade Barkhansen noise
the radio noise meter itself [SI, since the latter as well as the spectrum generation, Train et ai. [lE4] utilized an ultrasonic transducer with an
analyzer are essentially tunable band pass filters; while the radio noise upper frequency of 200 kHz, whose output was applied to a 10 kHz high
meter uses weighting circuits and provides a quasi-peak reading out- pass filter in tandem with an oscilloscope, while Howells and Norton
put, the output from a spectrum analyzer gives the energy content of the -[I851 chose to utilize an ultrasound transducer, operating withm the
signal at various measuring frequencies. Hence, when utilized in the frequency regime of 100 to 150 kHz.
tunable filter mode, the spectrum analyzer will reject much useful in- It is to be emphasized that the intensity of the acoustical signal re-
formation on the characteristics of the PD pulse and may, therefore, also ceived by an acoustical detector mounted on the surface of a trans-
lead to some calibration difficulties inherent with the accurate record- former tank is principally determined by the magnitude of the PD pulse
ing of the PD pulse magnitude and its relation to the charge transfer. at the discharge site and the acoustical wave attenuation characteris-
A convenient method to determine whether a transformer has devel- tics of the windings and theremaining structure of the transformer.
oped or undergoes PD under operating conditions in the field consists In the field of acoustical PD detection, the unit of sensitivity is com-
in the use of Rogowski coils, which can be readily placed over HV bush- monly expressed in pC/mV; for transformers it is usually of the order
ings as described by Borsi [178]. If the presence of PD is established and of 70 pC/mV of the measured ultrasound signal. The level of sensitivity
it is deemed necessary to locate the PD sites, then one has the choice is augmented and the influence of extraneous acoustic noise mitigated
of using either the electrical or acoustical PD site location techniques. if the specimen transformer tank with the attached transducer are sub-
However, in practical terms, unless the electrical PD site location proce- merged in an oil bath; this decreases very substantially the reflections
dure is well proven with an extensive and unambiguous data bank, the of the acoustical waves at the interface between the enclosure tank and
acoustical techniques are in general more effective and more simple to the transducer, resulting in an improved transmission of the acousti-
use. cal signal. However, acoustical PD detection sensitivity is very greatly
It is to be noted that the acoustical PD site location techniques have reduced for the case when PD sites are located deep within the inner
already an accumulated history of usage spanning over a period of ap- sections of the transformer windings.
proximately five decades: they were developed in the 1950s and were
first applied to transformers by Anderson [179]. Compared to a gas me-
dium, much less acoustical attenuation occurs in a liquid medium; in
an oil-filled transformer, the amount of discharge energy converted to
acoustical energy is approximately greater by one order of magnitude
[116]. An acoustical triangulation method, devised by Anderson [176],
employed three acoustical sensors, which were installed by trial and
error at three different locations on the tank of the transformer. The
arrival of the first acoustical pulse at one of the sensors was utilized to
trigger an oscilloscope, whereby the pulse arrival times from the two
remaining acoustical transducers could be compared thereby permit- Figure 39. Typical PD behavior over a thermal-load cycle of model
ting an estimate to be made of the position of the PD site. Once again stator bars subjected to twice the phase-to-ground voltage (16 kV rms)
it must be emphasized that this procedure is only effective in the pres- at rated three phase curent and a conductor temperature of 122 C. (a)
ence of a single discharge or a number of discharge sites in which the variation of maximum PD charge transfer and (b) variation of average
intensity of one discharge site is predominant. Allan et 01. [180] devel- P D current us. time (after Morin et 01. [187]).
oped an alternative simpler test procedure, involvinr the use of only
~

two transducers, which are positioned in a line of points along a trans-

former tank. The position of the sensor, which receives the acoustical 7 ROTATING MACHINES
signal first is considered to be closest to the discharge fault. Frequently, The use of inorganic mica flakes in epoxy resin impregnated sta-
it is expedient to use both electrical and'acoustical PD detection simul- tor bar insulation, imparts substantial resistance to PD to the insulating
taneously, whereby the acoustical sensors response can be triggered by systems of large power turbo and hydro generators. While it is difficult
means of the electrically detected PD pulse [MI]; also computer aided to eliminate entirely discharges in the insulation systems of HV stators,
procedures may be helpful in conjunction with acoustical PD site locat- past experience shows that stators can operate for extended periods
ing measurement techniques [182]. of t i e in the presence of PD of relatively elevated intensity as com-
Under elevated ambient noise conditions, Bengtsson et 01. [183]used pared to other electrical apparatus. As a consequence, the approach to
signal processing procedures to ameliorate the signal to noise ratio. PD measurement on stators differs considerably from that of other HV
Ultrasound techniques intended for in service transformer tests must equipment in that the emphasis is more on ascertaining the discharge
be capable of functioning in the vicinity of overhead HV transmission intensity and PD site location in terms of the density and configura-
lines and within substations, which are characterized by high levels tion of PD pulse distribution patterns. This is in contradistinction to
 784
..-
Ntimber of load cycles
Figure 40. Maximum charge transfer AQm us. the number of ther-
mal load cycles of a three phase model stator at rated current (1620 A)
and twice the rated phase-to-ground voltage (16 kV rms) with a max-
imum conductor temperature of 122°C (after Morin el al. [187]).
Number of load cycles
Figure 41. Average value of P D current us. the number of thermal
load cycles of a three phase model stator at rated current (1620 A) and
twice the rated phase-to-ground voltage (16 kV rms) with a maximum
conductor temperature of 122T (after Marin el al. 11R71)
the mimosa-like susceptibility of polymeric cables to PD, where con-
ventional wisdom does not tolerate any presence of PD under operating
conditions. As has been alluded to previously, this applies also to a
somewhat lesser extent to solid type epoxy clad transformers 1159,178,
1861. PD in the stator of a rotating machine may occur within the insu-
lation system of the stator bars themselves, end windings the bar ends
at their exit points from the slot sections of the laminated stator core
'and at areas of the bars within the slots themselves where the semi-
conducting paint over the bar's insulation becomes eroded due to PD
beneath the semiconducting paint itself, or abraded mechanically due
to the vibration of loosened bars induced by the electromagnetic forces.
While the discharges within the insulation of the bars themselves
-
may attain magnitudes in the order of 10' to lo3 pC at the oper-
ating voltage, the external discharges at the coil ends, core exits points
I
and within the" eroded and mechanically abraded semiconducting
paint regions may reach charge transfer magnitudes to lo5 pC or even
higher in.extreme cases. It should he noted also that corona and surface
discharge at the end windings of the stator also attain similar levels of
discharge magnitude. Thus, generally the most severe degradation of
the stator bars results on the outer portions of the bars, where the dis-
charge intensities are substantially more elevated. Notwithstanding,
Bartnikas: Partial Discharges
duced degradation is most remarkable as can he deduced from t e PD a -
the intense discharge activity, the resilience of the bars to dischar e in
pulse intensity data given in Figures 39,40 and 41 obtained on 13.8 kV
rated mica paper epoxy impregnated stator bars aged under acceler-
ated multi-stress conditions in a model stator under three phase rated
current at twice the rated phase to ground voltage [187]. The bar speci-
mens were load cycled between zero and a full load current of 16211 A;
Figure 39 depicts the variation over a typical load cycle of the maximum
measured charge transfer in pC and the average value of the total PD
current in A. Note that the average PD current is equal to the area under
the PD pulse discharge rate us. charge transfer distribution curve deter-
mined over a 1 s time interval. Very intense discharge activity is seen to
develop with rising temperature; however, it decreases rapidly as the
temperature commences to fall when the load current is interrupted.
Figures 40 and 41 illustrate the variation of the maximum charge
transfer and average discharge current recorded o v ~ each r load cycle
as a function of the number of load cycles. Both quantities continue in-
creasing with the number of load cycles as the PD induced deterioration
rate of the insulation increases when subjected to twice its rated exter-
nal stress under severe thermo-mechanical load cycle conditions. The
depression in the rate of rise of the discharge intensity in the proximity
of 1200 load cycles is likely caused by the appearance of pseudoglow
and true glow (pulseless) discharges, which the PD detection system is
incapable of sensing 15,511. The fact that even after 1500 load cycles
none of the bars in the model stator failed, notwithstanding evidence of
extensive deterioration observed on the surface of the bars while sub-
jected to PD pulses having associated charge transfer levels as high as
lZOx103 pC, is indicative of the discharge resistance of the mica pa-
per component to PD despite the high susceptibility of the solidifying
epoxy impregnant to PD deterioration. The result also accounts for the
reasons as to why rotating machines are frequently observed to operate
for decades in the presence of PD.
Figure 42. Early PD detection system for on-line tests on a generator
(afterJohnson and Waren 11891).
There are a number of PD detection methods that can be used on ro-
tating machines. A compendium of some of these methods is given in
[188]. The early pioneering work on PD detection in rotating machines
was done by Johnson and Waren 11891, who detected the PD pulses
across the neutral resistor of a generator while in operation as shown
in Figure 42. For off-line measurements Johnson [I901 employed the
standard PD detection technique with a large discharge-free coupling
capacitor connected sequentially on each phase and a separate power
supply to energize the phases. He was also the first to comment on
the importance and practical significance of slot discharges 11911. Later
Emery et nl. 1192,1931 and Timperly 11941 used the same approach as
IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation
measurement scheme as portrayed in Figure 43. Here the 80 pF coupler,
with the respective bus bar length and coaxial limes are matched in their
equivalent electrical length at the input of a differential amplifier, such
kcompared to that of free space. The incident interference pulses arriv-
Diffefential
amplifier
to PHA and computorized
d a 6 acquisition system
Figure 43. Balanced permanent coupler connections for a water
wheel generator (after Bromley and McDermid 12031).
Firvoai
Figure 44. Directionally connected coupler arrangement in a ther
mal generator (after Campbell etnl. [204]).
Johnson and Waren [186], but in lieu of a detection resistance, they em-
ployed an rf current transformer sensor between the neutral of the gen-
erator and the grounding transformer, and substituted the oscilloscope
detector with a radio noise meter. The radio noise meter was tuned
to frequencies between 20 and 50 MHz to eliminate the interference
from extraneous noise sources. Kurtz 11951 modified the off-line test
procedure described by Johnson [190] by replacing the large couplmg
capacitance by an appreciably smaller one of 80 pF and using a resis-
N the two couplers. Figure 44 illustrates the directional coupler arrange-
tive detection impedance, which permitted on-line PD measurements
on each phase. However, in order to further ameliorate the signal-to-
noise ratio and obviate the detection problems with the long oscillatory
PD pulses, a series of changes, were introduced into the measurement
circuitry first by Kurtz cf 01. 1196,1971and subsequently by Stone et al.
[198-2@21,who utilized delay lines in conjunction with a balanced PD
VOI. 9 No. 5, October2002 785
terminated in 50 R, is installed differentially with one coupler per line
end of two parallel circuits per phase. The coupler pairs, C1and C2,
+ +
that the electrical length z (y/0.65) = T s/0.65, where 0.65
refers to the reduced velocity of propagation in the PE coaxial cables a s
ing from the machine with equal times of travel are thus canceled in
the differential amplification mode. A PD pulse-height analyzer and a
computerized acquisition system in tandem with the differential ampli-
fier provides PD pulse-height and discharge epoch (phase) distribution
plots, which when compared with a PD data bank, are used to assess
the PD intensity level as well as predict possible causes for the observed
discharges and monitor their degradative effects. PD pulse phase or
discharge epoch analysis capability is of particular importance in ro-
tating machines as concerns the interpretation of discharge patterns.
It permits to determine whether the recorded PD pulse activity is as-
sociated with the phase under measurement or if it is coupled from
the other two phases, as for example whether it originates from dis-
charges between coils of two different phases at the coil ends. If the
PD measurement is carried out in phase A, then the discharge patterns
emanating from phase A will be characterized by pulses, which cen-
ter around the voltage zeros i.e. at 0 and 180" of the ascending and
descending portions of the sinusoidal wave of the applied voltage. In
the three phase connection, phase B and phase C will be 120 and 240"
out of phase respectively with phase A and, consequently, the PD pulse
patterns in phases B and C will be displaced by the same amounts with
respect to the PDpulse pattern of phase A, thereby permitting to ascer-
tain whether or not discharges are taking place between the phases at
the coil ends of the machine. The PD detection system of Stone ef al.
[198-202] is a high frequency system, which operates at a bandwidth of
40 to 150 MHz, so that it is not practically feasible to calibrate.its output
in terms of pC; its readings are thus relative and are recorded in mV.
However, here it should be observed that relative PD readings in mV
can be used to compare the PD intensities in rotating machines of simi-
lar design. They can also be used effectively to monitor the PD intensity
in the same machine in order to observe whether there are any signifi-
cant changes in the PD activity due to insulation aging. However, there
is no fundamental basis from the measurement point of view to permit
to assess the level of PD activity in terms of relative units (mv), when
a comparison is attempted between two machines of entirely different
design and construction; for this purpose pC units must be employed.
The capacitive couplers also may be connected directionally with
one coupler per phase at the line terminal and another at least 2 m dis-
placed on the isolated phase bus. In this arrangement, noise rejection
is achieved in terms of the time of arrival of the pulse signals from
ment, which is used primarily on thermal generators and synchronous
condensers [204]. With directionally connected couplers a detection
bandwidth of 40 to 350 MHz is employed, requiring microprocessor
controlled pulse-height analyzer circuitry described elsewhere [13,206]
having signal resolution capability of 3 fis.
In the case of wide band detection systems, the lower frequency end
 786 Bartnikas: Partial Discharges

