Do’s and Don’ts of Insulation

Power Factor Testing

Jill Duplessis

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 Moderator
n Jamie Smith
Digital Marketing Specialist

2
 Q&A
n Send us your
questions and
comments during
the presentation

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 Today’s Presenter
n Jill Duplessis
• Megger Global Technical
Marketing Manager

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 Contents
n Introduction
n Safety
n General Insulation Knowledge
n Nomenclature
n General Testing (Capacitance and PF/DF) Knowledge
n Test Preparation
n Test Voltage
n Analysis

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 Introduction

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Power Factor/Dissipation Factor and
Capacitance Test
n A health assessment tool for electrical insulation
n One of several tests to do this

DGA
IR
Capacitance
DFR and PF

n P.F./ D.F. and capacitance is a ‘2 in 1’ test

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 Capacitance Test
n The purpose of electrical insulation is to store electrical
energy when surrounded by an electrostatic field.
• This is exactly what a capacitor does.

n Therefore, one way to assess how well insulation is behaving (one of

many health aspects of an asset) is to model the asset with capacitors and
trend the corresponding measured capacitance values with time.
• Asset’s windings, ground, etc. = electrodes of a capacitor
• Insulation sandwiched between uniquely energized d
A
parts of the asset = dielectric of a capacitor

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 Capacitance Test
n If a capacitor’s electrodes are separated by a vacuum, the
capacitance depends only on shape, or geometry.
• Geometric capacitance: A
d

• e0 is the vacuum permittivity, or

the permittivity of free space
• The vacuum in this case is called the dielectric and, as an electrical
insulator, prevents charge from moving from one electrode to the other.

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 Capacitance Test
n More often, dielectrics other than a vacuum are used
• liquids, gases and solid materials
d
A
• Depending on the material(s) used, the amount
of charge that collects on the plates is enhanced
to different degrees.
• This material property is the material’s static relative permittivity, or
dielectric constant, er.
– er is the measure of a material’s capacitance relative to capacitance
should that material be replaced by a vacuum
• Capacitance:

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 Capacitance Test
n Therefore, capacitance of an insulation system is sensitive to:
• Geometric changes in the system
• Significant changes to the composition of electrical insulating
materials.
• Examples:
– severe winding deformation whereby the A
d

normal distance between the windings, d,

increases. C will decrease.
– an oil filled bushing develops a leak. A
notable amount of oil leaks out; moisture
comes in; the average er of the system
changes/increases. C increases.

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 Power Factor/ Dissipation Factor
n Capacitance represents energy stored by the insulation
n Some energy is lost when electrical insulation systems are immersed
in an electrostatic field, even when brand new
• Dielectric loss is the energy lost/released as heat when an electrostatic
field is present across an insulation system.
– Polarization losses
– Conductive losses

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 Power Factor/ Dissipation Factor
n IC represents energy stored
n Losses (Watts) are related to real current flow, IR
• Watts = V ∙ IR
n Interested in the phase angle relationship of IT
with the applied test voltage
n As IR ® 0, no losses, PF/ DF = 0
n As an insulation ages or becomes contaminated, V

IR increases, and PF/ DF will often increase.

n Losses are influenced by the size of a specimen;
PF/ DF takes the size into consideration and
reports the system’s relative losses.
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 Power Factor/ Dissipation Factor
n Relative losses?
n PF:
• Relative losses means the amount of energy lost
to heat compared to the total amount of energy
present across the system
• IR/IT
n DF:
• Relative losses means the amount of energy lost
compared to the amount of electrical energy
stored by the insulation
• IR/IC

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 Safety

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 Safety Do’s
n Do hold a ‘tailgate’ meeting before each test job
• Identify hazards
• Communicate scope of job
n Do check grounding
n Do inspect test equipment and leads before use

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 Safety Do’s
n Do connect the ground lead to the test instrument first (before other
connections) and remove it last when testing is complete

n Do develop a good habit of touching each terminal

with a grounding stick before (re)moving test leads

n Do stay aware that energizing a transformer winding

with an AC source, induces voltage on its other winding(s)
q Don’t unwittingly become part
of the circuit on the other winding!

