IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, Vol. 4, No.

1 , January 1989
DIGITAL ACQUISITION AND PROCESSING OF PARTIAL DISCHABGES DURING ACCEPTANCE TEST OF 811 TRANSFORMERS
Georges Vaillancourt, Member IEEE Ryszard Malewski, Fellow IEEE Institut de recherche d'Hydro-QuEbec 1800 montBe Ste-Julie, Varennes, QuBbec, Canada JOL 2PO Keywords

42 1

Partial Discharges, Acquisition, Processing, Recording, Display, Measurements, Transformers, Tests.

A six-channel digital recording sysAbstract tem has been developed for monitoring partial discharges (PD) in the HV insulation of power transformers during acceptance tests. The analog PD signals are converted to digital words describing their apparent charge, polarity and the point on the wave (phase) of the test voltage at which the PD pulse appears. The data are recorded during a 1-s acquisition period, then processed, displayed and stored during the time (up to seven seconds) the system is preparing for the next acquisition. Processing, performed between acquisitions, allows for real-time display apd printing of the highest apparent charge, the number of PD pulses, the test voltage level and the radio influence voltage measured according to NEMA Standard 107. The complete record of PDs acquired during the test is stored on a hard disk and specialized programs have been developed for post-test evaluation of the transformer performance. One involves a threedimensional graph showing the number of PDs vs. their apparent charge and phase of occurrence measured for a selected acquisition period. Another shows the distribution of the apparent charge and phase of occurrence measured during the entire test or during a given number of acquisitions. These different presentation formats allow easy identification of interference signals induced in the test circuit by external sources, correlation of PD patterns recorded on different transformer windings and evaluation of changes in PD activity during the test.

patterns, the acceptance of a $2 M transformer hinges on the measurement of the highest apparent charge, which should be below a specified level. Actually, experienced test engineers recognize the inadequacy of such a simplistic approach and use their own judgment to assess the threat of PDs to the insulation integrity. The development of an intelligent PD measuring system was oriented towards presenting PD patterns in formats that follow the way of thinking of an engineer analyzing the test results. Experience accumulated during insulation tests on hundreds of HV transformer windings can be quantified in terms of parameters that describe the PD activity while appropriate presentation of the measured PD parameters facilitates the acceptance or rejection decision. I n addition, comparison of the PD patterns recorded throughout the test allows evaluation of the transformer dynamic performance, i.e. such effects as self-healing or progressive deterioration of the HV insulation, which can often be clearly detected. It should be emphasized that data processing techniques do not add to our knowledge of the electric erosion of HV insulation or the relationship between the PD activity and the dielectric strength of the test object. Despite abundant studies and reports, such questions can only be answered by a comparative evaluation of a large amount of empirical data on a given type or design of HV insulation. On the other hand, the practical importance of PD measurements during acceptance tests is such that it calls for at least a coherent presentation of the measurements that reduces the human factor in the decision-making process on the test outcome.

One of the most severe dielectric tests performed as part of the acceptance tests on power transformers consists in applying the induced voltage (150% of rated 200 Hz) and measuring the partial discharges at (PD) in the transformer insulation. The existing practice involves visual observation of the flickering pattern of PD impulses displayed on a cathode ray screen. This suffers from serious limitation. 1) Simultaneous observation of several (typically six) scope traces displaying PD impulses measured at the bushings of a three-phase transformer is beyond the capability of an observer. 2) The probability of measuring individual PD pulses that may exceed the acceptable level is strongly affected by the visual perception of the test engineer. 3) Correlation between the pattern of PDs measured at the different windings is rather difficult. 4) Evolution of the PD activity during the 1-h test cannot be easily recorded for evaluation purposes. In the absence of universally recognized criteria or classifying dangerous or tolerable PD levels or