A local area network (LAN),either of the ethernet or token ring archi-

tecture, commonly is used in laboratories as a high capacity data trans-
mission medium to permit the monitoring of automated experiments
from office sites [95]. A WAN allows LAN interconnection in different

1
city locations, so that laboratory tests may be monitored from another
city location. Lloyd et nl. [201] have utilized the foregoing arrangement
of an ethemet LAN in conjunction with a WAN to monitor the PD activ-
ity in generators and machines in remote power stations to determine
how the PD behavior changes with temperature and load current. Fig-
ure 45 shows that a rapid change in temperature at a given load exerts
only a small influence on the PD behavior of a pump storage generator,
while a pronounced load dependence is exhibited in Figure 46, which
is obtained on another storage generator. The temperdture in these tests
800 900 was approximately the same under full and no load conditions; the load
0 IM) 200 300 4w 500 m 700
dependence is believed to have arisen from bar looseness in the slots.
PD pulse magnitude (mV)
A stator slot-type coupler has been developed by Sedding et 01.
Figure 45. I'D behavior of a 333 MVA pump storage generator at 34 [207) specifically for PD measwements on turbine generators in most
and 51T, and approximately the same load. Positive pulses x, nega- of wluch there is no circuit-ring bus for half of the winding parallels to
tive pulses 0 (after Lloyd et 01. [ZOl]). permit installation of couplers for effective elimination of noise. Noise
generation in turbogenerators arises from shaft~groundingand slip-ring
brushes, charging and discharging of the isolated phase bus (connecting
the generator to the step-up transformer), PD interference and extrane-
ous noise from the overall power system and other related noise in the
power station (e.8. precipitators, welders etc.) all of which have signal
intensities far in excess of the PD pulse levels that originate from the
turbogenerator itself. The stator slot coupler behaves essentially as an
antenna and is based on the directional coupler design principles de-
scribed by Oliver [208]. Its configuration is rather simple and consists
b of a ground plane and sense line with 50 Q coaxial cables at each end
that provide an output, which is proportional to the PD pulse excitation
in the proximity of the sense line. The direction of the PD source is
determined by the dual-port of the coupler and the associated instru-
mentation. The coupler is a high frequency device p150 MHr) so that
the detected PD pulses will be those having sufficient high frequency
PD pulse magnitude(mV) contact. Since the rise time of these pulses deteriorates rapidly as they
propagate along the windings, the coupler will respond to pulses orig-
Figure 46. No load hot and hul load hot PD pulse-height distribution inating in its vicinity and will thus be relatively immune to distant
characteristics for a 350 MVA pump storage generator. Positive pulses generated noise signals; the high intensity noise signals that succeed
x, negative pulses 0 (after Lloyd et 01. [201]).
in reaching the coupler can be readily discriminated in terms o( their
distorted pulse shape. Hence, the preferred installation site for the sta-
of the bandwidth is in some respects more important than the upper tor slot couplers are bars, which are subject to high electrical stresses,
end. Not all pulses at the receiving end have rapid rise times, since the namely those at the line end of each parallel winding. Accordingly, the
latter are degraded to varying degrees as they are transmitted along the couplers are placed in the stator slot beneath the wedges.
windings, which, as cable specimens, due to the use of semiconducting PD detection on rotating machines is also performed with capacitive
materials for conductor and ground shielding, behave as lossy trans- couplers connected directly to the.terminals of the machine. There are
mission lines. Also even at the discharge site itself, the rise time of the some variations in the techniques used in so far as the bandwidth, type
pulses and their amplitude vary with the overvoltage appearing across of couplers, signal processing methods, noise rejection and data acqui-
the cavity whose magnitude is determined by the statistical time lag, sition systems are concemed. Bandwidths used generally range from
i.e. the time required for a free electron to appear and initiate the dis- 300 kHz up to 20 MHz and the measurement systems are calibrated in
charge. This effect is readily observed with PD pulse pattems of simple pC. The preferred couplers are capacitive, but occasionally Rogowski
cavity cells: magnitudes of the individual pulses are seen to very as pre- coils are employed. The latter are large, non-ferrite coils of substan-
cession of discharge epochs takes place i.e., individual discharge pulse tial diameter, which limits their bandwidth to the ICHz range. They are
positions do not remain fixed with respect to the sinusoidal applied more popular as on line PD sensors on transformer bushings than on
voltage. machine terminals where they are more cumbersome to mount.

.
IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation
The purpose of discharge-free capacitive couplers is to act as power
frequency separation filters in conjunction with the series connected
. detection impedance ;.e., the coupling capacitors act as shorts to the
higher frequency PD currents and present a high impedance to the
50/60 Hz sinusoidal voltage at the terminals of the machine [5]. The
PD detection sensitivity increases with the value of the coupling capac-
itance; however, the high capacitance couplers are normally confined
to lower bandwidth PD detection systems. Thus, while a value of 80 pF
is used with detection systems having bandwidths in the range of 40 to
350 MHz, higher capacitance couplers 6 I000pF are preferred at lower
detection frequencies.
Figure 47. P D recording system for measurement at terminals ofra-
tating machine (after Fruth and Gross [209,2121).
A PD diagnostic system for on-line measurement, utilizing couplers
in the range from 100 to 1000 pF in series with an RCL type detection
impedance for operation either within the frequency band extending
from 2 to 20 MHz or 100 to 800 kHz is described by Fruth et nl. [209-
2161. Their arrangement differs from others utilizing FD pulse phase
resolved measurements only in so far as use is made of what in their
nomenclature are named 'narrow band or 'wide band' signal condi-
tioning units [216]. The narrow band signal conditioning unit reduces
the frequency content of the incoming PD signals, using conventional
heterodyne circuitry with a local oscillator analogous to that utilized in
a scanning rf probe technique for location of PD sites in cables by Morin
et ni. [I071 (Figure 22). This type of demodulation operation is readily
performed by a spectrum analyzer, which is frequently employed for
such purposes. The wide band conditioning unit omits the local oscilla-
tor, because the frequency multiplication function is performed by mul-
tiplying the PD signal by itself, i.e. multiplication of two PD pulses in
the time domain corresponds to a convolution in the frequency domain.
Unfortunately, Fruth and Gross [216] do not provide any performance
comparisons between the two types of conditioning units or any details
on the shapes of the PD pulses at their outputs. Some signal integration
effects are evident in their recorded pulse-phase plots in [209], which
show simultaneous occurrences of both positive and negative pulses
over the same quadrants. These could be caused by overlapping of long
oscillatory PD signals; however, the authors appear to be aware of this
problem because they refer to permissible sensitivity offset levels below
which the recorded signals should be discarded.
The conditioning units, wzhich in addition to frequency multiplier
circuitry also include band-pass filters both at their input and output,
are connected directly across the detection impedance Z,, placed in
series with the coupling capacitance C, as delineated in Figure 47. The
detection impedance 2,consists ofa RCL type circuit or for isolation
~
Vol. 9 No. 5, October 2002 787
purposes an rf current transformer having the necessary characteris-
tics. The output from the signal conditioning units is applied to a PD
pulse-phase resolved pattern recording and data acquisition system.
Limited FD pattern recognition is carried out with numerical treatment
of the data; however, complex PDdischarge patterns, as to be expected,
still require interpretation of an experienced observe. For remote con-
trol and access to data, a token ring type [95] LAN system is utilized.
The acquired phase resolved test data indicates that the system, when
operated in the bandwidth between 100 and 800 kHz, is subject to inter-
ference originating with thyristors and brush sparking; however, with
the 2 to 20 MHz bandwidth system, these extraneous disturbances are
readily eliminated.
It should be borne in mind that when PD measurements are carried
out using wide band and narrow band PD detectors on rotating ma-
chines, the measured PD signal response will not only depend upon the
bandwidth of the detector but also on the type of machine specimen
under test. PD signal propagation in machines is almost as complex
as in transformers, the latter specimens having the additional compli-
cation of pronounced resonance effects not only between phase coils
but also between the numerous tums within each coil. As in the case
of a transformer, the pulse transmission takes place over a complex
LC network, which in the case of a rotating machine is determined
by the nature of the winding (e.g. single turn Roebel bar or multi-turn
coil design), end arm configuration, ring bus layout and the length of
the stator core. The wide band PD detection system responds well to
the fast rise time of the PD pulse front, which is rapidly transmitted
along the capacitive ladder network of the machine windings (as is sim-
ilarly also the case in transformers). The detected pulse still undergoes
rise time degradation and attenuation, because the capacitive ladder
network does not consist only of ideal incremental capacitances: the
capacitors are shunted by incremental resistances that represent finite
dielectric losses of the overall insulating system. The slower portion of
the PD pulse waveform, which is of an oscillatory character, is transmit-
ted along the idealized LG transmission line network of the machine
coils. It is this signal, which is detected using lower frequency band
PD detectors; the exponentially decaying oscillatory PD pulse, if prop-
erty processed to reduce signal integration effects due to overlapping
of adjacent long oscillatory signals, can be used to achieve apparent
charge calibration, albeit of a very rudimentary form because of the in-
ductive component of the specimen. The wide bandwidth permanent
capacitive coupler FDA system described by Stone ef nl. [200-202] is not
readily amenable to standard apparent charge calibration procedures
and the measurements are, therefore, recorded in the relative units of
mV However, it has a decided advantage in that it operates at very
high frequencies: the permanent couplers detect only PD signals origi-
nating principally in close proximity on the HV end bars, whereas the
noise signals, which enter the winding system at sites further away,
are proportionately more attenuated and, therefore, substantially less
detectable.
A remark of caution should be made here in regard to the use of
the narrow bandwidth conditioning units using the heterodyne prin-
ciple frequency conversion procedure or tunable frequency spectrum
analyzers, whereby a PD signal of center frequency fo and bandwidth
6f is transformed into a low pass signal of an upper frequency f [212].
 788 Bartnikas: Partial Discharges

