Active Dielectric Window: A New Concept of Combined Acoustic Emission and Electromagnetic Partial Discharge Detector for Power Transformers

Wojciech Sikorski
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Wojciech Sikorski: Institute of Electrical Power Engineering, Poznan University of Technology, Piotrowo 3A, 60-965 Poznan, Poland

Energies, 2018, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-27

Abstract: The detection and location of partial discharge (PD) is of great significance in evaluating the insulation condition of power transformers. This paper presents an active dielectric window (ADW), which is a new concept of combined acoustic emission (AE) and electromagnetic PD detector intended for assembly in a transformer’s inspection hatch. The novelty of this design lies in the fact that all structural components of an ultrasonic transducer, i.e., the matching and backing layer, an active piezoelectric element with electrodes, and electrical leads, were built into a dielectric window. Due to the fact that its construction was optimized for work in mineral oil, it is characterized by much higher sensitivity of PD detection than a general-purpose AE sensor mounted outside a transformer tank. Laboratory tests showed that the amplitude of the AE pulses generated by creeping discharges, which were registered by the ADW, was around five times higher on average than the pulses registered by a commonly used contact transducer. A possibility of simultaneous detection of acoustic and electromagnetic pulses (with an integrated ultra-high frequency (UHF) antenna) is an important advantage of the ADW. It allows for an increase in the reliability of PD detection, the accuracy of defect location, and the effectiveness of disturbance identification. This paper describes in detail the applied methods of designing and modeling the ADW components, the manufacturing process of the prototype construction, and the results of preliminary laboratory tests, in which the detector’s sensitivity as well as the efficiency of the PD source location were evaluated.

Keywords: partial discharge (PD); power transformer diagnostics; condition monitoring; acoustic emission (AE); PD source location; UHF antenna (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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