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 Safety Don’ts
n Don’t ever take safety for granted!
n Don’t forget that only qualified persons are permitted to perform tasks
such as testing
n Don’t overlook that improper use of electrical test instruments can
result in shock or electrocution, as well as creating an arc flash
incident.
n Don’t cheat a comparative ground circuit relay
n Don’t grow complacent

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 General Insulation Knowledge

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 ‘General Insulation Knowledge’ Do’s
n Do memorize the state in which electrical insulation performs
best:
• Clean
• Dry
• Relatively void-free
• Used within the designed temperature range
n Do be weary of the enemies of insulation:
• Heat
• Moisture
• Oxygen
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 ‘General Insulation Knowledge’ Do’s
n Do remember that electrical insulation fails when the
stresses present exceed the insulation’s withstand capabilities

New or as-
new
condition

Aging
Worsening condition

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 ‘General Insulation Knowledge’
Don'ts
n Don’t be a bystander.
• Know that you can improve the
withstand capability of insulation.
– ‘Dry’ the transformer, if wet
– Reclaim the oil, when necessary
• You can control the stresses present
– Reduce loading
– Improve the transformer’s preservation system

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 Nomenclature

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 Nomenclatures Don’t
n Don’t get bogged down by nomenclature #1
• Dissipation Factor versus Power Factor
– Determined differently but very
similar and serve the same purpose
– Nearly identical within the realm of
where most insulation systems will
test (≤10%)
– Which to use becomes a matter of
preference…

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 Nomenclatures Don’t
n Schools of Thought about P.F. vs D.F. 6

• Use of P.F. spans various applications in the industry

(generator/load power system studies; characterizing
distribution feeder efficiency; etc.)
• Its additional use to describe insulation
efficiency causes confusion
• Dissipate means to use something wastefully.
d is known as the
Since dissipation factor reports the relative amount “loss angle”
of energy that is lost to heat, or is dissipated, it
may be argued that dissipation factor is a more
descriptive name.
• Its reason for use is practically conveyed through its name alone.

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 Nomenclatures Don’t
n Don’t get bogged down by nomenclature #2
• Dielectric versus Insulation
– Often used interchangeably because a dielectric is an insulator
– Dielectric specifically conveys that the material(s) will support an
electrostatic field while prohibiting conduction.
– Insulation has many applications and when used without context
may be referring to any one of them.

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 Nomenclature Do’s
n Do be aware of slang:
• “Tan d” for a dissipation factor test
• “Doble test” for a power factor test
n Do keep in mind that a ‘power factor test’ infers that the test
voltage used is at (or is nearly at) line frequency (50/60 Hz).
• Dielectric response methods (like DFR) entail making PF/DF
measurements at multiple frequencies and considering how
PF/DF and capacitance change with frequency

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 General Testing Knowledge

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 ‘General testing knowledge’ Do’s
n Do familiarize yourself with history – bears to remember
how we got to where we are today…
• Early publications (circa early 1900’s)
by cable manufacturers
• Capacitance and power factor really
took root with the popularization of
capacitance graded bushings –because of
their construction, perfect test specimen for
this diagnostic test
– A compilation of mini insulation systems
– As layers short-circuit, C1
capacitance increases
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 ‘General testing knowledge’ Do’s
n Do remember: the test was anchored because of bushings
• Because of its sensitivity in finding
problems in multi-layer constructions, the
‘takeaways’ from this particular application
became sweeping test traits (no matter
what was being tested):
– Early detection of problems in insulation
– Very sensitive to moisture contamination
– only true if you repeat power factor
measurements at many different
frequencies, a.k.a., DFR

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 ‘General testing knowledge’ Do’s
n Do simplify testing by understanding dielectric representations
and test modes
• Dielectric representation = testing guidepost
– Shows how segmentation may be done
• Test modes = tool to segment
• Often times, energizing more than one
segment but you want to measure just
one segment at a time
With a solid understanding of test modes and a
dielectric representation of an asset in hand, a tester should be able to
determine how to perform PF/DF and capacitance tests on just about anything!
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 ‘General testing knowledge’ Do’s
n Dielectric representation
• Do keep in mind that a tester may not have control over how far an
insulation system may be segmented for testing beyond a point.
• - a diagram that identifies each (group of) component(s) in an asset that
will exist at a unique voltage when the asset is energized.
• The tester must identify if the component is accessible so
that a test lead may be connected.
• The # of unique voltages/component groups present will determine the #
of insulation systems.

