Condition monitoring of high voltage transformers using Fiber Bragg Grating Sensor

Abstract

High voltage (HV) power apparatus determines the stability of any electrical power system. Failure of such apparatus is mainly due to damage of insulation normally caused by the Partial Discharge (PD). Therefore PD measurements are globally considered as most essential and favored testing procedure for most of the HV power apparatus. Online condition monitoring may help to take proper corrective action at proper time, which reduces unscheduled downtime and can save money for electrical supply utilities.HV power transformers are being considered as heart of any electrical system and they have received much attention in recent years. In HV transformers, PD is one of the main reasons for degradation of insulation quality. Therefore its detection can provide early indication of the insulation failures of transformers. PD can be traced through direct measurement of current, electromagnetic radiation, chemical changes or acoustic emission. Electrical, acoustic, chemical and optical methods of PD measurement are the popularly accepted methods of PD detection in the high voltage (HV) power transformers. Over the past decades various PD sensors have been developed, most of these require electrical connections closed to measurement site and electrical wirings and amplifiers for transmission of measured signals. Placing electrical components and wirings closer to HV terminals is difficult for installation of such sensors; moreover, due to proximity of HV terminals these sensors suffer from electromagnetic interference (EMI).In this context, development of optical fiber based PD sensor can be promising as the optical fibers are made of dielectric material so can be easily placed inside the equipment without any additional insulation arrangements. On the other hand, it has very low transmission loss; therefore, the measured signal can be transmitted to the sub-station control room without use of any electrical amplification system and it is free from EMI. In this work, a Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) based optical PD sensor has been developed for online detection of PD within HV power transformer. The shift in wavelength of FBG due to impulsive acoustic pressure generated during PD event has been used for the detection. The performance of the developed FBG based sensor has been validated experimentally with standard electrical (IEC60270) PD measurement system. Experimental results show that the developed sensor is a suitable substitute for conventional PD measuring system and it can be placed inside the apparatus.