Abstract
Surface pollution is a major cause of partial discharges in high voltage insulators in coastal cities, leading to degradation of their surface and accelerating their aging process, which may cause visible arcing, flashovers and system faults. Thus, this work provides a methodology for the assessment of the condition of insulators based on an instrument which generates a severity degree to help the electric utility team schedule maintenance routines for the structures that really need it. The instrument uses a Raspberry Pi board as the processing core, a PicoScope oscilloscope for the data acquisition and an antenna as a partial discharge sensor. The algorithms are implemented in Python, and use artificial intelligence tools, such as a convolutional network and a fuzzy inference system. Laboratory test methods for the simulation of the field pollution conditions were successfully used for the validation of the instrument, which showed a good correlation between the pollution level and the severity degree generated. In addition to that, field collected data were also used for the evaluation of the proposed severity degree, which is demonstrated to be consistent when compared with the utility’s reports and the history of the selected areas from where data were collected.
Highlights
Partial discharge (PD) is defined by the pertinent standard IEC 60270:2000 as a phenomenon which occurs in high voltage apparatus where a localized electrical discharge partially bridges the insulating medium between two conductors, being a consequence of local electrical stress concentration within the insulation or on the surface of the insulation
The algorithms and the proposed severity degree have been validated through laboratory and field tests, showing a consistent correlation between the partial discharge activity and the severity degree
This validation can be confirmed when different levels of pollution are used in the laboratory, and their effect on the partial discharge activity is demonstrated by the severity degree
Summary
Partial discharge (PD) is defined by the pertinent standard IEC 60270:2000 as a phenomenon which occurs in high voltage apparatus where a localized electrical discharge partially bridges the insulating medium between two conductors, being a consequence of local electrical stress concentration within the insulation or on the surface of the insulation. Those discharges appear as pulses in the measuring system and may be accompanied by emissions of sound, electromagnetic disturbance, light and heat and chemical reactions [1]. This phenomenon can lead to a flashover, a major problem which can cause system faults
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