coupling capacitance. An oscilloscope constituted the display device;

evidently, such an arrangement was highly susceptible both to internal
and external noise.
Another system functioning between 10 ldlz and 10 MHz in which
noise rejection is achieved in terms of the arrival time of PD and noise
originated pulses, that has been extensively applied to turbogenerators,
is described by Wichmann et nl. [218,219]. Surge caparitors replace the
usual coupling capacitors and the PD signals are detected across high
frequency resistive impedances Zd; PD detection is also carried across
the resistor at the neutral end as indicated schematically in Figure 48,
whereby the PD intensity in the overall generator may be measured in
addition to that on each phase at the three external terminals of the
I generator. Also, a I'D pulse sensor is located at the shaft grounding
Figure 48. On-line 10 kHz to 10 MHz PD pulse measurement system brush. A frequency spectrum analyzer, is employed to determine the
for diagnostic analysis on turbine generators (after Griinewald and frequencies of extraneous noise and internally generated interference.
Weidner [219]). PD pulse measurements may be carried out by adapting P D sensors
to sensing devices already installed in rotating machines for other types
Since the frequency content of a PD pulse diminishes as it propagates of measurements. An interesting variation of PD detection in rotating
along the windings of the machine from its site of origin, its center fre- machines involves the use of rf current sensors on leads of resistive
quency is altered so that the PD pulse-height distribution patterns ofthe temperature detectors (RTD),with sensors for noise gating situated at
demodulated signals detected at their altered center frequency are also various noise sites [220]. The sensors operate over the frequency range
changed. In the presence of numerous distributed discharge sites, the extending from 5 to 60 MHz and a narrow band data acquisition system
entire frequency spectrum must be considered with frequency peaks at is employed for phase resolved PD pulse height analysis.
the various values of of giving rise to a different pulse-height distri-
Off-line tests on rotating machines are normally carried out dur-
butions requiring separate calibrations. For this reason wideband PD
ing general maintenance periods over which it is possible to examine
signal conditioning units are preferable [209,212].
machine windings for possible discharge induced degradation and de-
In transformers, resonance effects between coils and turns within termine whether replacement of any aged bars is warranted. The HV
the coils appear to have been remedied effectively. It has been found stators of the machines are tested with the rotors removed; usually
by Vaillancourt ef al. [142j that resonance phenomena in transformers portable 50/60 Hz power supplies are employed for this purpose, al-
predominate at frequencies above 250 H z .IEEE standard C57.113-1991 though tests may also be performed at 0.1 Hz 1221,2221. Off-line tests
was altered accordingly to require PD measurements on transformers
permit isolation of the specimen machine from extraneous noise as well
-
and reactors to be performed with PD detectors having bandwidths as internally generated interference during operation (e.g, excitor inter-
200 kHz but not less than 100 kHz, with all measurements reported ference). Off-line PD tests are commonly carried out with conventional
in apparent charge units. In comparison to transformers there does 300 ldlz narrow band detectors, calibrated in apparent charge units in
not appear that much attention has been given to resonance effects in accordance with ASTM Method D1868 1111 and IEC Specification 60270
machines, though considerable work has been reported at lower fre- [223], using the IEEE Standard 1434-2000 [188] recommended calibra-
quencies with measurement data expressed in apparent charge units. tion pulse rise time of 6 60 ns.
However, in such circumstances great care must be exercised to re-
move the oscillatory portion of the detected PD signal through suitable
signal processing or conditioning techniques in order obviate pulse su-
perposition and integration errors and improve on the pulse resolution
characteristics which are typically poor at low bandwidths.
Low bandwidth detection of PD on machines is common with on
line tests and prevalent with off-line tests. On-line low bandwidth tests
< 800 !dlz with pulse height and phase resolved capability have been
reported by Fruth.and Gross [2091. Wilson 12171 investigated slot dis-
charge induced degradation in stator windings, utilizing a PD detector
bandwidth of 300 ldlz.His I'D coupling technique used was interest-
ing in that it consisted of a discharge-free cable with a short under the
grounded sheath portion at the end of the cable, which was connected
directly to the HV terminal at the generator. A clamp-on rf current Figure 49. Schematic circuit diagram of off-line PD measurement
transformer of the ungrounded sheath portion served as a detection system with one of the phases of a machine undergoing test.
impedance, with the remainder on the grounded cable constituting the
 .
IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation
A schematic circuit diagram for off-line PD tests is delineated in
Figure 49. Each phase under test is shorted and measured individu-
ally with the two other shorted phases connected to ground; hence, the
insulating systems of the phase under test are voltage stressed with re-
spect to the grounded stator core and to the other two grounded phases.
However, unlike in the case of on-line tests where the machine coils are
subjected to a gradation of voltages from the maximum voltage at the
phase terminal to zero across the coil at the neutral, all the bars of the
coils of the phase under test in the off-line test are subjected to the same
value of the applied voltage. Though some bars are highly overstressed,
they experience only a single stress (eleckical), while in the on-line test
thermal and electromagnetically induced mechanical stresses are super-
imposed on the operating electrical stress. Consequently, the absence
of thermal expansion and contraction forces as well as electromagnetic
vibration forces in the off-line test does not result in a realistic dynamic
condition within the slots of the stator: the bars in the slots are now star
tionary and do not undergo any longitudinal movement or vertical and
lateral vibration within the slots. Thus, the only possible slot air gaps,
that may exist where PD may arise with off-line tests, are those which
remained in the slots after the load was removed and the machine was
allowed to cool.
Returning to Figure 49, the shown frequency spectrum analyzer is
principally used to determine whether any resonance peaks are man-
ifest in coils of the same phase or between phases. If the frequencies
of the resonance peaks fall within the bandwidth of the PD measuring
circuitry, then in order to avert calibration difficulties and spurious re-
sults in the test data, suitable stop-band filters must be employed or the
detection bandwidth must be altered to exclude the resonance regimes.
Off-line tests permit some measurements, which cannot be performed
under on-line conditions, such as the determination of the PDIV and
PDEV values. Also other important measurements, as for example, plots
of the maximum detectable apparent charge transfer AQ,, and the
average PD current, I,,, equal to the area under the discharge rate os.
charge transfer curve, as a function of voltage may be helpful in ascer-
taining the degree of aging [187], particularly if such data i s available
from the time when the machine was first commissioned. In addition, a
measurement of the quadratic rate, defined as the sum of the squares of
the individual charge transfers of the discrete pulses over a given time
interval divided by that time interval, may be required. Some utilities
have used this measure as a quality control index and have much accu-
mulated equipment life data classified in terms of this index [224-226].
The off-line measurements also include I'D pulse-height and pulse
discharge epoch (phase) distributions. The later will differ from those
carried out during on-lime tests because the vibration effects as well
as the contraction and expansion (present during load cycles) are ab-
sent during the off-line tests. This will particularly affect the recorded
distributions during the on-line tests as concerns phase to phase dis-
charges at the ends, which are 120' apart with respect to each phase.
The off-line tests and physical examination of the bars will also senre as
a means of either substantiating or disproving of what may have been
inferred, conceming the PD induced aging rate or the nature of the PD
laults, by various experimental expert systems in terms of the on-line
test data.
Cavities occluded with the insulating systems of the stator bars will
Vol. 9 No. 5, October 2002 789
be characterized by discharge patterns which tend to center around the
voltage zeros i.e., at 0, 180, 360" in phase relationship to the applied
voltage wave. This is supported by theoretical considerations, because
the cavities breakdown at integer values of the breakdown voltage at
-
'discharge epochs along the ascending and descending portions of the
sinusoidal wave [5,34]. As we have seen from our previous discussions
precession of discharge epochs will occur due to the statistical time lag
i.e., a given PD pulse will not occur always at the same discharge epoch;
this mechanism causes a displacement of discharge epochs of all the
subsequent discharges, which in addition are also governed by their
own statistical time lags (the times required for a free electron to ap-
pear in order to initiate the discharge). The presence of a statistical time
lag also implies that a given cavity will not necessarily always break-
down or "fie" as soon as the voltage reaches its breakdown value, but
will breakdown at a voltage equal or higher than its actual breakdown
voltage. It was demonstrably shown that the rise time of the PD pulse
decreases and the magnitude of the charge transfer increases with the
amount of overvoltage across the gap 1801. As a consequence, the PD
pulse patterns are characterized by an inherent instability: constant
movement or precession discharge pulses of varying amplitude on the
phase angle scale with respect to the applied sinusoidal voltage waJe.
Tt is thus palpably evident that irrespective of the sampling rate of the
digital circuitry of the oscilloscope, no two PD pulse patterns even if
taken in rapid succession can ever be exactly identical because their
difference is intrinsic to the statistically induced anomalous behavior
of discharge process per se.
If one of the dielectric surfaces in the cavity is replaced by a metallic
surface such as that of the conductor in the interior of the bar or the
stator ion core adjacent to a ground wall with its semiconducting layer
abraded, the discharge pattern will tend be asymmetrical because the
number pulses in the two polarities as well as their magnitude will dif-
fer. Nevertheless, the patterns will still center at or in the vicinity of
the voltage zeros. The magnitude of the discharges in the slo!s at the
ground wall will be substantially greater than those within the insu-
lation of the bar itself, because they necessirily involve larger cavities
both in terms of thickness as well as lateral width adjacent to the sta-
tor iron core, where the semiconducting layer enveloping the bars has
been abraded initially through either mechanical vibration due to elec-
tromagnetically induced forces or discharge induced erosion beneath
the semiconducting layer.
Two other common sonrces of PD are associated with the end wind-
ings of the machine and in the vicinity of the exits points of the bar from
the slots. These discharges, which are either of the surface tracking type
or surface corona between adjacent phase bars, may have magnitudes
that may exceed even those of slot discharges. During off-line tests with
the rotor removed, the end windings become readily accessible so that
parabolic sensors may be used to locate end winding discharges, which
are usually audible at operating voltages. However, a more effective
technique involves the use of the so-called corona scope, which is es-
sentially an ultraviolet (UV)radiation detector. It is relatively simple to
operate, because the emitted uv radiation is converted to visible light
so that the surface discharge at the end windings can be readily pin
pointed from a safe distance away from the energized stator winding.
Location of intense slot discharge sites is commonly accomplished
 790
Figure 50. Schematicdiagram of inductive probe for PD site location
in generator stators (after Dakinel ni. 12271).
-
- Figure 52. Idealized parallelogram trace of the bridge circuit (after
Figure 51. Circuit for the bridge parallelogram method for the com-
bined measurement of pulse and pulseless PD (after ASTM D3382 1691).
by means of rf inductive probe sensors based on a design developed
by Dakin et d.[lll,2271 and extensively used by others [228-230]. The
inductively coupled probe is portrayed schematically in Figure 50 and
consists of a semicircular ferrite core around which is wound a small
winding; the ferrite core coil is connected via a coaxial cable to a quasi-
peak reading rf meter or an oscilloscope. The ferrite core coil in conjunc.
tion n'ith the capacitance of the coaxial cable constitutes a hmed circuit,
normally adjusted for a frequency of 5 MHz, thoughother frequencies
have been used to optimize performance for particular machine appli-
cations. The ferrite core coil, which is mounted on an insulating rod,
must be moved along the entire length of each slot within an energized
stator, which poses a serious safety hazard for operating personnel. A
careful PD site locating procedure requires compilation of a detailed PD
intensity map of the entire stator winding. The interpretation of the
data is not a trivial matter, since signal coupling between adjacent bars
is involved and the inductive probe does not distinguish between in-
ternal PD and those in the slot, though slot discharges tend to he of an
appreciably greater intensity. The PD patterns involving slot discharges
tend to be dominated by large positive polarity pulse discharges, which
occur over the descending portion of the applied sinusoidal voltage
wave as opposed to internal discharges, which, if they take place adja-
'cent to the stranded conductor surface. are of a much lower intensitv
and are of negative polarity and appear over the descending portion
Bartnikas: Partial Discharges
the sinusoidal wave. However, in comparison to the rotor amounted
antenna system for on-line location of PD discharges in individual stalor
bars [231], the interpretation difficulties associated with the inductive
rf probe for off-line tests are relatively minimal.
ASTM 03382 1691).
If it is desired to ascertain the discharge intensity in toto, i.e. take into
account the occurrence of all three forms of PD,namely pseudoglows,
true pulseless glow and pulse type, then bridge measurement tech-
niques must be employed in lieu of the PD pulse measurement tech-
niques. A bridge particularly suited for this task is that described by
Dakin and Malinaric [228], which has since that time been modified
by Povey [IO] and subsequently incorporated as a standard method in
ASTM D3382 [69]. As can be seen from the circuit diagram of this bridge
in Figure 51, which utilizes the so-called parallelogram method, the
ordinate deflection axis of the oscilloscope is coupled to the detector
terminals of the bridge while the input to the abscissa axis receives a
fraction of the applied voltage from a capacitive voltage divider. Here
C , denotes the capacitance of the machine coil specimen and C, rep-
resents the discharge-free standard capacitor. The bridge balance is ob-
tained by manipulation of the bridge arm resistance R1 and capacitance
C,; the bridge is initially balanced just prior to PD inception by vaging
R, and C3 to compensates for the sinusoidal voltage drop across the
parallel combination of R4 and C,, which yields a straight horizontal
trace on the oscilloscope, whose length is proportional to the applied
voltage. When the voltage is raised further to the discharge inception
point, the abrupt vertical deflection output applied to the oscilloscope
produces a parallelogram trace depicted in Figure 52.
In the parallelogram trace V, designates the peak-to-peak value of
the PDIV and V, represents the peak-to-peak applied voltage. Since
the height of the parallelogram is given by Oh, the total integrated PD
fi charge transfer (pulse and pulseless) Q2 is d i k e d hy
 ~

IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Vol. 9 No. 5,October2002 791

the case of other PD detectors depends upon the rise time of the calibra-
tion pulse as well as on the bandwidth of the PD detection circuit itself.
From the practical point of view, it is expedient to obtain calibration
with excitation pulse rise and fall times that are withm the range of the
minimum and maximum rise times of the actual PDpulses observed.
I
When PD measurements are performed on individual rotating ma-
chine coils or bars, a narrow band (300 M r ) PD detection circuit is
normally employed. At relatively low frequencies, the single bars or
coils, which are short in length, essentially behave as lumped capaci-
tance specimens, thereby permitting apparent charge calibration to be
carried out with relative case. Both new and used bars are evaluated in
terms of their PDIV and PDEV values as well as plots of the maximum
Figure 53. Comparison at room temperature of the intemal PD dis- apparent charge transfer us. applied voltage. The latter approach is
charge intensity of a virgin specimen bar with that of a specimen particularly useful in ascertaining aging of H\'stator bars. Figure 53
bar removed from its slot of a model stator that has been aged for compares the PD behavior in apparent charge units of a new bar with
1500 load cycles at twice rated voltage (16 kV rms) and rated cur- that of an aged bar subjected to 1500 load cycles under accelerated mul-
rent (1620 A) at a conductor temperature of 122°C (after Barhikas and tistress conditions in a three phase model generator at twice the rated
hlnrin [233]). lie-to-ground voltage. The PD tests were performed with the two ends
of the bars submerged in an oil bath to ensure that the recorded dis-
Q = DjS, (7) charge intensity was confined to the straight slot section of the bars Le.,
where S, denotes the vertical deflection sensitivity Since the area of discharges occurring between the conductor and ground-wall enclos-
the parallelogram is given by ing the insulation. The peak charge transfer measured in pC is seen to
A = D&,Dh (8) be substantially higher and PDIV lower in the aged bar, inferring ap-
the energy dissipated by the PD is equal to AS& where S,is the preciable discharge induced degradation during the accelerated aging
horizontal (abscissa scale) sensitivity Hence, the combined pulse and test.
pulseless power loss P a t the radial frequency w assumes the form When stator bars are evaluated in terms of the dissipation factor
(t,an6) tip-up, measured as a function of applied voltage, it is desirable
to determine whether the increase of tan 6 with voltage is the result of
The shorting effect of the cavities by the PD within is manifested voltage dependent dielectric losses or a consequence of PD. Usually, the
externally as an apparent increase in the overall capacitance of the spec- tar1 &valuemay increase with voltage, but occasionally it may exhibit
imen. Its increase is relatively very small relative to the capacitance of a decrease. A relation between the measured tan6 value and the PD
the specimen coil or the overall phase and is given by pulse type discharge losses has been derived and is given below [15,
2341
_., r 1
where D& = VJS,. Equation (9) leads to the expression, which
yields an indication of the void or cavity volume in the specimen rela-
tive to the soecimen volume 11111 where tan 6 represents the dielectric losses in the solid insulating sys-
tem of the bar specimen, C is the capacitance before and C' the ca-
pacitance after pulse discharge onset, V is the rms value of the applied
where E' is the real value of the permittivity of thi composite bar insu- voltage, n3 is the dischargerate (pulsesper second) of thejth discharge
lation and COis the geometrical capacitance in vacuo, of the bars. The of peak voltage V&and V,( t )is the instantaneous value of the applied
vertical (ordinate) axis sensitivity of the parallelogram bridge S,,is de- voltage at which the j t h PD pulse occurs. The second term is the PD
termined, using the standard calibration procedure described in ASTM pulse contribution and it will increase as long as increasing numbers of
D1868 [HI. A square pulse generator is employed to inject a known cavities begin and continue to discharge with increasing voltage. Once
charge via a calibrating capacitance C, and the vertical sensitivity is all of the cavities are fully ionized and continue to discharge, t a n 6 will
obtained in terms of the relation commence decreasing with applied voltage as the rate of increase of the
s,= C,AV
~

(12)
D:j
where DI represents the vertical deflection resulting from the injected
charge of C,AV, with A V the voltage pulse magnitude of the square
pulse of sufficient width to prevent overlapping of the signal responses
at the front and trailing edges of the square pulse. Also the rise and fall
times of the excitation square pulse must be identical in order to equal-
ize the bridge circuit's positive and negative pulse response, which as in
term w V 2 in the denominator of the second term becomes larger and
exceeds the rate of increase in the PD power loss in the numerator. Thus,
when all cavities become ionized and undergo discharge, the tan 6 us.
voltage characteristic will assume a negative slope. Note that in the
calculation of the pulsed PD loss contribution, the relative polarities
ofV, and V,( t )must be taken into account in Equation (13). Should
the dielectric losses predominate and the PD pulse discharge loss be
negligible, then a negative slope of the curve will infer the occurence
 792
of a space charge mechanism within the bar specimen that may arise
due to ionic contamination in an uncured resin.
8 PD PATTERN RECOGNITION
PD pattern recognition, as the name implies, is the ability to rec-
ognize and distinguish between different types of PD sources within
the electrical insulating systems of power apparatus and cables and
to differentiate them from extraneous interference phenomena. Over
many decades in the past, this function and role was effectively ful-
filled by expert observers, who possessed this cognitive ability, which
they had acquired through personal field experience, which permitted
them to discriminate between various discharge phenomena in terms
of their pulse density, amplitude and phase distribution patterns [235,
2361. However, with the advent of intelligent machine technology, ef-
forts were undertaken in the early 1990s to automate the cognitive PD
test procedures. This effort has grown to such an extent, that now
the area of PD pattern recognition constitutes an important and highly
specialized subset in PD related studies and deserves, therefore, to be
addressed separately
The task of PD pattern recognition may be approached in two sep-
arate ways. Computerized techniques may be applied in conjunction
with certain statistical parameters that take into consideration the sto-
chastic nature [34,35,38,39, SO] of the PD process; altematively, tech-
niques, which require no statistical preconditioning of the test data,
such as NN, may be employed. The advantage of the latter is that they
do not require decisions to be made as to which statistical parameters
should be used and the degree of bias that should be assigned to the
selected parameters. This Section will be devoted to a brief description
of the various cognitive procedures that may be utilized to accomplish
the task of PD pattem recognition. PD pattern recognition analyzes may
be carried out either in terms of PD pulse shape or the I'D pulse-height
and pulse-phase (discharge epoch) distributions. The two approaches
are inextricably interrelated by the nature of PD pulse discharge mecha-
nism and the reason for selecting the pulse shape approach often centers
on the low cost and the simplicity of the test instrumentation involved.
The breakdown voltage of the cavity essentially determines the magni-
tude of the discharge pulse as well as its discharge epoch or phase of
occurrence with respect to the applied sinusoidal voltage wave.
When the statistical timelag is long, i.e. the timeof appearanceof the
initiating electron is prolonged, the breakdown takes place at a voltage
above the nominal breakdown voltage and results in a shorter rise time
pulse of large magnitude. Tnis not only alters the shape of the pulse
but also causes it to appear latter in the applied voltage cycle, thereby
changing the entire discharge sequence as well as the precession rate or
movement of the pulses along the phase angle scale and, hence, the rel-
ative phase positions or discharge epochs [34]. Thus changes in pulse
shape are accompanied by changes in the pulse-height and pulse-phase
distributions. However, the pulse shape contains an additional item of
information, which pertains or is related to the location of PD sites in
the insulating system: as the pulse travels from the PD site to the PD
detector, its form becomes increasingly more mutated or distorted (de-
pending upon the transmission medium) due to the attenuation of its
higher frequency components. The NN offers many options that render
it useful in various tasks of PD pattern recognition because of the unique
Bartnikas: Partial Discharges
structure [237], which consists essentially of an organized topology of
interconnected processing elements and is designed for encoding and
recalling information. Among these options rests their inherent ability
to distinguish distinctive features of PD pulse pattems, as for example
involving those of discrimination between different cavity sizes. An
NN has arelatively short learning time, and once the learning period
is completed, it is able to apply the taught knowledge to make rea-
sonably limited generalizations, even on unknown input PD patterns.
Thus, they prevail over other classifiers in that they are flexible and
can adapt themselves to different statistical distributions. Furthermore,
their response is insensitive to minor variations in the input, i.e. they
can render correct decisions when the input deviates from that which
they have been taught to recognize. as for instance stochastic variations
in the discharge process within the discrete cavities themselves.
NN can be divided into three generic categories, namely those with
required supervised training, unsupervised training, and fixed weight-
ing procedures [238]. The latter category's application paradigm is pri-
marily intended for association and optimization work, while the first
two categories are suited for classification and are thus applicable di-
rectly to PD related investigations. There are three NN within these
first two categories that are particularly suited for PD pattern recogni-
tion. These NN employ respectively the multi-player perception (MLP),
nearest neighbor classifier (NNC) and linear vector quantization (LvQ)
paradigms 12391. Both the NNC and LVQ networks are of the unsuper-
vised training type [240], while the MLP network requires supervised
training [241]. All three networks were evaluated by Mazroua et al.
[242] in terms of their PD pulse form recognition capabilities, using
artificial cavities of 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 mm depths, and were found to per-
form acceptably well in assigning the correct classification for the three
cavities of different size. However, where discrimination was required
between smaller cavity sizes, it was found that the learning vector quan-
tization paradigm was distinctly superior. In these cognitive test;, the
features or attributes of the PD pulse shape or form used were those
of area, decay time, rise time, width and magnitude of the pulse. Gul-
ski and Krivda [32,243] also applied NN for PD pattern classification,
using PD pulse-height/phase distribution data, but their experimental
results were statistically preconditioned. While the cognitive capabili-
ties of the evaluated NNC, LVQ and MLP paradigms are approximately
equal, there exists a certain predisposition to favor the use of the MLP
paradigm in work related to PD. The MLP paradigm differs from that
of the NNC and LVQ techniques in that the structure of the N N can be
designed to suit the intricacies of the PD pattern recognition task to be
performed e.g. to differentiatebetween P D phenomena in electrical trees
from that of cavities 12441. The general MLP NN structure is depicted in
Figure 54 and consists of an input layer, one or more hidden layers and
an output layer of neurons or processing elements. Each neuon has
many input signals but only one output signal that is applied to every
neuron in the next layer. Each connected pair of neurons is associated
with an adjustable value that is referred to as the weight. ' h e number
of layers and neurons therein is altered by trial and error to optimize
the performance of the MLP NN in its recognition task required for the
classification of PD patterns. The MLP network is trained, utilizing the
back propagation technique [245],i.e. it is provided with both the input
patterns and the desired response. The NN proceeds through a series
 ,

ZEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Znsulation vol. 9 No. 5,OctoberZOOZ 793

of iterations; in each iteration a comparison is made of its own output where SI and S, denote the outputs of the first and last hidden node
with that of the desired response and a computation is carried out to or neuron respectively, and are described in terms of the input pulse
determine whether there is a match. If a match is indicated, then no shapes and weights w . Each of these weights is associated with an input
changes are made in the NN structure; however, if there is no match, threshold 0. The output z in Equation (14) must equal unity for one
then the weights are modified by means of the so-called gradient search cavity size (e.g. 1.0mm) and zero for the other cavity size ( e g 1.5 mm).
technique to minimize the mean square difference between the desired The error, ei for the ith input pulse shape may be expressed as ,
response and the actual output. The error function, which must be min- e, = (di - t i )2 (15)
-
imized during the learning step, exhibits a series of local minima in where zi is the actual output and di represents the desired output re-
addition to a global minimum. The global minimum is achieved by sponse. For-all the PD pulse shapes, the mean squared error (MSE) is
the gradient search technique, which estimates the weights that corre- thus
spond to those at which the error surface is lowest. The leaming rate, I n
which controls the width of the steps on the error surface, must not E = - x ( d i - y)' (16)
i=l
be too rapid in order to avert oscillations in the approach to the global
minimum. where n is equal to the number of PD pulse shape attributes. To
minimize the value of E, the back propagation algorithm is employed
1. to assign random values in the range [tl,-11 to all the weights
and thresholds and to provide the NN with the input and d e
sired output pairs;
2. to apply the Sigmoid threshold function and calculate the out-
puts zi and to initiate the learning process;
3. to adapt the weights by the usage of a recursive algorithm that
1npvt Isye, Hiddrr llvcr 0"lP"l Inyer
starts from the output mode back to the first recursive layer.
Figure 54. Architecture of MLP NN. Circles represent neurons, w,, The back propagation training a l g o r i t h of an MLP NN is an itera-
wh and wo are the input, hidden and output layer weights respec- tive grading technique that accomplishes the input to output mapping
tively.
task by minimizing the so-called cost function. The latter represents the
MSE between the actual output of the MLP and the desired response.
Figure 55 portrays MSE as a function of the number of iterations that
are necessary for distinguishing the PD pulse forms associated with
electrical trees from those of cavities 12441. The MLP network utilized
contained a single output, with a cavity PD discharge being indicated
by a unity output and zero output for a PD pulse associated with a tree.
The number of neurons in the hidden layer of this particular network
was equal to 30. Figure 55 demonstrates the success rate of the NN in
its discrimination between the cavity and electrical tree PD sources: af-
0.04 ter 140 iterations, the MSE between the desired and actual outputs is
perceived to be negligible small. A virtual classification of 100% is ob-
0.02
tained for both the training and testing procedures without any need
0' 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 for statistical preconditioning.
Number of iterations In the design of MLP NN, the number of inputs and the overall
topology of the network is determined by trial and error in terms of
Figure 55. Cavity us. electrical tree discrimination leaming c w e of the resulting PD pattern classificationperformance: It is frequently ob-
an MLP N N (after Mazroua ef ai. [2441). served that an increase in the number of inputs (attributes) does not
necessarily result always in an improved cognitive ability of the NN.
In reference to Figure 54, the feature or attribute inputs (wt,wh, and Recently, Salama and Bartnikas [246] developed a systematic NN design
wo) to the MLP NN, in the case of PD pulse shape related PD pattern procedure for determining the appropriate number of inputs and sec-
recognition analysis, are those of apparent charge transfer, rise time, fall ond order neurons or nodes based on an autoregressive (AR) time-series
or decay time, area under the PD current pulse (total charge transfer), concept.
the product of the pulse width and apparent charge and the energy. Since the AR time-series mode1,functions in specific time-steps, it
The function of the neurons is to receive all incoming attribute param- was deemed to be particularly promising for usage on highly time d e
eters, multiply them by the weights of the connections over which they pendent PD patterns, for which synchronization of the measurement
enter and add the intermediate answers. Multiply the result by the Sig- data (e.$ PD pulse amplitude, rise time and other pulse from attributes)
moid threshold function f , defined by the plot of error us. weight (that is essential. The AR time-series concept necessitated deployment ofpar-
contains the global minimum), yields an overall output t given by ticular PD features that exhibit a definite trend as a function of a vari-
+
z = f ( & q+ . . . S,w, - 0 ) (14) able, such as applied voltage, which influences the overall PD process.
794 Bartnikas: Partial Discharges

Typically, the hysteresis characteristic of the maximum apparent charge where L , is expressed in terms of the covariance3atatrix P,
transfer AQm us. the applied voltage can provide the required experi- L , = P x i x [1+ $FPnil,] 121)
mental data for this purpose. From the practical point view, utilization which is by definition,
of the AQm us. applied voltage curve has the decided advantage of P, = 11 - L&Rj P,-l (22)
relevance in that it can be derived from meawements carried out by me order of the model is obtained by, calculating the error variance
meam of a conventional PD detector in accordance with ASTM D1868 of the estimated output signal x for each model and the model with
[ll] or IEC 60270 12231 procedures. If calibration in terms of apparent the least minimum variance is selected. The data treatment procedure
charge is not feasible, then Peak Pulse in may can be readily illustrated with reference to a hypothetical hysteresis
be as lonE as comoarative measurements are made On the same' characteristic of the maximum amarent charae transfer AQ,,
I I .. . us. V
specimen or specimens of identical design and construction. in which the parameters a and b denote respectively the highest and
the lowest recorded value of AQ,; hence for n data points, the step
magnitude on the vertical scale is
a-b
h= ~
(23)
n
for which the corresponding mean values of the maximum charge trans-
fer AQm at each of these discrete points are given by the set AQ,1,
AQ,&z, . . . , AQmn at the corresponding widths of the hysteresis
cumes AVl, AV,, . . ., AV, on the applied voltage axis; e.g. at the hys-
teresis widths of A& and AV,, the values are AQmz = AQ,l+ h,
+
and AQms = AQy,,z h, respectively.
The order or number of inputs of the NN determined by the AR time
series analysis was 3. The NN architecture was arranged in cascaded
configuration as delineated in Figure 56, with the indexed output from
sugr I si.g.1
the first stage I d provided as a weighted quantity Since the NN was
Figure 56. Cascaded M L P NN with double outputs (afterSalama and designed to discriminate between 1.0 and 1.5 nun depth cavities, the
Bartnikas [246]). indexed output Id was arranged to indicate zero for a 1.0 nun cavity
and unity for a 1.5 mm cavity The number of neurons in the hidden
In mathematical terms, the AR time series model may be stated as layer of the first stage was fixed at 6, and at 8 in the hidden layer of
~423 the second stage with 5 inputs. Note that in order to maintain clarity
yt = alYt-l +azl'-z +...+ bl&-l +
bzY,_,+. . . +et (17) in the graphic representation of Figure 56, only 7 of the 8 neurons in
the hidden layer of the second stage are shown. The success rate of
where Yt represents the input signal at a time t, Yt-l is the input the cascaded output NN in distinguishing between the two cavity sizes
signal at the previous instant, and et denotes the input noise at a time
attained an exceptionally high level of 94%.
t ; al,uz, bl, and bZ are parameter constants related to AQ,. Thus
NN topology designs based on the trial and error approach are fre-
the vector for yt becomes
quently characterized by relatively low PD pattern recognition rates.
yt = [$%lT . IS,] et + Cachm and Wiesmann [247] applied the MLP technique to PD pulse pat-
where terns, arising from two or more PD sources. Scale normalization was
[Q,] = [ a i , a z , . . . , bi,bz, ...1
employed to separate different superimposed PD patterns along their
(18)
contours on charge transfer us. discharge epoch (phase) plots. Once
and the PD pattems were separated, the NN classifier was used to exam-
T
[Ye] = [ y t - l , l ' - Z , . . .,K-1, V t - 2 , . ..I ine the patterns individually. A combined PD pulse pattern recognition
where represent the parameter and state vectors respectively, and the rate of 79% was achieved, which was still substantially better than the
subscript K defines the instant of the PD pulse event at which the data 50% rate reported by Hozumi et nl. [248]. However, irrespective of the
are being processed, as opposed to subscript t that denotes the time at NN design approach utilized, the MLP technique applied to I'D pulse
which the PD data are being sampled. By definition the error at instant pattern recognition has decided advantages. The success achieved in
K is the application of the MLP NN to PD pulse pattern recognition must
E, = yt - +nTB, (19) be attributed to their ability to create clustering shapes that are highly
nonlinear. An MLP NN with two hidden layers is capable of forming
Here it must be emphasized that in the foregoing operation, the re- arbitrary decision boundaries between classes of different cavity sizes,
cursive least square identification procedure must be deployed to iden- which can be made as smooth as required by selecting an appropriate
tify the AR time-series model parameters, which in essence minimizes number of hidden neurons in each layer [239,249-2511. Furthermore,
the sum of the squares of the identification error Exl8. The least square minimizing the mean square error by the back propagation algorithm
" i z a t i o n step yields a model parameter update of the form results in an approximation of the class posterior probabilities, so that
8, = 0,-1 i E,L, (20) the MLP NN estimates the optimal bays decision boundary 1245,2523.
 ..
ZEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Vol. 9 No. 5, October ZOO.? 795

