98-E-ELM-442

Dielectric Response Studies on Insulating System

of High Voltage Rotating Machines

Mohsen Farahani, Hossein Borsi, Ernst Gockenbach

University of Hannover, Institute of Electric Power System (Schering-institute)
Germany

Key Words: Rotating machine Insulation, Dielectric response measurement,

Polarization, Diagnostics, Aging, Moisture

Abstract: especially the calculation of the real ( ’) und

A significant method to characterize the
electrical properties of materials and to
evaluate the condition of the insulating
systems is the dielectric response study which
can be done in the time or frequency domain.
The dielectric response measuring results can
be affected by different parameters like
measuring voltage, temperature, water content
and aging condition of insulating system. In
this work numerous measurements are
presented, thus to understand, how the
dielectric response measurement results can
be affected by the water content and aging
condition of insulating system of high voltage
rotating machines in the time and frequency
domain. Because of the importance of the
dielectric response application as a non-
destructive diagnostic method the possibilities
and limitations of this method to reflect the
deterioration processes due to thermal and
electrical stress were investigated. As test
object, actual stator bars were used, that were
manufactured with Epoxy VPI technology.
Introduction
The importance of dielectric response studies lies
in the fact, that they allow the characterization of
electrical properties of the material and
imaginary ( ’’) parts of the dielectric
permittivity [1] as well as dissipation factor (tan
) and capacitance (C) at different frequencies.
The dielectric response analysis can be used for
different purposes in electric power engineering
like development of new insulating materials,
qualification of insulating systems after
production or for diagnostic of the high voltage
apparatus in a non-destructive manner. Because
of the steadily increasing age of expensive high
voltage components and increasing requirement
for the development and application of improved
diagnostic methods, most recent attention has
been directed on the application of the dielectric
response analysis to evaluate the condition of the
electrical insulation systems.
The traditional dissipation or power factor
measurement, which is conducted during
standardized tests for many power apparatus, is a
single frequency dielectric response
measurement where the test voltage frequency is
the power frequency for which the equipment is
designed. The power factor at a single frequency
is, however, sometimes insufficient to quantify
even strong changes in the dielectric properties
of a complex system [2, 3]. Therefore recent
attention has been focused on measuring various
dielectric response parameters, which