PD ACQUISITION AND IIEAsUREHEWT SYSTEM

A block diagram of the data acquisition system is shown in Fig. 1. At the input stage, the analog signals obtained with the broad-band PD measuring circuit [l, 21 are converted into digital words representing the apparent charge, polarity and point on the wave of the test voltage where the PD occurs. The apparent charge is determined by passing the input analog signal through a bandpass filter (50 to 200 kHZ) and measuring the filtered impulse with an analog peak detector, which is activated by a trigger After signal and kept open for approximately 80 us. the detector gate closes, digital conversion of the measured apparent charge is performed by an eight-bit converter and the peak detector is reset to zero within a few microseconds. The total acquisition time is 1 0 0 us, which corresponds to the typical duration of a PD pulse measured at the transformer bushing. The polarity of PD impulses is detected in another circuit with a larger (approximately 2 MHz) bandwidth. A typical impulse measured at the bushing tap has an oscillatory form dictated by the transformer winding resonances and the pulse polarity is established by the fast initital portion of the PD pulse, which travels via the winding capacitance. The phase of the test voltage at which the PD occurred is determined by subdividing one cycle (approximately 5.5 ms) into 128 time intervals and recording the number of the interval during which the PD signal activated the trigger. The data acquisition system can record one PD and store its digital representation in the computer memory

A paper recommended and approved 88 WM 049-9 by the IEEE Transformers Committee of the IEEE Power Engineering Society for presentation at the IEEE/ PES 1988 Winter Meeting, New York, New York, January 31 - February 5, 1988. Manuscript submitted September 15, 1987; made available for printing October 30, 1987.

0885-8977/89/01oo-0421$01.WO 1989 IEEE

422

Analog

I
I

Digital

0 r
81 M

Plotter

II

F i g . 1.

Block diagram of IKEQ's 6-channel P D a c q u i s i t i o n and measuring system. Measurement impedances Zm, t o Zm6 are normally connected t o t h e bushing t a p s of t h e t r a n s f o r m e r being t e s t e d . The P D measuring and d i s p l a y u n i t s e p a r a t e s t h e a p p a r e n t c h a r g e and Two r a d i o i n f l u e n c e s i g n a l s ; i t measures a l s o t h e test v o l t a g e on t h e t h r e e phases. D a m p l i t u d e and p o l a r i t y (as well as t r i g g e r s e p a r a t e o u t p u t sets p r o v i d e t h e P signals). The s i x c h a n n e l d a t a is reduced t o t h r e e s i m u l t a n e o u s l y p r o c e s s e d s i g n a l s by t h e multiplexers. The t r i g g e r c i r c u i t a c t i v a t e s t h e peak d e t e c t o r s and t h e a n a l o g t o d i g i t a l c o n v e r t e r s . The d i g i t a l s i g n a l s are t h e n p r o c e s s e d by t h e c o n t r o l computer and sent t o peripherals. p a r e a set of test r e s u l t s p r e s e n t e d i n t h e form of t h e q u a d r a t i c rate, maximum c h a r g e and energy. Although t h e c h o i c e of parameter is somewhat a r b i t r a r y , t h e c u m u l a t i v e c h a r g e and t h e number of d i s c h a r g e s e x c e e d i n g a t h r e s h o l d ( t y p i c a l l y 100 pC) are c u r r e n t l y used f o r p l o t t i n g purposes a t IREQ. The d a t a a c q u i s i t i o n system a l s o p r o v i d e s a r e a d i n g of t h e test v o l t a g e and t h e r a d i o i n f l u e n c e v o l t a g e (RIV) measured a c c o r d i n g t o NEMA S t a n d a r d 107 f o r American c l i e n t s . These p l o t s (shown i n Fig. 2 ) are p r e s e n t e d i n t h e test report.

