OWTS - PD Test & Fault Location System: DAC Measurement Acc. IEC 60270

OWTS – PD Test & Fault Location System
DAC Measurement acc. IEC 60270

Methods of the Cable Fault Detection
Cable Diagnosis Expenses?

vaticinal Planning Reliability?
non-destructive Prevention ?
Cable Testing
Fault Detection?
preventive
„destructive“
Cable Fault Location
Capital reactive
Investments ?
(unplanned) Outage Time?
Net Reliability?
28.03.2022
© SebaKMT – Measuring and Location Techniques. MADE in GERMANY 2
Causes for Partial Discharges
Source: Delft University of Technology
©
28.03.2022 SebaKMT – Measuring and Location Techniques. MADE in GERMANY 3
Cost Accounting
Specified Costs of Repair
Costs of a Cable Fault Location & Repair (Breakdown & Outage during
normal Operation)
6.000,00 € … 8.000,00 €
Final Costs for Outage & Custom Payments are not included
Costs of a Cable Testing, Cable Fault Location & Repair (Breakdown &
Outage during the performed Cable Testing)
Insulation Fault: 3.600,00 € … 4.500,00 €

Sheath Fault: 2.000,00 € … 3.500,00 €
28.03.2022
Cost Accounting
„Virtual“ Costs
Fault during normal Operation leads to unuasual „Stress“ of whole

Network & could provoke further Cable Faults
Increased Cable Ageing
1. One Phase Breakdown

Higher Voltages at other Phases (1,72 U0)
Faster Growing of other Weak Spots
2. Travelling Waves stimulate the Growth of smaller Weak Spots
3. Higher Current (due to Flashover) strains all Components of the

Cable Network
28.03.2022
Why we need PD Diagnosis
Condition Assessment of (old PILC) cCbles &

their Accessories
Quality Control
Cost Reduction leads to lower Quality of
Workmanship on new installed Cables
Reduction & Prevention of Service
Interruptions
Investigation
Systematic Faults (bad mounted Joints &
Terminations)
Unclear Shorttime Earth Faults
28.03.2022
Different Maintenance Strategies
Source: Technical University of Chemnitz
©
Why Condition Based Maintenance
Singapore Power Grid uses: Cutting-edge Technology for

Condition Monitoring
Condition based Monitoring
Protection System for Cable System &
Equipment
OWTS Technology used to detect & prevent potential Network Failures
at Underground Cables
28.03.2022
Available Diagnostic Methods
©
What is a Partial Discharge (PD)
Definition acc. IEC 60270:2000

Localized electrical Discharge that only partially bridges the
Insulation between Conductors & which can or cannot occur
adjacent to a Conductor
Definition from IEEE 400.3:2006

Small electric Sparks or Discharge that occurs in Defects in the
Insulation
Do not bridge the Insulation between Conductors & the Defects may
be: Entirely within the Insulation (Cavities)
Along Interfaces between Insulating Materials
(e.g., Accessories)
Along Surfaces (Terminations or Potheads)
Characteristics depend on
Type Applied Voltage
Size Cable Temperature
Location of Defects Insulation Material
28.03.2022
Example
Source: www.youtube.com/watch?v=11SFDeBYF_4
©
PILC Cables & PILC related Components
dry Insulation due to thermal Load Water Ingress due to Lead

or bad Impregnation Sheath Corrosion
higher Field
Stress
carbonised PD Tracks
Paper
Layers
several Metres
Source:VWEW Infotag 2004; contribution AVISO
©
XLPE Cables & XLPE related Components
inverted Water Tree
Impurities
(conductive ; non conductive)
Delamination
Voids
(Microvoids)
Protrusions of Semicon Layers
Source:VWEW Infotag 2004; contribution AVISO
©
In XLPE cables & XLPE related Components
Important: Water Trees do not generate PD‘s

Only when an electrical Tree has been inverted on Top
of the Water Tree PD‘s will be generated
Source: H.T. Putter, Investigation of Water Treeing – Electrical Treeing Transition in Polymeric Insulation of Service Aged Power Cables. Delft 2007
28.03.2022
Electrical Treeing
Initiated on large vented tree during step testing
Water Trees do not create PD at all!
Water Tree Detection is NOT an Application of