1
 Dielectric Response Studies on Insulating System of High Voltage Rotating Machines
20th International Power System Conference
characterise some known polarisation
phenomena.
The electrical insulation of high voltage rotating
machines is one of the most important parts of
generators und motors with respect to the
manufacturing costs as well as to maintenance
and life time aspects. Defects in the stator
insulating system may be created by combined
thermal, mechanical, electrical and
environmental stresses during operation,
resulting in gradual deterioration [4]. It is of great
importance, that the aging condition of the
insulation can be evaluated based on non-
destructive characteristic parameters. Today, the
estimation of the aging state of the insulating
system and remaining lifetime of a machine is
based on experience and empirical laws found by
extensive testing and dielectric measurements on
machines and on model insulators [5].
In this paper, after a review of the basic theory
and measurement principle of dielectric response
in the time and frequency domain, the results of
the investigations in both domains will be
presented. The effect of humidity on the
dielectric response of the insulating systems of
rotating machines will be discussed and shown,
how the changes within the insulating system in
the course of the applied thermo-electrical and
sole electrical aging procedures can be reflected
by the dielectric response parameters.
Advantages and difficulties of different
measurement methods
The dielectric response analysis method is based
on broad range measurements in time and
frequency domain. The used methods in time
domain are polarization/depolarization current
(PDC) and recovery voltage (RV) measurements
and in frequency domain the dissipation factor
tan ( ) and the complex capacitance C( )
measurements. All of the dielectric spectroscopy
methods are based on measuring the conduction
and dielectric polarization response in time and
frequency domain and they should provide
equivalent results in theory if the dielectric
material can be described as a linear system. In
this case the measured data can be transferred
from one domain to another. This is important
for high voltage insulating materials because it is
2
in many cases easier and more accepted to
interpret data in frequency domain than in time
domain [6].
The time domain measurements have the
advantage of requiring the shorter time to
determine the low frequency dielectric response
and the measurement can be easily set up.
Contrariwise because of the bandwidth of the
current measuring instrument, mechanical
switching of high voltage and rise time of the
high voltage source, the measurement of the high
frequency dielectric response with time domain
methods is difficult, if the conventional set up is
used. Therefore for recording the first result a
minimal time delay is necessary. That means that
the time domain methods are more ideal for low
frequency while frequency domain methods suit
for high frequency measurements.
Furthermore in comparison with time domain
methods the frequency domain measurement has
the advantage, that it is a narrow band
measurement method which makes it easy to
filter noise especially for higher frequencies [7].
This advantage can be very important for
measurements on low loss materials or on-site.
A comparison between time domain measuring
methods (RV and PDC) also makes it clear, that
although RV measurement is less noise-sensitive
and is simple to set up on-site, the measuring
results are sensitive to leakage currents due to the
input impedance of the measuring instrument,
polluted terminations, length and electrical
characteristics of the connecting cable.
Furthermore the test duration is often longer and
the response of RV depends critically on the
duration of charging and grounding [8]. Also the
transformation of the RV measured data to the
frequency domain is more difficult then for PDC
measured data.
Basic theory of dielectric response
If a given electric field E(t) is applied to a
dielectric material both the free and bond
charges will give rise to sources inside the
material in form of charge and current
densities which will give rise to a magnetic
field H(t) with density B(t) according to
Maxwell’s equations [9]. The current density
 Dielectric Response Studies on Insulating System of High Voltage Rotating Machines
20th International Power System Conference
in the dielectric material will be given by
Amperes’ law as:
∂E ∂P
∇ × H = σ 0E + ε0 + (1)
∂t ∂t
Here 0 is the permittivity of vacuum
(8.85419 ×10-12 As/Vm). The first part, the
induced current, is the contribution from the
material volume conductivity, the second part
is the vacuum displacement current and the
third part is the polarisation current [10]. The
electrical polarization P(t) in a dielectric
material can be divided into two parts. The
first part represents “rapid” polarization
processes and follows the applied electric
field. The second part represents “slow”
polarization processes and is built up from a
convolution integral between the applied
electric field and a function called the
dielectric response function f(t) [11].
Assuming a homogeneous material the field
strength E(t) can be considered as generated
by an external voltage u(t). Then, the current
i(t) can be written as:
⎡σ du(t ) d
t
⎤
(2)
dt ∫0
i(t ) = C0 ⎢ 0 u(t ) + ε ∞ + f (t − τ )u(τ )dτ ⎥
⎣ε0 dt ⎦
Here ∞ is the high frequency component of
the permittivity and C0 is the geometric or
vacuum capacitance of the investigated test
object. Now assuming that the test object is
totally discharged and that a step-voltage Uc is
applied at a time t=0, the polarization (or
absorption or charging) current ipol(t) through
the test object can be expressed by the
following equation:
⎡σ ⎤ Time
i pol (t ) = C 0U c ⎢ 0 + ε ∞ δ (t ) + f (t )⎥ (3)
⎣ε0 ⎦
Where δ(t) is the delta function arising from
the suddenly applied step voltage at t=0. The
polarization current due to the step-voltage Uc
is built up by three parts. The first part is
related to the conductivity of the test object
and is independent of any polarization
process. The second part with the delta
function cannot be recorded in practice due to
the large dynamic range of current amplitudes
inherent with the very fast polarization
processes [2]. Therefore the second part can
be neglected. The last part is related to the
3
activation of the different polarization
processes within the test object.
When the step-voltage Uc is removed after tc
and the test object is grounded immediately,
the depolarization (relaxation, discharge, or
desorption) current idepol(t) flows (Figure 1).
This current represents the relaxation of
polarization processes. According to
superposition principle and neglecting the
second term in the right-hand side in Equation
(3), the depolarization current idepol(t) after the
short-circuit for t ≥ tc is then given by:
i depol (t ) = −C 0U c [ f (t ) − f (t + t c )] (4)
As f(t) is a monotonously decaying function,
the second term in the right-hand side in
Equation (4) can be neglected for large values
of tc (f(t)>>f(t+tc)) and the depolarization
current becomes proportional to the dielectric
response function [11]:
− idepol (t )
f (t ) ≈ (5)
C 0U c
It is also possible from Equation (4) and (5) to
estimate the DC conductivity σ0 at the last
measuring points (t=tend), if tend is long
enough:
ε0
σ0 ≈
C 0U c
[i pol (t ) + idepol (t ) ] (6)
Uc
Charging Discharging
Ipol
tc Idepol
Figure 1: Principle of polarization and depolarization
current measurement
The equivalent method to study the slow
polarization part in the time domain is the
study of the dielectric response in the
frequency domain with a sinusoidal excitation
U(ω). Because only sinusoidal excitations are
considered, the Fourier transform is
applicable to Equation (2) as follows:
 Dielectric Response Studies on Insulating System of High Voltage Rotating Machines
20th International Power System Conference

