Method Statement

Measurement of Capacitance and Dissipation/power factor helps you to

determine insulation condition in bushings or between windings of transformers.

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Introduction:

Capacitance and Dissipation Factor (C&DF) Test Sets are used for evaluating the nature and quality of
electrical insulation materials and systems. By measuring dissipation factor losses in electrical insulation,
these units can indicate the presence of contaminants, fractures and punctures. As part of a routine
maintenance program, capacitance and dissipation factor testing can aid in predicting potential failure of
deteriorating insulation. The C&DF Test Sets include interference suppression circuits that assure accurate
measurements even under severe interference or noise conditions such as those found in switchyards.
There are various factors which have an influence on insulation of equipment, such as:

Current, Capacitance and Dissipation factor relationship

In an ideal insulation system connected to an alternating voltage source, the capacitance current Ic and the
voltage are in perfect quadrature with the current leading. In addition to the capacitance current, there
appears in practice a loss current Ir in phase with the voltage.
The current taken by an ideal insulation (no losses, Ir = 0) is a pure capacitive current leading the voltage by
90° (q = 90°). In practice, no insulation is perfect but has a certain amount of loss and the total current I
leads the voltage by a phase angle q (q< 90°). It is more convenient to use the dielectric-loss angle d, where
d = (90° - q). For low power factor insulation Ic and I are substantially of the same magnitude since the loss
component Ir is very small.

The power factor is defined as:

And dissipation factor is defined as:

Applications

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The test sets are used for testing high-voltage electrical insulation systems. The purpose of the
dissipation factor measurement of high-voltage insulation is to find early signs of weakness in the
high-voltage insulation. Typical high-voltage equipment tested includes: high voltage circuit
breakers, transformers, cables and potheads, bushings, windings of rotating machines and
protective surge arresters. Dissipation factor tests on high-voltage insulation are frequently made
in manufacturing facilities, repair shops and in the field. By measuring dissipation factor of the
specimen plus capacitance, undesirable conditions are found. They include conditions caused by
moisture on or in the insulation; shorts or opens in windings or insulation; and conductive
contaminants in insulating oil, gas or solid materials.

The Capacitance and Dissipation Factor (C&DF) Test Sets can perform the following standard tests:

Ungrounded Specimen Test (UST)

This test is made when both specimen terminals can be insulated from ground. The test is often used to
reduce the effect of stray capacitance losses to ground and to reduce the effect of interference pickup from
nearby energized apparatus. Typical test specimens include the capacitive grading foils used in high-voltage
bushings and the inter winding insulation used in high-voltage transformers.

Grounded Specimen Test (GST)

This is the most frequently used test connection and involves all insulation between the high-voltage
conductor and ground. Typical test specimens include transformer windings to tank and core, circuit-breaker
assemblies, coils of rotating machines, etc.

Testing Equipment Details:

Delta4000

The DELTA4000 Series is a fully automatic 12 kV insulation power factor/dissipation factor (tan∂) test set
designed for condition assessment of electrical insulation in high voltage apparatus such as transformers,
bushings, circuit breakers, cables, lightning arresters and rotating machinery.

Procedure:
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Isolate the equipment, apply working grounds to all incoming and outgoing cables and disconnect all
incoming and outgoing cables from the transformer bushing terminals. Disconnected cables should
have sufficient clearance from the switchgear terminals greater that the phase spacing distance.

Isolate the neutral bushing connection if applicable from the transformer-grounding bar. Short-circuit all
high voltage bushing terminals together. Short-circuit all low voltage bushing terminals and the neutral
bushing terminal together. Connect the capacitance and dissipation factor test set. Record the capacitance
and dissipation factor values once the null meter is balance for both phasing position. Record values for the
five test-variable selector switch position.

Two-Winding Transformer Test

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