PD Diagnosis
Electrical Trees Growing very fast & cause a Breakdown

of the Cable within a short Time, also under Service
Conditions
Such Faults must be eliminated by VLF-Testing
28.03.2022
Electric Field - Components
Electric Field represented by:

Field Lines
Represent the Path a small
Charge would follow if it were
free to move
Equipotential Lines
Lines where the potential
Voltage has constant Value
Comparison of Equipotential Lines

are topographic (contour)
Mappings
28.03.2022
Electric Field - Components
©
Classic Equivalent Circuit Diagram
a ... Capacitance representing the healthy Part of the Insulation

b ... Representing the Capacitance of the dielectric Material
(in series with Capacitance of the Cavity c)
c ... Capacitance of the Cavity
Source: F.H. Kreuger, Industrial High Voltage - Volume 1, Delft University Press 1991, ISBN 90-6275-561-5, pp. 125
©
Assic ABC-Model
When Voltage Va raises, so is the

Voltage Vc
When Voltage Vc crosses the

Breakdown Voltage of the Cavity
Discharge will take place
Voltage will rise again, until next

Discharge
Repetitive PD Pattern
Source: F.H. Kreuger, Industrial High Voltage - Volume 1, Delft University Press 1991, ISBN 90-6275-561-5, pp. 126
28.03.2022
PD Pattern Recognition
Source: Andreas Küchler – Hochspannungstechnik, 2. Auflage (2004), ISBN: 3-540-21411-9, pp. 231
©
PD Diagnosis - Parameters
Partial Discharge Inception Voltage (PDIV)

Voltage Level with first measureable PD Pulses
Determined by stepwise Increase of Test Voltage
PDIV should be higher than Nominal Voltage U0
Remark: NEW installed Cables should be PD free up to 2 U0
Partial Discharge Extinction Voltage (PDEV)
Voltage Level where PD Pulses extinct
PDEV often below PDIV & should be above U0
PD which starts above U0 can nevertheless extinguish below (Overvoltage)
PD-level at U0
Average & max. PD Level in pC at Nominal Voltage
For specific Type of Insulation & Accessories empirical Trending or Limiting
Levels are known
Background Noise Level (BGN)
Interferences of external Noises (Radio Stations, bad Grounding, ...)
PD Signals below BGN cannot be determined
On-site BGN: normally between 20 pC ...150 pC
28.03.2022
PD Diagnosis - Parameters
PDIV & PDEV
PDIV PDEV
Partial Discharge Inception Voltage Partial Discharge Extinction Voltage
Voltage where first Discharge Voltage where last Discharge
appear (incept) disappear (extinct)
In practice: 10% ... 35% below PDIV
28.03.2022
Travelling Wave Principle
©
Location of Partial Discharges – Travelling Wave Method
PD at Beginning
of Cable Δt
t [µs]
PD in the Middle
of Cable
PD at End of
Cable
t [µs]
Δt
Δt = Time Difference between 1. and 2. Reflection
©
PD Diagnosis - Summary
PD Diagnosis can detect local Weak Spots situated in:

Cable Insulation
Joints
Cable Terminations
PD Diagnosis is “non-destructive”
PD Diagnosis can be performed on every Type of Cable:

PE
XLPE
EPR
PVC
Mixed Cable Systems
For analysis Purposes: Voltage Type equivalent to Mains Frequency

(important)
28.03.2022
Introduction
For the decision making process the measurement data is the most
important part
Following parameters should be used for the decision making:
PDIV (Partial Discharge Inception Voltage)

Most important criteria
In general: the lower the PDIV is, the more critical the PD affected
spot should be considered
For PILC: PDIV has to be monitored over time
 PDIV remains constant: good sign
 PDIV decreases: sign of ageing
PDEV (Partial Discharge Extinction Voltage)

Only of importance if PDIV > U0
If PDEV < U0, then there is a high chance that the PD is always
present at operating voltage
28.03.2022
Introduction
PD Level at U0
Based on PD-level at U0 decisions like replacement / monitoring &
no further action required can be made
Increased PD level (between PDIV/PD level at U0 & PD Level at 1.7U0)