⎡ ⎤ controlled by a personal computer. During the

) ⎢ ⎛ σ0 ⎞⎥ ) (7) polarization current measuring period the
I (ω ) = jωC0 ⎢ε ∞ + χ ′(ω ) − j⎜⎜ + χ ′′(ω ) ⎟⎟⎥ U (ω )
⎢14ε2 43 ε 0ω
⎢⎣
′ (ω ) ⎝1 442443⎠⎥⎥ switch S1 is on and the switch S2 is off while
ε ′′ (ω ) ⎦ during depolarization current measuring
Where χ(ω)=χ’(ω)-jχ’’(ω) is the Fourier period the switch positions are inverse.
transform of the dielectric response function
Test
f(t) and defined as the complex dielectric
susceptibility. Also   ' j '' is the
complex relative permittivity and in many R
situation it is more convenient to use the
complex permittivity instead of the complex S
S2
S
p
susceptibility [2]. The loss factor tan ( ) in A
frequency domain can therefore be defined as U =
follows:
σ0
+ χ ′′(ω )
ε ′′(ω ) ε 0ω Figure 3: PDC measuring set-up
tan δ (ω ) = = (8)
ε ′(ω ) ε ∞ + χ ′(ω ) To measure the dielectric response in frequency
domain the insulation diagnostic system IDA
Test object 200 [12] has been used to measure the dielectric
The model stator bars used for this losses tan ( ) and the capacitance C( ) at
investigation belong to an insulating system discrete frequencies. The frequency range of the
with a rated voltage of 10 kV. The bar instrument is 10-4 to 103 Hz and the measurement
insulation is based on the epoxy VPI has been done at a peak voltage of 200 V.
technology. A guard ring has been added at Experimental results
both ends of the measuring electrode to avoid In Figure 4 the measured polarization and
edge effect and surface leakage current from depolarization currents for a new factory
the bar ends (Figure 2). The stator bar has a produced stator bar at Uc=2 kV (≈1.11 kV/mm)
geometric capacitance C0= 375 pF and a total are plotted in a log-log scale. This measurement
capacitance C50Hz = 1.42 nF. was done at room temperature (RT ≈ 23°C). The
Copper Conductor sign of the depolarization current values have
Conductor Paint
(HV-Electrode)
(Measuring Electrode)
been changed, thus both polarization and
Guard Ring Guard Ring depolarization current values are positive. The
noise in the polarisation current curve is from the
voltage source.
10-7
0.00

10-8
0.00 Ipol
Ipol
Idepol
Figure 2: Used stator bar as test object Idpol
Current (A)

