A VERSATILE CORONA DETECTOR

G. Mole and F. C. Robinson

Electrical Research Association F. C. Rob inson and Partners, Ltd.
Leatherhead, Surrey, England London, England

The instrument described is intended for the measurement of the character-

istics of internal corona in the electrical insulation of high voltage power system
equipment . It is equally useful for testing samples of material and the insulation of
many types of e l ectronic component.
With the present instrument, responses derived from individual corona dis-
charges are separately displayed on a cathode ray tube. The shape of the response
appearing on the tube is determined by the characteristics of the corona detector and
not by the shape of the discharge transient itself, which may be taken to have a ver-
tical-step waveform. After a little experience, it is quite easy to distinguish be-
tween responses coming from internal corona in the object under test, and those arising
from external corona, contact noise or electrical interference.
A typical response from in-
Positive peak ternal corona in a paper-dielectric
marker.
capacitor is shown in Figure 1. It will
be seen that the corona discharges are
roughly equal in magnitude but opposite
in direction on the positive and nega-
tive half-waves of the test voltage,
Negative peak and are located in front of the voltage
marker.
peaks. A typical response from inter-
Fig. 1. Typical Response from Internal nal corona in a polyethylene-insulated
Corona in a Paper Dielectric Capacitor.
cable is shown in Figure 2 . In this
case, as with all internal corona, the
peak discharges are again located in front
of the voltage peaks but consist of a
small number of large magnitude dis-
Negative charges on the negative half-wave and
peak marker a large number of small magnitude dis-

Fig. 2. Typical Response from Internal charges on the positive half-wave.

Corona in Polyethylene Insulated Cable. Tnis is recognizable as characteristic
 55

of a void bounded on the one side by a conductor and on the other side by a dielectric
surface. A typical response from external corona is shown in Figure 3. In this case
the discharges are confined to the negative half-wave of the test voltage and are
located more or less symmetrically with regard to the voltage peak. A typical response
from contact noise is shown in Figure 4. Here the discharges are seen to be distrib-
uted about the current peaks of the test waveform. The response from interference may
take various forms which are readily recognized and easily identified because the re-
sponse normally persists when the test voltage is reduced to zero.
The measurement of any individ-
peak
ual corona discharge observed on the dis-
play (usually the largest discharge
present) is made by in j ecting a calibra-
tion stepwave of 10~ V to 100 V directly
into the test circuit via a coupling
capacitor of appropriate magnitude. In
Negative peak
marker: this way the response characteristics of
the discharge detector are eliminated
Fig. 3. Typical Reponse from External
Corona. from the measurement. The basic measure-
ment circuit is shown in Figure 5) where
Positive peak
marker . Cx represents the insulation under test)
and Cb is the blocking capacitor required
to couple the discharge detector into the
test circuit.
In order to attain both high
peak sensitivity and high resolution) it is
necessary to employ a high-gain) wide-
Fig. 4. Typical Response from Contact band amplifier. The amplifier in the
Noise.
instrument has a gain in excess of 1

Test
million over the frequency range 10kc/s
Voltage
to 150 kC/s. This gives a sensitivity
Blocking determined by amplifier noise and a
Capacitor
resolution of approximately 30 ~ec.
Specimen
The test circuit is coupled to the
CX
amplifier via one of a range of twelve
Step Wave matching units) which serves to convert
Generator
it into a critically-damped) resonant
Cx circuit. The resonant frequency is nor-
q x = eq Cq (I + - )
Cb mally 25 kC/s) but the exact frequency
Fig. 5. Basic Circuit for Measurement is not important and may fall anywhere
of Corona Discharge Magnitude ~.
within the range 12 to 50 kC/s. It is
56

thus possible, with a range of 12 matching units, to cover the very-wide specimen-
capacitance range of 6 pF to 250 ~ F. Within this range, the minimum detectable corona
discharge magnitude is proportional to the square root of the specimen capacitance,
varying from 0.005 pC for a specimen having a capacitance of 6 pF, to 15 pC for a
specimen having a capacitance of 250 ~ F. No improvement in sensitivity is possible
for specimens having capacitances less than 6 pF because of the self-capacitance of
the matching unit. At the other end of the range, stray inductance becomes important
and the available sensitivity can be obtained only if the internal inductance of the
specimen and the inductance of the connecting leads to it are small compared with the
inductance of the matching unit.
The way in which the test circuit is coupled to the amplifier via the match-
ing unit is shown in Figure 6. An important feature of this circuit is that sufficient
rejection toward the fundamental and harmonics of the test voltage must be provided,
to avoid overloading the first valve of the amplifier. Further rejection is provided
within the amplifier to reduce the response to fundamental and harmonic voltages below
the noise level appearing at the amplifier output.
Because of the wide bandwidth available in the present instrument, it has
been found possible to design the input circuits so that the shape of the response
transient is asymmetrical. This allows the direction of the corona discharg~ to be
deduced from the direction of the response. A means is thus available for discrimi.-
nating between corona in the insulation under test and corona in any terminations which
may be associated with it. When testing lengths of cable, for example, it is nearly
always essential to provide stress-relief cones in order to avoid surface corona at
the ends. When such cones have been provided, it is still necessary to determine
whether any observed corona is 10-
Blocking
Capacitor Coaxial lead cated in the cable itself or in the
1 -----'--1-----,~ Cb
0--0
up to 100ft
in length stress-relief cones. By connecting
Test Specimen
Voltage Cx
the cable and stress-relief cones in

I Matching Amplifier
the test circuit as shown in Figure
7, it will be seen that the response
Unit
to corona in the terminations is in
Fig. 6. Corona Detector Input Circuit.
the opposite direction from that in

I
Stress relief
cone L
Stress relief
cone
the cable itself. Discrimination is
therefore readily possible. The
Cable Cx
same technique may be-used for guard
rings on samples of sheet insulation

Test Voltage
and for bushings on transformers.
Fig. 7. Method of Connecting Test
Circuit to Discriminate Between Corona
in Cable Under Test and Corona in the
Stress-Relief Cones.