

                                 
- Theory
You are here: Home | About Partial Discharge (PD)
Search

About Partial Discharge (PD)

Partial Discharge (PD)
What is Partial Discharge?
Partial Discharge (PD) is an electrical discharge that does not completely bridge the space between two
conducting electrodes. The discharge may be in a gas filled void in a solid insulating material, in a gas
bubble in a liquid insulator, or around an electrode in a gas. When partial discharge occurs in a gas, it
is usually known as corona.
Partial discharge is generally accepted as the predominant cause of long term degradation and
eventual failure of electrical insulation. As a result, its measurement is standard procedure in the
factory testing of many types of high voltage equipment. In addition, partial discharge activity can be
tested for or monitored on in-service equipment to warn against pending insulation failure.
What is Partial Discharge?
11kV Cable end box after an HV fault

How to Detect PD?

PD in bushing
MV cable fault as a result of PD

How does Partial Discharge Occur?

Partial discharge occurs in gas filled cavities or defects in the high voltage insulation. These defects
can originate in a number of ways;
During manufacture – Solid insulators are designed to give an even distribution of electrical stress
between the conducting electrodes. However, in practice, defects can arise during manufacture that
give rise to small cavities or voids in the insulation bulk.
Equipment installation – When electrical equipment is factory assembled or installed on site, mistakes
can be made that either damage and therefore weaken the insulation, or cause increased electrical
stress across the insulation.
Ageing and deterioration – Most insulating materials naturally deteriorate with age as internal chemical
bonds break down. This process makes the insulation weaker and less durable when withstanding the
electrical stresses arising under normal working conditions.
Over stressed in-service – A short circuit fault or lightening impulse is likely to impose stress on the
insulation due to a fault current or an overvoltage. Although such events usually have a short duration,
the increased electrical stress or heating from the current overload can cause permanent damage to
the insulation.
In-service damage – Electrical equipment can be physically damaged whilst in service due to external
factors. Underground cables are particularly susceptible to third party damage, by, for instance road
works near buried cables or the cumulative effect of heavy vehicles passing over them.

Why PD occurs at normal working voltages

The defects or cavities in solid insulation are usually filled with a gas of significantly lower breakdown
strength than the surrounding material. In addition to this, the permittivity of the gas is invariably
lower than that of the solid insulation, causing the electric field intensity in the cavity to be higher than
that in the surrounding dielectric. Therefore, under the normal working stress of the insulation, the
voltage across the cavity may exceed the breakdown value and initiate electrical breakdown, or Partial
Discharge in the void.
Electrical power is generally transmitted with a sinusoidal alternating current. The insulation
undergoes varying electrical stress throughout the power cycle, with two peaks in stress per cycle.
This creates a very distinctive distribution of discharge activity. The pattern, or distribution of the
discharges in the power cycle, is key to recognising PD and distinguishing it from other unrelated
noise sources and identifying the source. The pattern is sometimes called a PRPD (Phase Resolved
Partial Discharge) or φ-q-n pattern.
PRPD display

Surface Tracking
Tracking is the formation of a permanent conducting path across an insulator surface. Usually, the
conduction path results from degradation of the insulation. Tracking occurs in carbon based
compounds.
High voltage plants are often very difficult to clean and are therefore susceptible to dirt and
contaminant can build up. In the presence of moisture, these contaminating layers give rise to leakage
current over the insulator surface. This heats the surface and through evaporation causes interruption
in the moisture film. Large potential differences are generated over the gaps in the moisture film and
small sparks can bridge the gaps. Heat from the sparks causes carbonisation of the insulation and
leads to the formation of permanent carbon tracks on the surface. Under such conditions, this process
will develop over time and eventually lead to flashover and full breakdown of the insulation.
Tracking as a phenomenon severely limits the use of organic insulators in outdoor environments. The
rate of tracking depends on the structure of the polymers and can be significantly reduced by adding
appropriate fillers to the polymer, which inhibits carbonisation.
Damage caused by surface tracking

Research & Development

IPEC have a strong research and development team and as a result are able to offer test and
monitoring solutions incorporating the latest technological advancesWith almost 20 years’ experience,
IPEC has built a database containing over 400 million examples of Partial Discharge, all sampled at a
high resolution from a wide range of HV assets. This unique data resource is used for the continuous
development of PD detection algorithms; improving the accuracy and reliability of analysis. New
products under development will make PD detection and location easier than ever before.

Published Papers
IPEC regularly contribute papers to industry and academic conferences.

Detection and location of PD in MV Cables in Electrically Noisy Industrial Environments

Carl Eastham, IPEC Ltd, UK • Colin Smith, IPEC Ltd, UK • Fa-Chung Chen, Wain Tsiang Enterprise Co., Ltd, Taiwan
Paper 1205, CIRED 2011 – 21st International Conference on Electricity Distribution

The Location of Switchgear Partial Discharge by Panel and Techniques to Correlate Switchgear and
Cable Partial Discharge with Load and Substation Environment
Cliff Walton, PPA Energy, UK • C Smith, IPEC Ltd, UK • Matthieu Michel, UK Power Networks, UK
Paper 0862, CIRED 2011 – 21st International Conference on Electricity Distribution

Improving the Management of MV Underground Cable Circuits Using Automated On-line Cable Partial
Discharge Mapping
Carl Eastham, IPEC Ltd, UK
Paper 0479, CIRED 2011 – 21st International Conference on Electricity Distribution
Data Mining Methods to Predict Failure due to Partial Discharge
Gareth Poulton, IPEC Ltd, UK • C Smith, IPEC Ltd, UK • Wai-Shing Ho, University of Hong Kong, HK
Paper 0907, CIRED 2011 – 21st International Conference on Electricity Distribution

Avoidance of MV Switchgear Failure Case Studies of On-line Condition Monitoring

Cliff Walton, PPA Energy, UK • Sarah Carter, PPA Energy, UK • Matthieu Michel, UK Power Networks, UK • Carl Eastham,
IPEC Ltd, UK
Paper 0422, CIRED 2009 – 20th International Conference on Electricity Distribution

Integrated Condition Monitoring for Subsea Power Cable Systems

Roman Svoma, PowerSure Technology Ltd, UK • Colin Smith, IPEC Ltd, UK • Chris Conway, Bandweaver, UK
Paper 1000, CIRED 2009 – 20th International Conference on Electricity Distribution

Influence of Network Events on Partial Discharge Activity and Cable Health

Colin Smith, IPEC Ltd, UK • Matthieu Michel, EDF Energy Networks, UK
Paper 0487, CIRED 2009 – 20th International Conference on Electricity Distribution

Copyright © 2020 IPEC Ltd. Registered in England and Wales No. 03123703