0.00
10-9

Measuring Set-Up 0.00

10-10
An automated experimental set-up has been
developed and implemented to continuously 0.00
10-11

measure the polarization and depolarization 0.00

10-12
current according to equations (3) and (4) 10-1
0.1 10
10 101
10 102
100 103
1000 104
10000
with exception of the contribution from the Time (s)

delta function as shown in Figure 3. A DC
source is used for charging the test object and
a Pico-Amperemeter is used to measure the
polarization and depolarization current. The
whole measurement set-up is automatically
4
Figure 4: Polarization and depolarization current (tc=10000
s, Uc=2 kV, C0=375 pF, RT)
The measured loss factor and capacitance as a
function of the frequency on the same new
factory produced stator bar is shown in Figure 5.
 Dielectric Response Studies on Insulating System of High Voltage Rotating Machines
20th International Power System Conference

1.70
0.00 0.04 The measuring results of the dissipation factor
tan
tan dδ
and capacitance as a function of the frequency
1.60
0.00 C 0.03 during the thermo-electrical aging processes are
presented in Figure 6. The dissipation factor
C (nF)

0.00
1.50
0.00
1.40
1.30
0.00
10-4 4.64E-03
10-3 10-2 10-12.15E+00
100 101 101.00E+03
2
103
Freqency (Hz)
Figure 5: Dissipation factor und capacitance as
function of frequency (C0=375 pF, RT)
The dielectric response function for a finite
charging period of tc=10000 seconds is
estimated from the depolarisation current
according to Equation (5) and the application
of the last square optimization algorithm.
Equation (9) presents the calculated dielectric
response function for the new factory
produced stator bars and confirms that the
dielectric response function of the insulating
system of high voltage rotating machines
follows the “Curie- von Schweidler” model.
Also the DC conductivity is estimated
according to Equation (6) at the last measured
points to σ0 ≈ 2×10-16 S/m.
f (t ) = At − n = 0.033 t −0.85 (9)
Dielectric response behavior under
tan δ
0.02
and the capacitance at all frequencies firstly
0.01 shift towards lower values due to the
reduction of humidity and post curing
0.00 processes of the insulation due to the heating.
This change is at low frequencies greater than
at high frequencies. Hence the frequency
dependence of the dissipation factor is
decreased. Afterwards the loss factor
increases with the development of the aging
process. This change is not the equal at all
frequencies and the changes at lower
frequencies (f<1 mHz) are very small. The
loss factor for aged material shows some local
maximums, whose position and height change
with the aging time.
The measuring results of the capacitance as
function of frequency show, that the
capacitance decreases in general at all
frequencies with the aging time. The changes
in the high frequencies are clearly more
pronounced and thus the frequency
dependence of the capacitance is increased.
New
0.03
After 1500 h
After 3000 h
After 4500 h
0.02
tan δ

thermo-electrical stress After 6500 h

After 7000 h
An insulating system is stressed during
operation by several factors like temperature, 0.01

electrical field, and/or mechanical forces and

in principle by the simultaneous application 0
0 -4 10
10 0 -3 0.01
10-2 0.1
10-1 10
1 0 101 100
102 1000
103
of different stresses the insulation is affected
Frequency (Hz)
stronger compared to purely additive
application. Temperature and electrical field New After 1500 h
are of special importance for the aging 1.70
0.00 After 3000 h After 4500 h
procedures. In order to examine the sensitivity After 6500 h After 7000 h

of the dielectric response the thermo-electrical

C (nF)

1.50
0.00
aging processes the same stator bars (C0=375
pF) are stressed by the application of 1.30
0.00
electrical stress of 5.5 kV/mm (10 kV, 50 Hz)
and thermal stress of 150°C. The electrical 1.10
0.00
field is approximately 1.7 times higher than 0-4
10 0 -3 0.01
10 10-2 0.1
10-1 10
1 0 101 100
102 100
103
the nominal value. Due to this accelerated 0
Frequency (Hz)
aging an electrical breakdown occurred within
Figure 6: Dissipation factor und capacitance as a
the insulation of the stator bar after 7183
function of the frequency during the thermo-electrical
hours. aging process (C0=375 pF, RT)

5
 Dielectric Response Studies on Insulating System of High Voltage Rotating Machines
20th International Power System Conference

0.00
10-7 of the depolarization current curve with some
exponential components. The number of
10-8
0.00 exponential terms can be thus chosen that
there is at least one term per each measuring
Current (A)