Assuming an e x t r e m e l y h i g h rate of P D e v e r y 100 us. o c c u r r e n c e , a maximum of 8000 d i s c h a r g e s can be recorded d u r i n g a 1-s a c q u i s i t i o n p e r i o d . The c o n t e n t of t h e memory i s t h e n p r o c e s s e d , d i s p l a y e d and s t o r e d on h a r d disk. The time t a k e n by t h e s e o p e r a t i o n s can be up t o 7 s, d u r i n g which t h e a c q u i s i t i o n of new s i g n a l s i s interrupted. A f t e r t h a t , t h e system rearms automatic a l l y , ready f o r a c q u i s i t i o n a g a i n . Thus, t h e PD r e c o r d s cover a t least 10% of t h e o v e r a l l test time, a r e l a t i v e l y low "duty f a c t o r " d i c t a t e d mainly by technol o g i c a l l i m i t a t i o n s and by t h e c o n c e r n t o keep t h e amount of a c q u i r e d d a t a w i t h i n manageable limits. The a c q u i r e d d i g i t a l d a t a is p r o c e s s e d i n r e a l t i m e and a f t e r t h e t e s t . I n real t i m e , the d a t a is d i s p l a y e d i n t h e form of graphs p r e s e n t i n g t h e a p p a r e n t c h a r g e and t h e number of d i s c h a r g e s as a f u n c t i o n o f time. P o s t - p r o c e s s i n g y i e l d s a s i m u l t a n e o u s d i s p l a y of s e v e r a l g r a p h s , a l l o w i n g e a s y comparison of P D activity i n s e l e c t e d w i n d i n g s of t h e power t r a n s f o r m e r . Other p o s t - p r o c e s s i n g s o f t w a r e o p t i o n s are d i s c u s s e d below.

POST-PROCESSING
The l i m i t e d time a v a i l a b l e f o r s i g n a l p r o c e s s i n g between subsequent a c q u i s i t i o n s does n o t a l l o w an e l a b o r a t e p r e s e n t a t i o n of t h e P D pulses but, since t h e d a t a is s t o r e d on hard d i s k , i t can be a n a l y s e d a f t e r The number of p o s s i b l e present h e test is completed. t a t i o n f o r m a t s is l i m i t e d o n l y by t h e i n v e n t i v e n e s s of t h e engineers developing t h e s i g n a l processing s o f t ware. The most s u i t a b l e forms f o r p r e s e n t i n g t h e d a t a c o l l e c t e d d u r i n g a t e s t were s e l e c t e d keeping i n mind t h e f o l l o w i n g f a c t s o r assumptions: 1

REAL-TIME PROCESSING OF THE RECORDED PD SIGNALS

S e v e r a l p a r a m e t e r s have been c o n s i d e r e d [3, 61 i n t h e s e a r c h f o r t h e best c h a r a c t e r i s a t i o n of t h e d i e l e c t r i c e r o s i o n caused by PDs. Among them, t h e s q u a r e of t h e measured c h a r g e (Q2 q u a d r a t i c r a t e ) is employed by French l a b o r a t o r i e s whereas t h e c u m u l a t i v e c h a r g e lQ(n) over a p e r i o d of t i m e is s u g g e s t e d by J a p a n e s e research centers. The P D energy c a l c u l a t e d as a prod u c t of t h e measured c h a r g e and t h e i n s t a n t a n e o u s v a l u e of t h e t e s t v o l t a g e a t t h e moment t h e P D occurs is employed e l s e w h e r e . Each of t h e s e p a r a m e t e r s has i t s m e r i t s and t h e table-top computer can c a l c u l a t e and d i s p l a y any r e q u i r e d parameter from t h e d i g i t a l d a t a r e c o r d e d d u r i n g a test. S e v e r a l a t t e m p t s have been made t o com-

No generally accepted relationship exists between any p a r t i c u l a r parameter c h a r a c t e r i z i n g PDs and i t s e f f e c t on t h e d i e l e c t r i c s t r e n g t h of t h e t r a n s f o r m e r i n s u l a t i o n .

Although a n IEC s t a n d a r d [ 1 5 ] s p e c i f i e s a maxim u m p e r m i s s i b l e charge l e v e l , a c t u a l judgment on t h e i n s u l a t i o n i n t e g r i t y a l s o depends on such c o n s i d e r a t i o n s as changes i n t h e d i s c h a r g e i n t e n s i t y d u r i n g t h e t e s t , r e l a t i v e number of high(above 500 pC) and low-level (below

423

100

o io

20

30 40
t (min)

50

60 70

lo'

io

20 30,40
t (mm)
I

50

60 70

200%

50%

10'
0

0%

10

20

30 40 t (min)

50

60 70

t (min)

Fig. 2.