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 ‘General testing knowledge’ Do’s
n Dielectric representation
• Insulation between components is depicted by a single capacitor –
adequate since a dielectric representation is simply a guidepost to
testing. A dielectric model serves to predict the electrical behavior of an
insulation system so a single capacitor for this type of diagram would not
be adequate.
• To determine how to test, count the # of
separable, accessible windings.
– An autotransformer with an inaccessible
tertiary
– A 4 winding transformer (D-Y-Y-Y) with
Dielectric representation of a 2-
secondary neutrals all connected and grounded winding transformer

internally
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 ‘General testing knowledge’ Do’s
n Test Modes
• The enabling feature of a PF/ DF test instrument that supports test
modes is a “guard circuit”.
• All current resulting from the application of the instrument’s test voltage
will seek to return to the guard point.
• Return paths to the test instrument are provided by up to 3 measuring
leads that are connected between the instrument & the asset under test:
– A “ground” lead
– 2 low voltage leads (R and B)

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 ‘General testing knowledge’ Do’s
n Test Modes
• GST – Ground
• GST – Guard
• UST

• GST modes – Grounded specimen tests; Appended “ground” or “guard”

designation indicates where the test instrument will internally connect
the LV leads (which are optional in use)
• UST mode – Ungrounded specimen test; current flow on the LV leads
are measured
• Ground lead is always used; serves to compare the specimen ground to
the voltage supply ground; is also a current carrying lead used to
measure or guard
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 ‘General testing knowledge’ Do’s
n Do be prepared. “Outside” test variables will be one of the
biggest challenges to deal with regarding this test.
• Test temperature
• Humidity
• Surface leakage
• Quality of test preparations

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 ‘General testing knowledge’ Don’ts
n Don’t ever forget that the success of this test depends on
testing the smallest possible amount of insulation
• Power factor/ dissipation factor represents the average condition
of the total insulation system under test.

• If the system is big enough, some localized contamination may

be impossible to see.
• Do take a look at the size of the specimen you are testing. This
should help shape expectations of the diagnostic capabilities of
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this test.
An important point to be made about
size
n Losses versus relative losses (PF/DF)
n Relative losses allow you to compare “same” insulation systems of
different sizes
n Don’t take this too far…
n You can compare two different sized insulation systems but PF on
the bigger one isn’t as searching as PF on the smaller (so not entirely
scalable). Even with identical PF values for both systems, it is not
safe to say that the 2 systems are in identical condition.

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 ‘General testing knowledge’ Don’ts
n Don’t have unrealistic expectations from the test
• Increasing levels of some contaminants, particularly moisture, do not
result in notable change in PF/ DF until the level of contamination
reaches a certain threshold.

Dissipation
Factor, %

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 Test Preparation

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 ‘Test Preparation’ Do’s
n Do check that the transformer tank is grounded well.
• A poorly grounded tank will often result
in very strange looking test results

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 ‘Test Preparation’ Do’s
n Do physically and electrically isolate each winding’s terminals/
bushings
• ‘Inability’ to do so results in
consequences given in the next 5 slides
• Don’t rely on rubber blankets
sandwiched between bushing terminal
and bus to achieve physical clearance
from the bus.

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 4 consequences of leaving bus
attached to bushings
1. The measured winding to ground (w-g) capacitance, e.g. CH or CL,
will be larger than expected, because:
• The insulation system between the affected winding and ground
cannot be measured independently.
• The bus left attached to the winding introduces an additional
capacitance, Cbus , into the measurement.

• Cmeasured = Cbus ║ Cw-g = Cbus + Cw-g

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 4 consequences of leaving bus
attached to bushings
2. Cw-g power factor/ dissipation factor is not as meaningful.
• Cannot be presumed to be representative of the winding to ground (w-g)
insulation only, because:
– Insulators along the attached bus frame
will be included in the measurement.
– P.F./ D.F. is an average measurement
so the condition of the insulation between the attached
bus and ground may influence the
Cw-g power factor, for better or worse!

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 4 consequences of leaving bus
attached to bushings
3. A problem in the winding to ground (w-g) insulation will be harder to
see because you are measuring more…
• Remember: Less insulation/ smaller = better

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 4 consequences of leaving bus
attached to bushings
4. Surface leakage may especially influence the measurement.
• Winding to ground measurements may already be influenced by
excessive surface leakage on that winding’s bushing terminals.

• If a bus and its support is included in the measurement as

well, the ‘exposed’ surface area of insulation included in the
measurement increases

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 Surface leakage bigger problem on
left or right?

n As the surface area of a specimen becomes larger relative to its

overall insulation size, surface leakage has a greater probability of
affecting the measurement.
n Avoid testing if humidity > 80%, particularly on assets most
vulnerable (bushings, instrument transformers, etc.)