Parameter used by a Dutch Power Utility
If increase in PD level is really high, then no matter
what PD level at U0 was, joint will still be replaced
PD concentration
Number of PD‘s also gives an indication of the
severity of the PD affected weak spot
If number of PD is low, the weak spot should not be
treated the same way as when the PD concentration is high
Dielectric losses
Important to monitor: could give an indication if cable is wet
PD level generally lower if cable is wet or no PD‘s occur anymore!!!
28.03.2022
Introduction
In general the decision making is divided into two categories, for:
1. Commissioning Testing (new cables)
2. Condition Monitoring (in-service cables)
For newly installed polymer insulated cables the trending limits are
unquestionable
If everything has been installed correctly the cable & accessoiries
should be PD-free up to at least 1.7U0
Every PD affected spot is a sign of bad workmanship & can lead to
premature failures & therefore should be replaced
28.03.2022
Introduction
In a lot of countries the PD Diagnosis is already used as part of a

commissioning test (Netherlands, Spain, Singapore, Poland, Czech
Republik)
In Germany recently a recommendation has been published

„VDE Recommendation for commissioning testing of MV cables“
(Nov 2011)
Describes PD diagnosis as an important test for commissioning
testing
28.03.2022
Introduction
Recommendation VDE
The treatment recommendation was created by the same work group,

which was responsible for the development of the VDE Cable Data
Base
Members of this working group were specialists of:
18 Power Utilities
4 Universities
4 Service providers for testing and diagnosis
1 Armature manufacturer
1 Cable consulting company
4 Manufacturers of PD measuring systems
28.03.2022
Introduction
Recommendation VDE
Experiences of 20 years commissioning tests with 0,1 Hz VLF test

voltage indicate, that by a voltage test, only the very serious
installation errors are detected
There is a large variety of installation errors, which pass the
commissioning tests, and fail only after several years of operation
Target
Fulfillment of the statutory requirements of the Operation Safety
Act, DIN VDE 0105 in respect to the commissioning test of new
installed resp. modified electrical systems.
Quality control of new installed armatures by PD testing
Gaining of information for the condition assessment of cable
systems
28.03.2022
Recommendation VDE
1. Cable Sheath testing
Table 1: Test voltage levels and requirements
Sheath Material PE PVC
Identification 2Y Y
Cable types (examples) NA2XS(F)2Y NA2XSY
Test voltage type DC DC
Test voltage level < 5 kV < 3 kV
Test duration < 5 min < 5 min

Typical leakage current < 100 µA/km < 800 µA/km @ 3 kV
28.03.2022
Recommendation VDE
2.1. Commissioning testing of newly installed cables
Table 2: Overwiew of the test levels and durations to be used for

Plastic and Paper mass impregnated MV cables.
28.03.2022
Recommendation VDE
2.2 Testing of the cable insulation after new installation of pure XLPE Cables
Field test statistics indicated that test faults appear within 15 to 30

minutes of operation
Test durations of 60 minutes produced no additional information or
results
Therefore: test duration of 30 minutes is considered as sufficient
Significant amount of the faults, that are probably not detected during
the voltage tests can be detected & localized by an additional partial
discharge measurement.
28.03.2022
Recommendation VDE
3. Partial discharge measurements for commissioning tests
PD Measurement allows to control:

Cable quality
Condition of the complete system installation
Potential fault spots can be detected early
Evaluation of the system & budgeting of the required investments
can be made
A fundamental rule: PD occurring at U0 indicate a high risk for

operating faults
PD test systems with the following voltages are available:

0,1 Hz VLF (Very Low Frequency)
20 – 300 Hz AC
100 – 500 Hz DAC
28.03.2022
Recommendation VDE
PD Diagnosis
New installed armatures (joints & terminations):