Time variation of the test voltage (lower left) expressed as a percentage of the transformer rated voltage, the RIV level measured in microvolts on bushings H1 and X1 (upper left), maximum charge Qmax over 1-s acquisition period (upper right) and number N discharges exceeding 100 pC measured per second of acquisition. These graphs are plotted on-line for the one-hour test duration.
N

100 pC) discharges, phase of occurrence of the high-level discharges, and correlation of the intensity of signals produced by the same discharge, as measured in different phases and windings.
3 -

5620
4496

3372

1
0
3 6

At present, no algorithm is suffictently complete to reveal all factors pertinent to the outcome of a test; this kind of analysis and evaluation must be performed by an experienced test engineer. On the other hand, the processing should provide all the data in a Eormat that is easily interpreted by the test engineer.

I
9 12 t (min)

111

15

18

2 1

Fig. 3 .

Many presentation formats have been developed and implemented but only the most interesting ones will be described here. First, the user of the system must be able to quickly identify the parts of the test record where the PD activity was most intense. The graph found most useful for that purpose is a plot of the number of discharges versus the acquisition number o r time. An example is shown in Fig. 3. A moving cursor allows the user to select any single acquisition period for further scrutiny. The data is first examined with the aid of the plot shown in Fig. 4a, which presents every PD occurring in the selected acquisition period as a dot. The X-axis represents the cycle number and the Y-axis the phase of occurrence of the PD. The corresponding Fig. 4b presents the PD amplitude vs the cycle number. This kind of graph allows the user to easily distinguish external interference induced in the transformer test circuit by test setups operating simultaneously in the laboratory. The most disturbing at IREQ, for example, are interference pulses caused by operation of a thyristor stack controlling an adjacent pollution test station. These pulses show up in form of pulses of equal amplitude, synchronized with the ~ ~ O - H supply Z voltage from another rotating machine. The generators used for the transformer tests and for pollution tests are not synchronized with the result that the phase of the thyristor-stack-induced pulses is continuously shifting with respect to the test voltage applied to the transformer. Consequently, the line plotted on the phase versus time graphs gives a clear indication as to the origin of the interference pulses.

Number of PDs per 1-s acquisition period plotted against number of acquisitions, i.e. up to approximately 22 min.

Phase

.
90 0

1240 .--.-,...-.-.-. .....- . 9301 ' 3 10

- -.-.. . .. .-(b). ...,=.. -..

....

..:_ . . .-_. .:

. ." . ... - ... - -. ..._. - ._. . . ...-... ....... .........

0 0
0 : l 0 . 2 0 1 3
014
t

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1.0

(4

Fig. 4 . Apparent charge Q and phase of apparition of PDs in 735-kV transformer winding plotted against time for one second (180 cycles of 180 Hz test voltage). The regular pattern of electromagnetically induced interference pulses shows up on the phase graphs as a sloping inclined line with small ondulations. These discharges can be identified on the Q-t graphs since they oscillate with the same periodicity as on the phase-t plot. Any group of flve cycles on this graph can be selected again and displayed in a more standard format

424
( F i g . 5 ) . T h i s t y p e of p r e s e n t a t i o n a l l o w s a comparison of t h e a m p l i t u d e and p o l a r i t y of t h e d i s c h a r g e s on It h e l p s t o l o c a t e t h e t h r e e phases s i m u l t a n e o u s l y . t h e PDs and i d e n t i f y t h e i r type. The PDs from any s e l e c t e d a c q u i s i t i o n p e r i o d may a l s o be p r e s e n t e d i n t h e format of Fig. 6 a and b, which are h i s t o g r a m s of t h e c u m u l a t i v e c h a r g e and t h e number of t h e PDs l o c a t e d i n 16 phase windows of t h e a p p l i e d t e s t v o l t a g e . Other numbers of windows, up t o 128, are a l s o possible. The i n f o r m a t i o n c o n t a i n e d i n t h e s e two g r a p h s can be combined and p r e s e n t e d on a s i n g l e t h r e e d i m e n s i o n a l (3D) g r a p h such as t h o s e i n Fig. 7 .
3400

80 i -. .