New
10-9
0.00 After 1500 h
After 3000 h
After 4500 h
10-10
0.00 After 5300 h
After 6500 h
After 7000 h
10-11
0.00
10-1
0.1 1010
Time (s)
Figure 7: Depolarization current during the thermo-electrical
aging process (tc=10000 s, Uc=2 kV, C0=375 pF, RT)
The change of the dielectric response in time
domain during the thermo-electrical aging
processes is presented in Figure 7. This figure
confirms the measuring results of the
frequency domain. While the changes of the
measured depolarization current at longer
times (t>100 s) are very low, the change at
short times is significant. That means, that
thermal and electrical stresses cause an
increase of the polarization and depolarization
current, which affects more the fast than the
slow polarization processes.
If the dielectric response function is estimated
with the “Curie- von Schweidler” model at
different aging condition the dielectric
response function constants (A and n) can be
considered as sensitive parameters on the
aging process, as listed in Table 1. These
constants first decrease because of the
decade. E.g. if the depolarization current has
been measured from 1 to 1000 seconds it is
estimated at least with three exponential terms
as follows:
t t t
− − −
τ1 τ2 τ3
10 1 102
100 103
1000
idepol (t ) ≈ A1e + A2 e + A3 e (13)
The constants of A1,2,3 and 1,2,3 can be
calculated with the help of a nonlinear
optimization algorithm. The constants 1, 2
and 3 represent the relaxation time of the
different polarization mechanisms and can be
considered as the specific parameters, which
react to the aging processes within the
insulation. From the depolarization current
measuring results at different aging times the
relaxation time constants have been calculated.
The calculated results are represented in Figure
8. From this figure it can to be recognized that
the reaction of the relaxation time constants on
the changes within the insulation is significant,
particularly the time constants 1 und 2
reflect very well the changes within the
insulation due to the thermo-electrical stresses.
While they first decrease because of the
reduction of humidity and post curing processes
within the insulation, they rise clearly thereafter
with increasing aging time.
7
Relaxation Time Constants (s)

τ1
ta1
reduction of humidity and the post curing 6
τ2 (x10)
ta2
process of the insulation by heating. After that 5
τ3 (x100)
ta3
they increase with the aging time. 4
3
Table 1: The estimated dielectric response function 2
parameters (A, n) as function of aging time
1
A n
Aging Time (h)
(×10-3) 0
0 1500 3000 4500 5800 6500 7000
0 31 0.83
1500 8 0.78 Aging Duration (h)
3000 8 0.81
Figure 8: Change of the relaxation time constants during
4500 11 0.83
the thermo-electrical aging process (tc=10000 s, Uc=2 kV,
5800 17 0.94
C0=375 pF, RT)
6500 27 0.91
7000 33 1.01
The main chemical reaction in the organic
parts of the insulating system (Epoxy resin)
Another method to analyze the measuring due to thermal aging is the splitting of the
data in the time domain is the approximation high weight molecules in the Epoxy network

6
 Dielectric Response Studies on Insulating System of High Voltage Rotating Machines
20th International Power System Conference

and the generation of molecules with low
weight. If an oxygen molecule is near a
broken end of the polymer chain, a chemical
reaction occurs by bonding the oxygen with
the broken end. This process is called
oxidation and gradually makes the insulation
brittle [13]. Such processes produce both
volatile gaseous products (H2O, CO, CO2) as
well as solid low-molecular and Oligomer
components (Methylcyclo-pentadien, to a
lesser extent Methyl-, Vinyl- and
Ethylchloride) which are trapped in the resin.
Since these components are mostly polar, they
exhibit more dielectric losses which can be
observed in the curves of the dielectric
response in the time and frequency domain.
during an accelerated electrical aging process
on stator bars with C0=375 pF at room
temperature are presented in Figures 9 and 10.
The test objects were aged by application of a
sole electrical stress of 8.3 kV/mm (15 kV, 50
Hz). This electrical field is approximately 2.5
times higher then the nominal value. Due to
this accelerated aging an electrical breakdown
occurred within the insulation of the stator bar
after 5825 hours. The last measurements have
been done 125 hours before electrical
breakdown.
10-7
New
After 2600 h
10-8
After 5700 h

