Online Partial Discharge Testing
Online Partial Discharge Testing
Non-Intrusive Electrical Asset Health Monitoring
Electricity is arguably the most valuable resource we have in our modern society. Without electricity, most of the things we do and rely on on a daily basis wouldn't be there.
Having an appreciation of the current status of assets within a power system is critical to ensuring reliability. This information is even more critical today given the demands put on our aging electric grid infrastructure.
Partial Discharge (PD) detection is a critical tool in understanding the health of the dielectric and therefore the health of electrical assets. When performed online it offers a non-intrusive and non-destructive testing approach.
NFPA 70B · Why It Matters
Insulation Breakdown Is the #1 Cause of Electrical Failures
NFPA 70B, Recommended Practice for Electrical Equipment Maintenance, states that insulation breakdown is the number one cause of electrical failures.
In an electrical asset, partial discharges provide an early indication of dielectric irregularities that can lead to insulation breakdown. PD testing is the best tool to evaluate the health of any electrical insulation.
Performing the PD measurement with the asset connected to and energized by the power system (online) provides the most accurate in-service assessment without risking additional damage to aging assets.
Online PD Testing Offers:
Comprehensive Analysis
Understand the true in-service condition — type and severity of defect while in service. Identify dielectric irregularities that can lead to insulation breakdown before they become failures.
Convenient & Non-Destructive
Testing is performed without service interruption and is completely non-destructive. Facilities remain operational throughout the entire assessment process.
Flexible Application
Can be performed on any electric asset using a variety of sensors — cables, terminations, splices, switchgear, and connected assets across the entire power system.
Technology
Doble Online Condition Assessment
Doble has over 30 years of experience employing online testing technology in assessing power cables. Their database contains thousands of results on a wide variety of cable systems — PILC, PE, XLPE, EPR, and rubber insulation — all evaluated by a team of subject matter experts. Benefits include:
Methodology
The Online PD Testing Process
The Online PD Testing methodology encompasses the following steps, each designed to deliver an accurate in-service evaluation without disrupting operations:
Data acquisition is performed without taking an outage.
Online testing provides a true in-service assessment of the asset. This passive test approach eliminates risk of overstressing the dielectric system inducing further degradation.
Signal analysis and pattern recognition allows for identification of defect types and extent of degradation.
Doble's online assessment process measures signals that result during partial discharge. The measured PD signals facilitate an estimation of future performance and ranks the entire cable system.
Evaluations are made at discrete locations between terminals. Since cables age at different rates along their lengths, it can isolate the more heavily aged parts of the cable.
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