N
40

1700
0 -1700 -3400

601

Fig.

7.

F i g . 5.

Comparison of P D amplitudes recorded simultan e o u s l y on b u s h i n g s of three-phase 560-NVA transformer. The d i s c h a r g e s i n phase X1 are by f a r more i n t e n s e , which i n d i c a t e s t h e locat i o n of t h e P D s i t e i n t h e windings.

Q total (&)

r
.I5t

(4

Two t y p i c a l p a t t e r n s of PD a c t i v i t y i n a 735-kV t r a n s f o r m e r winding on 3D g r a p h s showing t h e number N of d i s c h a r g e s per 1-s a c q u i s i t i o n p e r i o d p l o t t e d a g a i n s t t h e i r phase The of a p p e a r a n c e and t h e measured c h a r g e Q. f i r s t graph r e v e a l s i n t e n s e (-1000 pC> d i s c h a r g e s around t h e p o s i t i v e v o l t a g e crest ( p h a s e 90'). The second shows i n t e n s e (18002000 pC) and numerous d i s c h a r g e s o c c u r r i n g a f t e r t h e test v o l t a g e zero crossing. The g r a p h s r e p r e s e n t two t y p e s of PD, caused resp e c t i v e l y by corona and c a v i t y d i s c h a r g e s .

400

200
N O

T h i s format i n v o l v e s t h e 3 D p l o t of t h e number of d i s c h a r g e s as a f u n c t i o n of t h e i r i n t e n s i t y and phase of o c c u r r e n c e . Comparison of subsequent g r a p h s (up t o a h y p o t h e t i c a l t o t a l of 360) r e v e a l s t h e dynamic b e h a v i o r of t h e t r a n s f o r m e r d u r i n g t h e test. To f a c i l i t a t e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of t h e 3D g r a p h s , a c o l o r s c r e e n and c o l o r p l o t t e r are employed. Disc h a r g e s below 500 pC are p l o t t e d i n g r e e n , t h o s e above i n red. A smoothing "net" a l g o r i t h m was developed i n o r d e r t o r e d u c e d i s c o n t i n u i t i e s of t h e p l o t by t a k i n g a n a v e r a g e of a d j a c e n t p o i n t s . T h i s was j u s t i f i e d by t h e f a c t t h a t t h e 3D g r a p h is not used f o r q u a n t i t a t i v e e v a l u a t i o n of t h e test r e s u l t s b u t f o r assessment of o t h e r p a r a m e t e r s a f f e c t i n g t h e test outcome. At the same time, t h e smoothing g r e a t l y improved t h e l e g i b i l i t y of t h e 3D g r a p h and h e l p e d t h e i n s p e c t o r s i n t h e i r comparison of subsequent r e c o r d s , s i n c e i t c o n s i d e r a b l y r e d u c e s s t a t i s t i c a l d a t a scatter.

-200

INTERPRETATION OF PBOCESSED TEST RESULTS

The 3D g r a p h s r e v e a l a t y p i c a l p a t t e r n of background n o i s e shown i n t h e N-Phase plane. I f t h i s noise v a r i e s from one a c q u i s i t i o n t o a n o t h e r d u r i n g t h e t e s t , i t can be concluded t h a t i t does not come from t h e t e s t object. The s i g n a l s c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o t h e two main t y p e s of PD, caused by c a v i t y d i s c h a r g e s and d i s c h a r g e s from s h a r p edges o r p o i n t s of HV winding c o n n e c t i o n s , c a n be d i s t i n g u i s h e d from t h e phase of t h e test v o l t age, a p p e a r i n g a f t e r z e r o c r o s s i n g (0" t o 45' and 180" t o 235") and around t h e v o l t a g e crest 480" t o 100' and 260" t o 280"), r e s p e c t i v e l y .