In contradistinction, the LVQ paradigm constitutes a piece-wise linear

approach [239,253], since it is based on the nearest neighbor rule 1252,
2541 and, consequently, it can only achieve an approximation of the de-
cision boundary Kranz and Hiicker [31,255]made use of the NNC para-
digm on PD pulse pattern analysis. In their work on SFh power appara-
tus under high ambient noise conditions where they employed Fourier
transform techniques for feature extraction from PD pulse-height/phase
distributions, acceptably good results were obtained with the unsuper-
vised NN. However, in a subsequent extension of the same work they Optimization of
rignrficant features
conceded that supervised MLP NN have definite advantages 12561.
The application of fuzzy logic to the classification of PD pulse pat-
terns has much to commend itself because of the nature and the intricate
behavior of the PD process. Even under idealized pulse type discharge
conditions without any attending complicating effects of simultaneous
occurrence of true pulseless glow or pseudo glow discharges and even
further assuming that only a small number of cavities are involved, it
is difficult to ascertain in terms of the PD pulse pattern whether sev- Figure58. Schemaficdiagramforafuzz~~logicPDpulsepanern clas
eral discrete cavities or one elongated ellipsoidal cavity with a number sification system (after Salama and Bartnikas [33]).
of different discharge sites is involved. The interpretation problems
are further compounded by variations in the statistical time lag (time The foregoing scenario creates a rather fuzzy situation as concerns
required for a free electron to appear and initiate the breakdown of PD pattern recognition, and so one may beg the question as to why one
the cavity). Tne larger the statistical time lag, the larger the value of should not fuzzify the approach to the problem, and apply fuzzy logic
the overvoltage at which a given cavity will breakdown, which will for PD pattern classification. It may thus be more expedient to identify
result in larger charge transfers (I'D pulse magnitudes) as well as a PD patterns in more vague or less specific terms, as for instance PD pat-
shorter rise times of the discharge pulses [go]. This will lead to a preces- terns with large or small pulses or in the case of cavities as very large,
sion of discharge epochs, effecting the entire pulse-phase distribution large, medium and small size cavities, assuming equal gas pressure
characteristic [34]. An added complexity will arise with power appara- within the compared cavities. As a consequence of the randomness of
tus and cable specimens, in which pulses from various discharge sites the PD phenomena, one is compelled to consider the approximate range
will undergo differing amounts of distortion, attenuation and rise time of apparent charge transfer and its correlation to the cavity sizes or di-
degradation as they travel from their respective discharge sites to the ameters. In such circumstances, fuzzy logic procedures allow the usage
PD detector. It is palpably evident that even identical voids situated at of crisp number sets to furzify the measured real (crisp) values. In a
different distances from the detector will not have identical PD pattems fuzzy logic system, crisp inputs are mapped into furzy sets by means
not only because of the unequal propagation distances and material of a hzzyfier [257-2591. An inference engine, which utilizes rules, that
media in their paths but also because the availability of free electrons have been devised to permit decision making, maps these fuzzy sets
will not be identical at the various discharge sites. into other fuzzy sets that comply with the rules.. The output sets are
mapped into crisp sets or real numbers by a defuzzifier. A fuzzy set
Small Medium Large is described by a membership function, which assumes values in the
charge interval [0,1]; a typical membership function, for charge transfer asso-
transfer ciated with PD pulses, is portrayed in Figure 57 1331.
1
A schematic flow chart of information in a fuzzy logic based reason-
ing process is depicted in Figure 58; note that the membership function
forms an integral part of stage 8. It can assume different configura-
tions, which may be determined by numerical organization techniques
or self-organization 12601. Fuzzy rules, which play dominant roles both
in stages 5 and 8 in Figure 58, are defined to represent certain axioms
of PD pulse behavior. They are thus based on expert knowledge of
the intricacies of PD pulse behavior and their evaluation in the fuzzy
reasoning process constitutes essentially a generalization of the modus
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ponens and niodus foliens inference process (stages 4 and 5, Figure 58).
Evidently, effective application of fuzzy logic to PD pulse pattern recog-
Apparent charge AQ (pC) nition requires considerable knowledge of discharge behavior for the
Figure 57. A membership function for charge transfer associated purpose of formulation of the rules and construction of the membership
with PD pdses in a cavity (after Salama and Bartnikas 1331). functions. For example, correct classification of 3 cavity sizes (1.0, 1.5,
and 2.0 mm depth) in terms of the PD pulse shape attributes requires 25
 796
rules; only for the representation of the apparent charge transfer alone,
10 membership functions for coverage of the low, medium, high and
in between charge transfer values are necessary [33]. Commercial pro-
grams in fuzzy logic are available and may be applied to PD related
investigations 12611.
Fractal dimension
Figure 59. Lacunarity us. fractal dimension of 3D PD pulse height/
phase distributions of three highly differing P D defects (A, B a n d C)
obtained at 16 kV (afterCandela et nI. [266]).
Some work has been reported by Satish and Zaengl[262] in the ap-
plication of fractal features to the classification of cavities undergoing
PD in terms of their PD pulse-height/phase distribution patterns. In
their fractal analysis, they employed the geometrical parameters of frac-
tal dimension (a measure of surface roughness of the 3D pulse distribu-
tion pattern) and lacunarity (the denseness of the geometrical/fractal
surface).
Originally, fractal geometry was developed for analysis of landscape
surfaces 12631, but later it was extended to other mathematical model-
ing applications 12641. In a later study, Krivda et nl. 12651 were able
to achieve some further success in the use of fractals in distinguishing
between noise and corona sources and artificial cavities. More recently,
Candela et al. [266] carried out experiments, using a point-to-plane
gap (A), a dielectric-metallic electrode gap (B) and an occluded cav-
ity within epoxy resin (C) as PD sources. The three distinctly different
lacunarity us. fractal dimension plots, obtained for the three forego-
ing PD sources and depicted in Figure 59, demonstrate the recognition
capability of the technique. However, it should be observed that the
recognition degree indicated by the separation between the three areas
in the graph is to a great extent a result of the pronounced differences
in the nature of the three PD sources utilized. By applying the fractal
data with additional statistical preconditioning data to an MLP NN, the
authors 12661 were able to attain a recognition capability of 98%.
In investigations related to recognition of PD pulse patterns, it is
common practice to assign statistical operators to facilitate analysis of
the PD pulse-height/phase distributions. In the nomenclature of the
PD pulse pattern recognition system developed by Gulski [28]and em-
ployed by Gulski and Krivda 1321, the term skewness signifies asym-
metry of the charge transfer and pulse count distributions with respect
to the normal distribution and kurtosis refers to the sharpness of the
same distributions with respect to the normal distribution. The so-
called cross correlation factor describes the asymmetry of the positive
and negative polarity discharge pulse pattern. In addition to another
Bartnikas: Partial Discharges
...
u
Charge magnitude (pC)
(a)
eo -0.5
_1
5 1 1.5 2 2.5
log [charge magnitude (pC)]
(b)
Figure 60. Effect of simultaneously occurring P~mechanismson the
Weibull distribution function. (a) PO pulse height distribution; (b) cor-
responding Weibull plot (after Montanari et al. 12781).
statistical operator, which refers to the number of peaks in the respec-
tive distributions, there are 25 other specified statistical operators. The
deployment of statistical operators reduces very substantially the re-
quired memory capacity of the system. Thus, a total of 29 statistical
operators comprises their overall analytical procedure. The PD pulse
pattern recognition task is carried out in terms of these statistical pa-
rameters either by visual examination by an experienced operator or
by expert systems specifically devised by Gulski et al. [28,32,36,141,
267,2681. It is not clear from the tests carried out on electrical appa-
ratus by these authors how their system responds when a multiplicity
of discharge faults are encountered. The foregoing statistical parame-
ter analysis technique has also been applied by Bozo ef al. [269,270]in
their investigations on PD endurance of thin polymer films. They ob-
tained high classification success rates with NN,whose input data was
statistically preconditioned.
Weibull distribution statistical procedures were applied by Contin
and Rabach on HV stator windings in an attempt to identify multiple PD
sources 12711. Subsequent work by Cacciari et ai. [272] indicated, that
when single PD sources are involved, the PD pulse height distribution
may be approximated by a two parameter Weibull distribution and that
by means of a mixed Weibull model coupled with a goodness of fit test,
it is possible to separate several simultaneously occurring PD sources.
In addition, Contin et ai. [273,274] were able to demonstrate that the
IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation
Weibull shape parameter p was an eigenvalue of the PD pulse source
and was independent of its location in the overall insulating system.
Mixed Weibull distribution analysis has also been applied to monitor PD
induced aging in epoxy-resin insulators by Contin et al. [275]. More re-
cent results reported by Contin et d . [276,2771indicate that application
of a five-parameter Weibull function leads to an effective recognition of
PD sources in terms of their respective shape factors, even when they
are occurring simultaneously. The shape factor p appears to be a more
effective criterion for PD pulse pattern recognition than the skewness
and kurtosis parameters usedin the statistical pattern analysis proce-
dure developed by Gulski 1281. Figure 6U(a) shows a pulse-height dis-
tribution curve of a stator bar after 1425 h of aging; in (b) is given its
corresponding Weibull plot, whose curvature at the upper end of the
charge transfer scale is attributed to another PD mechanism [278]. It
is further demonstrated that the shape factor /3 of the same PD source
is identical, irrespective of whether the Weibull probability analysis is
carried out in the terms of the PD pulse-height distribution or PD pulse
shape characteristics. This result may be questioned, however, because
with distant PD sites, the transmitted pulses will undergo distortion and
their shape will differ substantially from those that would be recorded
were the same PD sites located close to the PD detector.
multi-source PD patterns
i strumentation costs for PD pattern identification are still relatively high
3-level wavelet decomposition
i time interval to 5 p s from the value of 8.3 /IS specified by Bartnikas in
reconstruction of vertical &
horizontal wavelet coefficients
to yield H & V images
1 Most insulating materials are organically based materials, which if
magnitude and phase
averaging of H & V
images
I or a combination thereof. Exposure of organic insulating materials to
i PD causes physical erosion due charged particle impact [5,48,287-2911
feature vector
formulation
Figure 61. A PD pattem classification system employing the wavelet
transformation approach (after Lalitha and Satish [280]).
It is now for some time that researchers in the PD area have been
utilizing wavelet techniques, which are especially effective in retriev-
ing low magnitude PD signals under intense ambient noise conditions.
Commercial software, already available, can be applied directly to this
Vol. 9 No. 5, October ZOO2 797
task. Recently there appeared two independent contributions [279,280],
which have introduced the use of wavelets in the classification of PD
pulse patterns. Wavelet transformation is characterized by its two vari-
able approach of time-frequency or space-frequency, which lends itself
readily to application of non-periodic irregularly recurring PD pulse
type phenomena. Carminati et a!. [279] described an approach in which
NN and fuzzy logic are combined in conjunction with wavelet transform
to identify PD induced aging phenomena, which have been shown to
affect the PD pulse form (principally a decrease in rise time and charge
transfer) [281]. They were able to ascertain the degree of PD induced
aging in terms of contour plots involving the pulse rise time with aging
time as a parameter. Lalitha and Satish I2801 employed wavelet analysis
techniques in conjunction with a NN to distinguish the PD pulse-height/
phase distribution patterns of highly differing PD sources, namely those
of point corona, surface and cavity type discharges. A schematic flow
diagram of their I'D pattem classification technique is depicted in Fig-
ure 61. In another investigation, also involving classification of gross
artificial defects, Ming and Birlasekaran 12821 were able to achieve sat-
isfactory PD source identification rates with statistically preconditioned
wavelet analysis procedures.
Notwithstanding the considerable effort expended in the area of PD
pattern recognition using intelligent machines, current practice still re-
lies heavily on human expertise in the identification and location of PD
sources in electrical apparatus and cables 1283-2851. The associated in-
but they can be substantially reduced by having the pulse peak-detect
hold and A/D conversion functions embedded in a microprocessor cir-
cuit boards [284]. This approach also decreases the signal processing
[286].
9 DISCHARGE DEGRADATION
EFFECTS
subjected continuously to PD over long periods of time will eventu-
ally deteriorate and undergo ultimate failure. The degradation process
is both chemical and physical in nature, and the actual failure mech-
anism may assume either an electrical, mechanical, thermal character
on the cavity walls; this is accompanied by chemical deterioration as
the hydrocarbon molecules undergo bond scission. Various gases are
formed within the cavity as a result of the attending reactions occur-
ring between the oxygen withm the cavity's atmosphere and chemically
activated surfaces of the cavity's walls. The gas pressure within the
altered atmosphere of the cavity changes and that together with the
changes of the wall surface conductivity alters the discharge behavior
within the cavity [281]. The foregoing variables lead to a rather erratic
discharpI process,
. which is further compounded by statistical time lag"
effects that cause the discharge mechanism itself to assume a stochas-
tic behavior as overvoltages develop across the cavity, thereby altering
the rise time, magnitude and pulse shape of the PD pulses and in turn
leading to changes in the pulse discharge sequence and a precession of
discharge epochs [34]. It is thus palpably evident from the foregoing
798 Bartnikas: Partial Discharges