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 ‘Test Preparation’ Do’s
n Do short circuit each separable winding by connecting each
respective winding’s terminals/bushings together.
• Include the neutral, when present
• If neutral is grounded, disconnect the
ground connection for test; reconnect
when testing is complete
• Use bare copper/ aluminum wire only for shorting
jumpers
• Make sure that the shorting jumpers have
adequate clearances from grounded surfaces.

Note: shorting is why a winding’s turn-to-turn insulation is not stressed/assessed

in a power factor test (turn to other tests such as exciting current).
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 Failing to short circuit each winding
n Effect depends on the transformer – influence is variable
n Inductive component is introduced
n IR is unaffected
n The loss angle increases
• d to d’
n Result = higher dissipation factor
higher power factor

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 Test Voltage

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 Test Voltage Don’t
n Don’t be lulled to sleep when test voltage is selected for you
• Typically, industry standard test voltages are automatically
provided once the winding rating(s) and config. of the xfmr is
provided
• Line-to-ground (L-G) single phase test voltage
delivered by the instrument should not exceed
the line-to-line (L-L) voltage rating of the winding
being energized.
• For transformers with a graded insulation system,
the test voltage should be kept less than
the voltage rating of the neutral terminal

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 Test Voltage Do
n Do remember that ‘Power Factor Tip-Up’ (step voltage) may
be a revealing diagnostic
• On oil-paper insulation systems, P.F. tests performed
at all test voltages less than the maximum recommended
voltage are expected to yield the same P. F.
• In this test, an additional PF/DF measurement is made
with a different test voltage and the PF/DF results
are compared.
• An unexpected voltage dependence often indicates
that the insulation is degraded or that there is a
problem in the test circuit.
• Many will forego this test unless a system has a known propensity for
developing voltage dependent problems…
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 Test Voltage Do
n Do take advantage of ‘smart’ tools that remain vigilant when
you decide to pass on a ‘Power Factor Tip-Up’ (step voltage)
test on an oil-filled transformer
• VDD (voltage dependence detection) capabilities capitalize
on a noted correlation of an asset with a voltage dependent
problem and the harmonics generated in its dielectric
response.
• VDD estimates the harmonic content in the measured response
and determines the harmonics created by the test specimen.
• If the harmonic content is too high, the tester is alerted to perform tip-up
testing to confirm that a voltage sensitive issue is present.

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 Test Voltage Don’t
n Don’t bother with traditional PF/ DF tests on service-aged, oil-
filled transformers in the absence of their insulating fluids as a
means to assess moisture and the success of a dry-out….
even at very reduced test voltages.
• PF/DF is relatively insensitive to moisture at low levels
• Risks of fire outweigh rewards of info gained
• Instead, look to DFR testing to monitor the dry out process of a
transformer

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 Analysis

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 Analysis Do’s and Don’ts
n Do have in hand some knowledge about the transformer’s
history
• Helps shape expectations
• Loading, faults, maintenance and repairs
• Previous test results
• Other test results

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 Analysis Do’s and Don’ts
n Don’t ignore capacitance
• In fact, assess capacitance/current first!
• If capacitance/total current has changed from previous, you may not be
testing what you had intended or the physical attributes of the insulation
system has changed notably
– Figure this out before you worry about PF/DF
• Requires that previous results are available
– Factory tests (report; stamped on nameplate (bushings))
– Previous field test
• Transformer winding capacitance should not change by more than ±1%
(bushings (C1) by more than 5 - 10%); greater change warrants a look

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 Analysis Do’s and Don’ts
n Don’t ignore capacitance…even if you don’t have a
benchmark value
• Look out for abnormally low current/ capacitance results
– For power transformers, ≤ 1 – 2 mA
– If CH or CL, check for poor grounding, substandard test
connections, or an improperly designated test mode.
– If CHL or CHT, may not be cause for concern
– May be indicating the presence of a grounded shield
between the high voltage and low voltage windings
– In some multi-winding transformers, a winding itself may
look like a grounded shield to the test circuit (e.g., CHT –
with LV winding between CH and CT)
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 Analysis Do’s
n Do – be reassured that there are well developed suggestions for why
capacitance may have changed, such as:

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 Analysis Do’s and Don’ts
n Do – acknowledge general PF/DF behavior
• PF/ DF – reflects how efficiently the insulation is fulfilling its purpose of
maintaining electrical isolation between points of different potential
• With few exceptions, a 0% PF/DF indicates a system with 0 losses
• A lower PF/DF indicates an insulation system in better condition than
one with a higher PF/DF
n Do – note that PF/DF can be “too low” – lower than expected or even
negative and this may be indicating a problem depending on when
you encounter it
n Do – keep in mind that analyzing PF/DF “simply” means looking for a
change in value from previous