Current (A)
Another process, which contributes to the
10-9
degradation of the Epoxy resin and to the
increase of the dielectric losses, is a gradual
10-10
weakening of the adhesive strength of the
binding components. Thus the present free
10-11
volume within the epoxy resin increases 10-1 100 101 102 103
which allows increased mobility of the polar Time (s)
groups and components [14]. Therefore an
Figure 9: Depolarization current during the electrical
increase of the dielectric losses in an stress (tc=10000 s, Uc=2 kV, C0=375 pF, RT)
insulating system of the high voltage rotating
machine over the years will be an indication 0.04
of insulation aging. New
After 2600 h
0.03
Dielectric response behavior under After 5700 h
tan δ

electrical stress 0.02

In practice the electrical stress plays the main
role in the development of insulation 0.01
deterioration and the final breakdown, while
other stresses such as thermal, mechanical, 0
thermo-mechanical and environmental 10-4 10-3 10-2 10-1 100 101 102 103

stresses are mostly the inception factor for Frequency (Hz)

creation of defects in insulating systems. The 0.00

1.60
electrical stress can cause partial discharges in 0.00
New
1.55
voids and cavities, which erode insulating After 2600 h
0.00
materials and may lead to electrical treeing, 1.50 After 5700 h
C (nF)

which is often referred to as the most 0.00

1.45
important degradation mechanism in solid 0.00
1.40
insulations. Therefore the ability of detection 0.00
1.35
of such deterioration processes is very
0.00
important and it is necessary to investigate the 1.30
1E-04
10-4 0.001
10-3 0.01
10-2 0.1
10-1 1 0 10
10 10 1 100
102 1000
103
characteristic parameters, which are able to Frequency (Hz)
describe the condition of the insulation.
The measuring results of the depolarization Figure 10: Dissipation factor und capacitance as a
function of the frequency during the electrical stress
current, the dissipation factor and the (C0=375 pF, RT)
capacitance as a function of frequency and
7
 Dielectric Response Studies on Insulating System of High Voltage Rotating Machines
20th International Power System Conference
The figures show no significant changes in
the dielectric response curves in time and
frequency domain due to the electrical stress.
This means, that the influence of the sole
electrical stress on the polarization
mechanisms in the insulation is negligible.
Therefore it is believed, that the degradation
of insulating materials due to such sole
electrical stress could not be recognised well
by dielectric response measurement.
Effect of the moisture on dielectric
response
For the condition evaluation of the insulating
systems beside of the aging the determination
of the moisture content is very important,
because a local heating of wet parts within the
insulation can lead to a thermal breakdown. In
machines the pollution of insulating material
by water may occur accidentally. In large
generators, stator bars are cooled by water
circulation within hollow strands and if leaks
appear in the cooling system due to vibration
and mechanical stress, water may come in
contact with the solid insulation at some
places [15]. The machine insulation can suck
water according to capillary effect. The water
absorption will also occur when machines are
stored in badly ventilated places with high
humidity, in case of longer out of service in
the high humidity season or due to direct
water absorption e.g. on transport as well as
with the entrance of water vapor [16].
The degradation caused by water can be due
to both chemical and physical mechanisms.
The chemical degradation mechanisms
generate ions [17], due to water reaction with
components of material (epoxy, glass, mica).
This tends to reduce adhesion between these
components. The physical degradation
implies the formation of water layers around
the fillers [18]. As a result, it was suggested,
that interfacial polarization at the interface
between the resin and fillers increase because
of the water absorption at this place [15].
8
In order to understand the influence of the
humidity on the dielectric properties, the
dielectric response measurements have been
done in the time and frequency domain on the
insulating system of high voltage machines
with different humidity condition. Therefore
stator bars with a geometric capacitance of
C0=254 pF have been put in water at room
temperature for some weeks and afterwards
the dielectric response was measured. The
measurements were periodically
accomplished also after certain times, by
drying at temperature of 25 °C, 40 °C and 70
°C. Figure 11 shows the change in dissipation
factor and capacitance at different states
which are described in Table 2.
The measuring results confirm the sensitivity
of the dielectric response to water content in
the high and low frequency, although the
changes in low frequency are more dominant.
The dielectric losses increase because the
water molecule is polar and the rising water
content of the insulation causes an increase in
the orientation polarization processes, beside
other physical and chemical degradations
which may also lead to an increase of the
polarization and conduction processes. The
dissipation factor in the wet condition exhibits
a local peak, which shifts toward low
frequencies with drying process within the
insulation and finally disappears. The
capacitance or relative permittivity also shows
an increase with water absorption and return
to original values within the drying progress.
Table 2: Description of different states of the
presented measuring results
State Description
1 new manufactured stator bar (relatively dry)
2 after some weeks in water and some days
drying at 25 °C (relatively wet)
3 after moreover 20 days drying at 25 °C
4 after moreover 20 days drying at 25 °C
5 after moreover 5 days drying at 40 °C
6 after moreover 3 days drying at 70 °C
7 after moreover 3 days drying at 70 °C
 Dielectric Response Studies on Insulating System of High Voltage Rotating Machines
20th International Power System Conference