considerations of internal cavities that PD discharge patterns are intrin-
sically unstable by their very nature and are, therefore, characterized
by discharge evanescence and changes in its intensity with time that
may be either gradual or abrupt. Consequently, it is not astounding,
that aging tests carried out under PD conditions indicate that PD pat-
terns, observed at the commencement or at various times during the
progress of the tests, frequently bear little relationship to the PD pattern
form recorded just prior to breakdown. I'D pulse intensity (pulse count
and magnitude) cannot be always taken as a certain cogent indicator of
impending failure: the discharge intensity may either increase or de-
crease with time as the failure event is approached. For example, in the
author's experience, it has been generally found that with internally oc-
cluded voids, as in the case of solid epoxy insulated transformers, the
discharge intensity may tend to gradually decrease with time until just
prior to breakdown, one or several extremely large r D pulses may ap-
pear, presumably indicative of the tracking-type breakdown streamer
propagation across the insulation thickness. PD intensity increases to-
wards breakdown are normally observed with slot discharges in rotat-
ing machines as slot gaps at the ground wall of the bar grow in size or
large delamination regions develop within the stator bars themselves.
The subject of PD induced degradation and aging is indeed a vast area
of endeavor and it would be difficult to treat it in detail here. However,
the reader is referred to a series of monographs, which deal in depth
with its numerous facets in [5,95,29&292]. The discussion in this Sec-
tion will thus be primarily confined to discharge induced aging as con-
cems its effects on the nature of the rD, their pulse form, detection and
measurement. Here it may be of interest to note that discharge induced
failures have been now recognized and reported for nearly a century
[293,294]. As early as 1957, Reynolds [295] reported the discovery of ox-
alic acid crystals on PD degraded plastic surfaces and McMahon etnl. [5,
2961 in their studies on mechanical stress and discharge induced crack-
ing phenomena on PE suggested that the formation of conductive oxalic
acid crystals on the walls of occluded cavities within PE may account
for the evanescence characteristics of PD pulses within these cai'rities
' as
discharges are shorted by their conductive walls. Thus there is a direct
feedback mechanisms between PD behavior and the PD induced degra-
dation i.e., PD give rise to physical and chemical degradation within
the cavities and then the resulting degradation modifies ipso facto the
form and intensity of the discharge process itself. There may be in-
stances when breakdown of the insulation occurs very suddenly and
unexpectedly at a time when the PD pulse pattern appears relatively
stable; sudden development of thermal instability may be a plausible
explanation for such an event, if the heat generated from the conduction
losses &thin the accumulated degradation products can no longer be
effectively dissipated by the surroundings of the discharge site. The in-
tricate and complex relationships between discharge intensity and the
ensuing degradation rate of insulating materials have eluded thus far
many efforts in the past, whose aim was to assess insulation life in the
presence of discharges [5,53,54,281,287-292,296-3081. Cavity inclu-
;ions within the insulating systems of electrical apparatus and cables,
which are completely enclosed, must be considered as non-vented cavi-
ties. In such cavities, the gas atmosphere is static and, as a consequence,
the created gases and wall deposits are not expelled from the cavity so
that the chemical reaction products affect the nature of the discharge.
In contradistinction, vented cavities as, for example, air gaps between
the ground walls of stator bars and their respective slots, are consider-
ably less influenced by discharge products which tend to be partially
expelled. If one considers cross-linked PE (XLPE) cable insulation, then
one is essentially dealing with occluded non-vented cavities. Oxidative
degradation is the usual process of polymer degradation and the oxy-
gen is available either from the limited atmosphere within the cavity
as well as through some absorption and diffusion of oxygen into the
polymer, which is a function of temperature and the extent off cross-
linking as well as structure of the polymer. Amorphous regions tend to
degrade more rapidly because they are more predisposed towards oxy-
gen absorption. The degradation reaction is also promoted by the PD
processes, which constitutes an efficient generator of ozone and atomic
oxygen both of which are very chemically reactive. The first step in
oxidative degradation involves the formation of a polymer radial R as
a result of bond scission initiated by the bombardment of ions and elec-
trons and photon radiation from PD, [305,306]
RH+RtH' (24)
The newly formed radical may then react with molecular oxygen to
form a peroxide (ROO),
+
R' o2+ ROO (25)
which in turn may lead to the formation of a hydroperoxide (ROOH),
ROO RH i+ ROOH+ R (26)
The radicals formed in Reactions 24 to 26 may react further in ter-
minating type reactions,
2ROO iROOR 0 2 +
(27)
ROO + R + ROOR
and
2 R t R-R (25)
+------r
'00
I
0- 5
3200 2800 '.is00 1700 1600 1500
Wavenumbers ( c m ~ l )
Figure 62. M I R infrared spectra of XLPE specimen exposed to PD at
twice the PDIV value in dry air for (a) 0 h; (b) 6 h; (c) 12 h; (d) 18 h
(after GamezGarciaet ai. [306308])
Reaction 27 represents a crosslinking reaction, assuming that it oc-
curs intermolecularly, while the peroxide ROOR in Reactions 25 and
26 is stable, provided it is not decomposed at high temperatures. The
peroxy intermediates in Reactions 24 to 26 also can be involved in func-
tionalization reactions with without cleavage of the polymer chain,
IEEE Transactionson Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation
These can lead to a variety of oxidation products, notably C OH (alco-
hol), C=O [carbonyl,-ketone or aldehyde), C-0-C [ether), COOH (car-
boxylic acid), COOC (ester) and epoxide [305].
Figure 62 depicts multiple internal reflection (MIR) infrared spec-
tra of a XLPE specimen, obtained in dry air with PD exposure time as
a parameter [306-308]. Readily discernible changes in the transmit-
tance level occur at 3425 cm-' (hydroxyl, -OH) and 1637 cm~l[vinyl,
C=C) while a very pronounced change in the spectrum is observed-
at 1715 cm-' [carbonyl, C=O). It is found that in XLPE,the additives
used play a very significant role in the formation of surface degradation
products when XLPE is exposed to the action of PD.Crosslinking of PE
is achieved through the use of dicumyl peroxide [309] and the ensuing
crosslinking reaction is accompanied by the formation of decomposi-
tion products. The latter, which comprise acetophenone, cumyl alcohol,
and methyl styrene and cumene diffuse eventually out of the polymer
bulk onto its surface. At the surface these by-products react chemically
in the presence of PD, resulting in surface deposits which are different
from those that would form with PE surfaces only
70 , I
10
0 alic acid. Venting of the gap or cavity does not appear to alter apprecia-
Exposure time (h)
Figure 63. Mean apparent charge transfer above 20 pC associated
with pulse type discharges occurring within a 0.5 m m air gap with an
epoxy resin electrode as a function of PD exposure time (afterHudon
et 01. [54])
Of particular practical interest are PD aging effects observed with
epoxy surfaces exposed to discharges, because epoxy is extensively
used in conjunction with mica as an insulant in stator bars, with silica
fillers in solid-type transformers and in spacers in compressed gas ca-
bles. Stator bar insulation is unique vis- -vis insulation in solid-type
transformers and cables in that, unlike in these where specifications re-
quire complete or near absence of discharges it frequently operates in
presence of discharges and at times under rather intense discharge con-
ditions. Its redeeming feature is that epoxy is used in conjunction with
mica, which is a highly discharge resistant inorganic material. When
epoxy resin is exposed to PD, its surface, as in the case of XLPE un-
dergoes modification in several stages. Hudon et ai. [54,281] found
that in a non-vented cavity initially the discharge process is character-
ized by large discharge pulses of the spark-type during which time the
Vol. 9 No. 5, October2002 799
L I
Time 100 nsidiv
Figure 64. Typical PD current pulse form with ion cment tail of an
associated charge transfer of 8.7 pC, characteristic of discharges in
0.5 mm air gap with an epoxy resin electrode undergoing discharge
within a test period extending from 180 to 8W h (after Hudon et nl.
[541)
degradation products on the epoxy surface assume the form of liquid
droplets. As the PD pulse magnitudes diminish with time and transition
occurs from a pulse to a pseudoglow and true glow pulseless regime,
the droplets are replaced by crystals. The dimensions of these crystals
continue growing over the pseudoglow and pulseless discharge regime
until ultimate breakdown ensues. The discharge behavior is similar
in both air and nitrogen atmospheres, indicating that the oxygen re-
quired for the observed chemical reactions is supplied from the atmos-
phere within the gap [when available) and by oxygen from within the
molecular structure of the epoxy resin itself. Analysis of the droplets
reveals the presence of a mixture of acids, consisting of formic, gly-
colic, glyoxalic and nitric acids; the crystals are identified by meam of
Debye-Scherrer X-ray diffraction analysis as consisting of hydrated ox-
bly the amounts of degradation products formed. electron spectroscopy
for chemical analysis (ESCA) indicates a rise in the level of oxidation;
amounts of all oxidized groups comprising COOH, COOR, COH and
C-0 are perceived to exhibit substantial increases with respect to the
C-C and C-H peak at 285.0 eV The effects of chemical degradation of
the epoxy resin surface exert a very profound influence of on the PD be-
havior itself, which is the cause of the induced degradation. Figure 63
portrays the variation of the mean value of the charge transfer equal
or exceeding 20 pC (average of 100 measurements) as a function of the
PD exposure time. Beyond 320 h, the charge transfers fall below the 20
pC; and a typical PD pulse form characterizing the PD regime of small
charge transfers down to 0.5 pC over the testing time scale from 180 to
800 his depicted in Figure 64. It can be recognized that the pulse form
represents a classical Townsend discharge in which secondary emission
is sustained by ion impact at the cathode i.e., the waveform evinces, the
protracted ion conduction current tail. The magnitude of the recorded
charge transfers associated with PD pulse type discharges is found to
continue diminishing beyond 800 h until no further PD pulses can be
detected.
Photomultiplier measurements demonstrate that discharges exist
even after PD pulse type discharges cannot any longer be detected.
 800 Bartnikas: Partial Discharges