-400 -600 -800

F i g . 6. P l o t s of a) t o t a l c h a r g e Qt i n t e g r a t e d over a 1-s a c q u i s i t i o n p e r i o d and b) number N of d i s c h a r g e s v e r s u s phase of t h e test v o l t a g e . C o r r e l a t i o n of t h e s e two g r a p h s a l l o w s an e s t i m a t i o n of an a v e r a g e P D a p p a r e n t charge.

425

High-intensity discharges form clearly visible islands on the 3D graph and the appearance of a new discharge site during the test shows up as a "volcano" in the Q-Phase reference plane in the graph. The inverse effect of self-healing of initially observed discharges is equally well presented by the collapse of particular peaks corresponding to a decaying-discharge site.

FUTURE WORK
Variations in PD activity during a test are considered a main factor in the assessment of the test object's performance. Although comparison of subsequent 3D graphs clearly shows Lhe process of evolution, in practice the superposition of several graphs is rather inconvenient. By recording the 3D graphs with the aid of a standard television camera and storing the subsequent graphs on videotape, a compressed-time playback on a TV monitor is obtained which presents the one-hour record of the dynamic behavior of the transformer insulation in a fraction of that time.

CONCLUSIONS
1 A computer-assisted system of PD data acquisition

has been developed for monitoring the performance of HV power transformers during induced-voltage tests. The system processes the acquired data in real-time, stores them and displays them sequentially during the tests. A more advanced analysis of the stored data is performed after the test.
2 -

A choice of graphs showing the PD intensity and phase of occurrence is available to the user and the most appropriate characteristic can be selected for evaluation of the particular pattern of behavior of the transformer under test. A three-dimensional graph which condenses all the measured PD parameters is considered as the most complete presentation of PD activity and its evolution during the test.

3 -

International Symposium on HV Engineering, Athens, 1983. CIGRE, Study Committee 12, WG.01, "Measurements of Partial Discharges in TransEormers," Elecpra No. 19, Nov. 1971, p . 13 and Electra No. 47, 1976, p . 37. Zaengl, V., Weber, H.J., Osvath, P., "Investigations Related to Integration Errors Inherent to PD Detectors," Symposium on Partial Discharge, COBEE, Brazil, 1985. Austin, J., James, R . E . , "One-Line Digital Computer System for Measurement of Partial Discharge in Insulation Strutures," IEEE Trans., Vol. EI-11, No. 4, 1976, pp. 129-139. Millar, A.G., Kemp. J.J., Pringle, R.D., "Digital Acquisition Storage and Processing of Partial Discharge Signals," Fourth International Symposium on High Voltage Engineering, Athens, Sept. 5-9, 1983. Kelen, A., "Partial Discharge Pulse Distribution Analysis as a Tool for Assessing Defects in High Voltage Rotating Machine Insulation," Canadian Electrical Association, International Symposium on Generator Insulation Tests, Toronto, June 12-13, 1980. Tanaka, T., Okamoto, T., "A Mini-Computer-Based Partial Discharge Measurement System,.' IEEE International Symposium on Electrical Insulation DIGEST, 1978, pp. 86-89. Rochon, F . , Malewski, R., Vaillancourt, G., "Acquisition and Processing of PD Measurements During Power Transformer Testing," IEEE Conference on Electrical Insulation and Dielectric Phenomena, . 546. Claymont, Delaware, 84CH1994-3, 1984, p Matsuzaki, H . et al., "Internal Discharge Pulse Measurements Using a Micro-Computer," IEEE Conference on Electrical Insulation and Dielectric Phenomena, Claymont, Delaware, 1986, 86CH1994-3. James, R.E. et al., "Interpretatipn of Partial Discharge Quantities as Heasured at the Terminals of HV Power Transformers," IEEE Trans., Vol. . 629. EI-21, No. 4, 1986, p IEC Publication 76, Power Transformers, Part 3: Insulation Levels and Dielectric Tests, First edition 1980.