0.04 Conclusion
1
2 The dielectric spectroscopy in the time and
3
0.03 4 frequency domain is a useful tool to quantify
5
and diagnose the electrical insulating systems.
tan δ

6
0.02 7
The measuring results presented in this paper
0.01
show, that the sensitivity of the polarization
and conduction processes on the changes
0 within the insulating system of high voltage
10-3 0.01
0.001 10-2 10-1
0.1 10
10 101
10 102 1000
100 103 rotating machines due to aging processes and
Frequency (Hz)
moisture content allows the study and
0.00
1.05 evaluation of the insulating condition. The
1
1.00
0.00 2 dielectric response measurements can be done
3
4
in the both time and frequency domain, both
0.95
0.00
having their own advantages and
C (nF)

0.90
0.00
0.85
0.00
0.80
0.00
10-3 0.01
0.001 10-2 0.1
10-1 10
1
0
101
10
100
Frequency (Hz)
Figure 11: Dissipation factor und capacitance as a
function of the frequency at different water content
conditions (C0=375 pF, RT)
A comparison between the water content and
the aging influence on the dielectric response
in the frequency domain clarifies that
although in general both of them lead to
increase of the dissipation factor, their
influence on the capacitance is different.
While the increase of the water content leads
to a rise of the capacitance in all frequencies,
the capacitance generally decreases within the
thermo-electrical aging as shown in Figure 6.
On the other hand the influence of the
humidity and aging on the capacitance is in
the low and high frequency ranges different.
The humidity affects more the low frequency
values, while the effect of aging is more
remarkable in the high frequency range. From
this observation it can be concluded, that the
change in the capacitance as well as relative
permittivity can be considered as an important
parameter to separate the influence of the
humidity and aging and to evaluate the
condition of the insulation.
5
6
7 disadvantages.
The investigations with accelerated thermal
and electrical aging procedures on the
machine insulation show, that the dielectric
102 1000
103
response reflects well the thermal degradation
of the insulating material, although the
degradation due to a sole electrical stress
could not be detected well with the dielectric
response measurement.
As characteristic criteria in the time domain,
which are sensitive to changes within the
insulation the constants of dielectric response
function (A and n) or the relaxation time
constants ( 1, 2) can be monitored. In the
frequency domain beside the changes in
absolute value of dielectric loss and
capacitance in different frequencies the
position and height of the local maximums in
the dissipation factor curves can also be very
significant.
Acknowledgment
The authors gratefully acknowledge GE
Energy Management Services GmbH and
Programma Electronic AB for letting us to
use the IDA 200 Insulation Diagnostic
System, the German Academic Exchange
Service (DAAD) for financial support and
Siemens AG Large Drives for material
support.

9
 Dielectric Response Studies on Insulating System of High Voltage Rotating Machines
20th International Power System Conference
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