applied here, because a short gap is involved and the term streamer
would be misleading since rapid rise-time large magnitude discharges
in short gaps are also Townsend type discharge in that the discharge is
sustained by photoemission at the cathode due to intense space charge
build-up. Thus the feedback mechanism is again emission at the cath-
ode, but now it is due to photon impact in lieu of ion impact as in the
classical Townsend discharge case. Here it well to be again adamant in
the usage of correct terminology and reiterate once more that the term
streamer discharge refers to a rapid propagation of a breakdown event
in a long gap as a streamer propagates by means of photoionization in
0k ' 200 ' 4kJ ' 400 ' 800 ' lobo
the volume of the gap [44,45].
Slot PD behavior in stator bars, which employ mica-epoxy bonded
Exposure time (h) insulating systems, differs appreciably from the behavior of non-vented
Figure 65. Photocurrent emission from a discharge within a 0.5 mm short gaps and internal cavities within the insulation system of thebars.
air gap with an epoxy resin electrodeas a functionof PD exposure time Slot discharges involve much larger charge transfers and the discharge
(after Hudonet nl. [281]) products, which, while they can accumulate on the walls of cavity in-
clusions, tend to be in part abraded by vibration of the bars that may
become loosened should the wedges fail to retain them rigidly within
the slots and dispelled to a limited extent by forced cooling gas currents.
However the exterior surfaces of PD degraded bars within the slots, is
covered generally by a white powder, which may still contain some
of these conductive acid degradation products. The large pulse dis-
charges in the slots are likely to be accompanied by significant amounts
of pseudoglow and pulseless discharges; visual examination of the sur-
face discharge phenomena at the coil ends of machine windings would
suggest the presence of glow discharges.

Figure 66. lntew spark-type PU pulse with an associated charge

transfer of 5W pC in a metallic-epoxy resin electrode gap observed at
the beginning of a long term aging test (after Hudon et ai. [54])

Moreover, even over the time scale over which sporadic PD pulses of
very low charge transfer magnitude (- 0.5 pC) may be still intermit- Figure 67. Pu and dielectric loss behavior of 15 kV oil-impregnated-
tently detected, their number or intensity is not sufficiently large to paper power cable subjected to an aging test at IO kV above its rated
account for the overall recorded photomultiplier current. From this voltage (cn. 1960, after Barmikas 13101).
behavior, one must deduce that low intensity PD pulses occur concur-
rently with pseudoglow and true pulseless glow discharge even before In comparison to solid polymeric insulation, oil or dielectric liquid
all remnant small PD pulses disappear entirely. Figure 65 shows the impregnated paper insulation is much less susceptible to PD degrada-
photomultiplier output as a function of testmg time. Note that above tion. Some of the v e v early oil/paper cables, which were known to
800 h, no PD pulses are detected and, consequently, in that region the have internal discharges have operated for long periods of time before
photomultiplier cment results entirely from pseudoglow and pulse- being replaced by newer and more discharge-free design constructions.
less discharges. Here the photocurrent is of the order of 0.8 A, which Mineral oils with aromatic constituents and synthetic oils with gas in-
is still substantially above.the dark noise current of 1 pA of the photo- hibitingadditives absorb gases under electrical stress; even in the ab-
multiplier employed. sence of electrical stress, some physical gas absorption occurs in the
Large intensity intermittent discharge pulses may be occasionally oils, which further impedes the formation of ionizable cavities within
observed in short air gaps at the commencement of aging tests. These the solid-liquid insulating system. In addition extra HV cables are pres-
occur before the surface of the epoxy resin becomes increasingly more surized to maintain the gases in an absorbed state within the oil. The
conductive due to the accumulation of acidic degradation products on remarkable performance of the oil-impregnated-paper insulating sys-
. I -
its surface. Such a pulse is portrayed in Firmre 66 and it represent tem is demonstrated in Fiwre " 67, which depicts test data obtained on
a form typical of spark type discharges. The term spark discharge is an early 15 kV rated oil-impregnated-paper lead sheath covered cable
 ,

IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Vol. 9 No. S,October2002 801

'
that was subjected to an accelerated voltage agmg test at 10 kV above readily accessible, rf probes of either the capacitive or inductive type
its rated value [310]. The presence of continuous PD is indicated by are utilized, depending upon whether or not cables are shielded or
the PD pulse discharge rate and the relative average discharge current have exposed unshielded sections such as splices. In capacitors and
us. time characteristics. The dissipation factor (tan 6) value, which is transformers (with the exception of discharges occurring deep in the
less sensitive to PD, reveals two intense flare-ups in PD pulse activity winding structures), acoustical PD measurement techniques are found
over the testing time scale. The PD activity peak, are seen to subside to be more effective in the location of PD sites. Frequently, both elec-
in the presence of the lowered PD activity. The increase in PD activity trical and acoustical procedures are employed jointly; such approach is
is attributed to cavity enlargements or new cavity formations due to most popular in low dielectric loss compressed gas cables where large
evolving gases at increased voltage stress. Readsorption of the gases by bandwidth PD detection techniques are normally utilized, which unlike
the non-saturated aromatic constituents of the oil as well as polymer- solid dielectric cables, are characterized by low acoustical impedances.
ization or cross-linking of the oil, which causes formation of waxes that PD site identification requires the deployment of PD pattem recognition
fill-in the voltage stress created cavities, are the primary factors respon- techniques, based either on PD pulse-height/discharge epoch (phase)
sible for the 'self healing' behavior evinced by the oil/paper insulating distributions or PD pulse form analysis. Intelligent machines may be ap-
system. plied for this taskandare found to performadequately wellin relatively
simple cases as in distinguishing between discharges in cavities within
the insulating systems and gross defects such as poor grounds or com-
mon sources of extraneous interference. However, the interpretation
and identification of complex discharge patterns still necessitates the
services of experienced observers. Rotating machine insulation com-
monly operates in the presence of PD discharges, whose intensity under
certain conditions may attain substantially elevated levels. As a conse-
B quence, the approach to PD measurement on rotating machines differs
appreciably from that on other electrical apparatus and cables in that it
Numberofswitchingsurges(10Wpr~lep)
is essentially designed and implemented to monitor the discharge ac-
Figure 68. PD inception stress at 50 H z of a HV bushing us. the num- tivity This task can be carried out by measurement of PD pulse-height
ber of 1000 switching surge steps, measured over a one second time and discharge epoch (phase) distributions, maximum charge transfer,
internal; (a) with 12 h impulse stress-free rest period and (b) with- discharge current, and during off-line tests, PD inception and extinc-
out 12 h impulse stress-bee period; 0.5 m m lnsulation thickness (after tion voltages, as well as t a n 6 tip-up; it represents an area of endeavor
l'ompili et ni. [3111) where considerable effort has be expended in the interpretation of the
PD pulse patterns in assessing both the PD induced aging rate as well
Figure 68 illustrates the gas absorption capability of a mineral oil, in the identification of the location and nature of the PD sources. The
used as an impregnant in a HV bushing which was subjected to a series most effective approach appears to center on the accumulation and sub-
of switching surges [311]. The number of switching surges is seen to sequent analysis of field PD data obtained over regular test intervals
result in a reduction of the PD inception voltage, however, if the insu- on the same machine as well as on other m a c h e s of similar design,
lation is given a rest period between the subsequent series of impulses a task in which the expert observer plays a critical role. Most effec-
to permit the physical gas re-adsorption by the oil to proceed, then the tive means for locating discharge sites involves the use of the classical
reduction in the PDIv is substantially reduced. Dakin-type rf inductive probe with which each slot is scanned with the
rotor removed and the stator energized; however, this procedure does
10 CONCLUSION not take into account any possible vibrational displacements of the bars
Current narrow bandwidth type PO test specifications on newly while the machine is in operation under full load conditions. Surface
manufactured cables, capacitors and transformers are of the go-no go discharge site location at the end windings of the rotating machine is
type in that they require complete absence of discharges in polymeric carried out also with the rotor removed. Surface discharges are read-
insulated cables and permit only moderate upper discharge level mag- ily detected in terms of the ultraviolet (UV) radiation emitted by the
nitudes for capacitors and large oil-filled transformers. The primary discharges, using remote directional UV detection devices. PD pulse
concern in go-no go type measurements is that of sensitivity, High measurements on polymeric cables, capacitors and transformers are
sensitivity levels are particularly difficult to achieve with high capac- normally performed using narrow bandwidth instrument and the PD
itance specimens; thus with capacitor specimens having high capac- quantities are recorded in apparent charge units expressed in pC. Cal-
itance, balanced-type PD measurements are preferred to improve the ibration in pC units becomes more difficult with inductive specimens
signal-to-noise ratio. With pressurized gas cables, which behave essen- such as transformers and rotating machines. However, there is an im-
tially as low loss transmission limes wideband PD measurements tech- portant subtle difference between these two types of specimen. While
niques are preferred with which lugh signal-to-noise ratios are achiev- the inductance effects in transformers are generally more pronounced
able. In the area of equipment maintenance, discharge site location than in rotating machines, the PD pulse density (number of discharges
in soliddielectric extruded cables is normally accomplished using me- per cycle) in transformer specimens tends to be very substantial less
dium bandwidth pulse reflectometry; altern&vely i i t h cables thit are than that in rotating m a c k e s .
802
This redeeming feature minimizes overlap of adjacent oscillatory PD
pulse transients, thereby ensuring a more meaningful measure of the
apparent charge in terms of the PD pulse magnitudes. In rotating ma-
chine specimens, the presence of a relatively large number of pulses
per power frequency cycle leads to a reduced time interval between the
adjacent pulses resulting in increased PD signal integration and con-
sequently, to increased error in the recorded pC value. Calibration in
apparent charge units becomes extremely difficult at very high PD mea-
surement frequencies, and it is for this reason that high frequency PD
test methods on rotating machines measure PD quantities only in rela-
tive units QV).
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