PD-free up to 1.7 Uo with a correct installation
Field experiences showed that some types of armatures require

several load changes resp. temperature cycles, before they are really
PD Free
Has to be considered during the evaluation, or
PD test has to be repeated after some load cycles
Voltage has to be increased in steps up to the maximum test voltage

level
Possible PD signal have to be recorded
Test voltage has to be present for a sufficient duration to enable a
reliable detection of fault spots
28.03.2022
Recommendation VDE
PD Diagnosis
For the different voltage types, the following test procedure is

recommended:
0,1 Hz VLF
Stepwise increase of the test voltage to 2 Uo
10 minutes stress duration @ 2 Uo
20 – 500 Hz
Stepwise increase of the test voltage to 2 Uo
5 minutes stress duration @ 2 Uo
DAC (20 – 500 Hz)
Stepwise increase of the test voltage to 1.7 Uo
VWD (multiple test 50 cycles) @ 1.7 Uo to test the withstand voltage
and operational readiness
28.03.2022
Recommendation VDE
PD diagnosis
©
Recommendation VDE
Summary
Table 4: Treatment Recommendation
PD test has to be considered as a qualitative valuable part of the

commissioning test.
28.03.2022
Commissioning test
Note 1
Takes time for a joint body to settle, especially for cold shrink type
If PD has been detected directly after the joint has been installed
Redo the measurement after a couple of load-cycles
If PD is gone, everything is fine
If the PD remains or increased then replace the joint
This has been reflected in the described recommendation
28.03.2022
Commissioning test
Note 2
Heavely loaded cables (e.g. links to windparks) are advised to be

retested after a year (even after succesfully passing the PD-diagnosis
& VLF test) to see if no thermal ageing occured
The thermal ageing can occur because of a high conductor resistance

in the joints (using wrong connectors Al instead of Cu on copper
cables e.g., or failing contact grease)
Increased ageing of joint & cable insulation
Cracks in the insulation
PD
Example of thermal ageing,

source Alliander NL
28.03.2022
Condition monitoring
Trending limits for aged cables differ from new cables

Aged cable circuits must not necessarily be PD free
PD’s are allowed up to a specific level
PD trending limits are unfortunately not in any standard or

recommendation (like for tanDelta - IEEE 400.2 2013)
Existing values based on experience (over ten years)
28.03.2022
Example – Singapore Power Grid
©
Example - Nuon (Alliander)
Source: Noun NL ; Statistic from Nuon Alkmaar
©
Scattered PD and concentrated PD
Concentrated PD in paper insulation

(lower trending limit )
©
Scattered PD and concentrated PD
Scattered PD in PILC
(higher trending limit)
©
Recommendation Seba
Note 1
Trending limits are guidelines & are good for the beginning
To increase the efficiency of the PD diagnostics
Guidelines should be adapted to your local network
Note 2
PD in the near termination could also come from a bad connection

To be absolutely sure other test methods can be applied to identify the
PD in the termination at U0
UHF, acoustic, inductive / capacitive methods, or
PD measurement from the far end
28.03.2022
Cable statistics
Also cable statistics are of importance for decision making process
If known that specific type of joint or batch of cables is causing

problems then the trending limits must be changed & also the
diagnostics measurements must be focussed on these cables
Also experience levels from the engineers from the field are valuable
information as well as fault statistics
Where did the fault occur?

Cable insulation (then it could be water treeing effect & no PD‘s will
occur)
Water inside a joint (no PD)
Wet paper layers
28.03.2022
Statistic Values
Experiences PDIV & PD locations in PILC
©
Statistic Values
Experiences PDIV & PD locations in XLPE Cables
©
History
History of the cable is of importance for the decision making process
If it is intermittent fault on a PILC cable then not the normal trending

limits will be used
Goal: to find a PD-concentration that could have created the
intermittent fault, no matter what the PD level is
Moreover when knowing having a wet cable or maybe water inside a

joint (with help from an insulation test e.g.) than also in this case we
need to decrease the trending limits
28.03.2022
History
Example
©
History
Example
©
History
Example
©
PD Decision Making
Condition
Diagnosis only after

critical
complete Change Diagnosis every Year Diagnosis every Year

Change: 3-5 Years Change: < 1-3 Year Change: < 1 Year
medium
No Diagnosis Periodic Diagnosis Periodische Diagnose

required every 3 Years aller 2 Jahre
perfect
No Diagnosis No Diagnosis Periodic Diagnosis

required required every 3 Years
small medium high

Importance
©
Importance of cable circuits
Example: “Costs of breakdown of an important cables”
Windpark in Denmark
Loss of revenue in this case was 100t€ per day
Offshore platform Australia