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 Analysis Do’s and Don’ts
n Do – appreciate that assigning significance to a change in PF/DF is
challenging because of the limitations of an averaging index…
• Impossible to know whether a change is due to:
– general, widespread contamination
– aging
– a localized problem. Aging
Each condition is approached differently.
• Example, Class Test Average = 75
75 100
75 50
OR

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 Analysis Do’s and Don’ts
n Localized Problem
• Significantly raises risk of dielectric failure
– Important to identify
– Requires immediate attention
• Not only impossible to determine if one exists from the PF/DF alone,
when there is a localized problem, PF/DF might not change appreciably
because of the averaging influence of surrounding healthy insulation
• Very small increases in PF/DF could be manifestation of very serious
problem

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 Analysis Do’s and Don’ts
n Aging
• Expected
• Appropriate course of action may be increasing vigilance through more
frequent testing
n Widespread contamination
• Might require remediation but it might not be immediate or urgent – may
be reasonable to schedule during more convenient, upcoming
maintenance period
• However, if contaminant is moisture, by the time its presence results in a
PF/DF change, the time likely will have passed when it would have been
most prudent to schedule processing/dry out of the transformer.

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 Analysis Do’s and Don’ts
n Do – give attention to any observed change in PF/DF
n But Do – make sure that you are comparing apples to apples!
• Eliminate influence of “outside” test variables
– Temperature!
– Test preparation
– Surface leakage on bushings
– Condition of bushings

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 Analysis Do’s and Don’ts
n Temperature is a big deal!
• All PF/ DF results need to be normalized to equivalent 20°C PF/
DF values
– Note: No single temp. correction curve will fit all
cases!
– Aging, moisture and contamination all affect thermal response
– Some standards recommend discontinuing the use of temp.
correction tables/ curves.
– Solution: Individual Temperature Correction (ITC) – a unique
correction based on the unique thermal characteristics of the
transformer (reference “ITC TLM bulletin”)

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 Analysis Do’s and Don’ts
n Influence of bushings
• The active insulation of high/low/tertiary bushings are included in the
measure of CH/CL/CT, respectively.
• The condition of a winding’s bushings may influence its PF/DF, for better
or worse. Either way, in these cases, the condition of the materials
inside the transformer tank is masked.
• Alternatively, a winding’s collective bushing insulation systems may
make up only a very small percentage of the total insulation included in
a CH/CL/CT measurement. In such cases, changes in the bushings’
conditions do not notably impact the winding PF/DF.
• Recommend C1 tests on bushings when possible. A simple calculation
effectively subtracts bushing insulation contribution from the CH/CL/CT
measurement so any lingering question is removed.
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 Analysis Do’s and Don’ts
n Do – keep in mind that trending is the #1 way to analyze PF/DF

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 Analysis Do’s and Don’ts
n Don’t – rely on general guidelines or PF limits to analyze PF/DF
results unless there are no previous test results for comparison
• A transformer constructed with relatively low loss materials and
that is subjected to much care in handling during manufacturing
and assembly in the field should meet these limits.

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 Analysis Do’s and Don’ts
n Do – be reassured that there are also well developed
suggestions for why PF/ DF may have changed, such as:

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 References
n Megger TLM (Transformer Life Management) Bulletins
• Available on our web site; search TLM
– Moisture in Power Transformers
– Dynamic Measurements of On-Load Tap Changers (OLTC)
– Individual Temperature Correction (ITC)
– Measuring Transformer Winding Resistance
– Transformer Core Demagnetization
– Power Factor/ Dissipation Factor and Capacitance
– Electrical Testing Efficiency through Test Lead Management
– Oil Tan Delta

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 Survey and Contact Info
n Contact Information
• Presenter
– Jill Duplessis
– jill.duplessis@megger.com
• USA and Mexico Sales
– sales@megger.com
– +1 800 723 2861

• Canada Sales Please help us improve by filling out

– caenquiries@megger.com the survey after the webinar ends
– +1 800 297 9688
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 Join Us For Our Next Webinar
n Practical Applications of Cable Testing & Diagnostics
Techniques
n August 18, 2017 at 10:00 am CST
n Presented by Jason Souchak, Megger Cable Application
Engineer

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 Questions?
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