Loss of revenue (oil production) was 100t€ a day, vessel for repair
of the cable was costing 400t€ a day!!!
28.03.2022
Maintenance planning
The three different maintenance strategies
Best maintenance strategy for cable diagnostics:

Condition based maintenance strategy (CBM)
Not only costs for maintenance are saved, also the lifetime of the
cables will be extended
Furthermore: also experience values from the people in the field
should be used & also the cable statistics
28.03.2022
PD Trending Limits
DEW21 – 5 Years Experiences - Germany
Source: DEW21, PD Measurement at 10 kV Network, 2010
©
PD Trending Limits
DEW21 – 5 Years Experiences - Germany
Source: DEW21, PD Measurement at 10 kV Network, 2010
©
Decision Making for XLPE Cables
©
Decision Making for PILC Cables
©
Maintenance planning
Important
Guidelines should also be adapted to your local network

Based on the experience gathered over the last year(s))
If the PDIV or PD levels remain constant over time

Interval period can be extended
28.03.2022

OWTS - PD Test & Fault Location System: DAC Measurement Acc. IEC 60270

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OWTS – PD Test & Fault Location System

DAC Measurement acc. IEC 60270

Cable Diagnosis Expenses?

Cable Fault Location

(unplanned) Outage Time?

Source: Delft University of Technology

Specified Costs of Repair

Insulation Fault: 3.600,00 € … 4.500,00 €

Fault during normal Operation leads to unuasual „Stress“ of whole

Increased Cable Ageing

1. One Phase Breakdown

2. Travelling Waves stimulate the Growth of smaller Weak Spots

3. Higher Current (due to Flashover) strains all Components of the

Condition Assessment of (old PILC) cCbles &

Source: Technical University of Chemnitz

Singapore Power Grid uses: Cutting-edge Technology for

Definition acc. IEC 60270:2000

Definition from IEEE 400.3:2006

PILC Cables & PILC related Components

dry Insulation due to thermal Load Water Ingress due to Lead

Source:VWEW Infotag 2004; contribution AVISO

XLPE Cables & XLPE related Components

inverted Water Tree

Source:VWEW Infotag 2004; contribution AVISO

In XLPE cables & XLPE related Components

Important: Water Trees do not generate PD‘s

Initiated on large vented tree during step testing

Water Trees do not create PD at all!

Water Tree Detection is NOT an Application of

Electrical Trees Growing very fast & cause a Breakdown

Such Faults must be eliminated by VLF-Testing

Electric Field - Components

Electric Field represented by:

Comparison of Equipotential Lines

Electric Field - Components

Classic Equivalent Circuit Diagram

a ... Capacitance representing the healthy Part of the Insulation

When Voltage Va raises, so is the

When Voltage Vc crosses the

Voltage will rise again, until next

Partial Discharge Inception Voltage (PDIV)

PDIV & PDEV

Δt = Time Difference between 1. and 2. Reflection

PD Diagnosis can detect local Weak Spots situated in:

PD Diagnosis can be performed on every Type of Cable:

For analysis Purposes: Voltage Type equivalent to Mains Frequency

PDIV (Partial Discharge Inception Voltage)

PDEV (Partial Discharge Extinction Voltage)

Increased PD level (between PDIV/PD level at U0 & PD Level at 1.7U0)

In general the decision making is divided into two categories, for:

1. Commissioning Testing (new cables)

2. Condition Monitoring (in-service cables)

In a lot of countries the PD Diagnosis is already used as part of a

In Germany recently a recommendation has been published

The treatment recommendation was created by the same work group,

Experiences of 20 years commissioning tests with 0,1 Hz VLF test

1. Cable Sheath testing

Table 1: Test voltage levels and requirements

Sheath Material PE PVC

Cable types (examples) NA2XS(F)2Y NA2XSY

Test voltage type DC DC

Test voltage level < 5 kV < 3 kV

Test duration < 5 min < 5 min