Francine Rochon's contribution to the development of the digital data acquisition system and the preparation of data processing software routines by Richard Lemire and Pierre Langlois are gratefully acknowledged. Simon Garneau's assistance in refining the data presentation format is highly appreciated. A final word of thanks goes to Mrs. Lesley RBgnier for the editorial work.

REFERENCES
Vaillancourt, G., Dechamplain, A . , Malewski, R., "Simultaneous Measurements of Partial Discharge and Radio Interference Voltage," IEEE Transactions, Vol. IM-31, No. 1, 1982, pp. 49-52. Vaillancourt, G., Malewski, R., Train, D., "Comparison of Three Techniques of Partial Discharge Measurements in Power Transformers," IEEE Transactions, Vol. PAS-104, No. 4, 1985, p . 900-909. Viale, F., et al., "Study of Correlation Between Energy of Partial Discharges and Degradation of Paper-Oil Insulation," CIGRE, Paper N o . 15-12, 1982. Channakeshara, Gururaj, B . I . , Jararam, B . N . , "Studies on Partial-Discharge Measurements in Transformer Windings," CIGRE, Paper No. 12-09, 1982. Channakeshara, Gururaj, B.I., Jararm, B.N., "Possibilities of Estimating the Energy of Partial Discharges in Transformer Windings," Fourth

Georges H. Vaillancourt (M-79) was born in St-Damase, QuObec, in 1941. He received the B. Sc. degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from Concordia University, MontrBal, in 1977 and the M. Sc. A . degree in Electrical Engineering from Ecole Polytechnique, MontrBal, in 1984, for which the Ecole awarded him the Prize for the best Master Thesis. From 1964 to 1971 he was employed by RCA Ltd in MontrOal where he worked mostly on telemetry transmitters and automatic test systems for satellites. In 1971, he joined the Hydro-Qugbec Institute of Research (IREQ) where his main line of work until 1979 was participation in HVDC systems simulator Studies. In 1979, he transferred to the High Voltage Laboratory where he is presently working as a Senior Researcher specializing in High Voltage Measuring and Test Techniques. Mr. Vaillancourt is a member of the IEEE Transformers Committee in which he was active since 1981 as the chairman of the Task Force for the Measurement Of Apparent Charge and as a member of three Working Groups and of the Dielectric Test Subcommittee.

426
BIOGRAPJ3Y

Ryszard A. Malewski (F-81) was born i n Warsaw, Poland, i n 1935. He received the B . Sc. and M. Sc. degrees in e l e c t r i c a l engineering from Warsaw Technical University i n 1958 and the D . Sc. degree from the E l e c t r o t e c h n i c a l I n s t i t u t e of Warsaw i n 1967. D r . Malewski w a s an A s s i s t a n t Professor in the High Voltage Department a t the Warsaw Technical University from 1959-1962, a f t e r which he worked a s a research s c i e n t i s t In the High Voltage Department of t h e E l e c t r o t e c h n i c a l I n s t i t u t e of Warsaw.

In 1970, he joined Hydro-Qudbec I n s t i t u t e of Research a s a Senior Researcher, where he is presently Program Manager i n charge of High Voltage Measuring and Test Techniques. In addition, he i s adjunct Professor a t the Technical University of Montrgal, teaching High Voltage Techniques as w e l l as High Voltage Measuring and Laboratory Techniques. D r . Malewski is a r e g i s t e r e d professional engineer i n the province of Qugbec, the vice chairman of the IEEE Power Instrumentation and Measurements Committee, the s e c r e t a r y of I E C Canadian Technical C o m i t t e 42, a member of CIGRE Working Group 33.03 and the United Nations expert i n W tests and measurements. Author of some 70 papers, four of h i s publications have won the IEEE Award f o r Prize-Winning Papers and one was awarded the W.R.G. Baker P r i z e for the most o r i g i n a l work published i n the IEEE periodicals.

Discussion Richard J. Musil (American Elin Corporation, New York, NY): This is a very interesting and valuable paper. The described method of computer representation of the PD spectrum in terms of pulse rate and charge magnitude is ingenious and experimentally well founded. With sufficient experience it may be possible to identify PD sources with regard to type and location thus providing an additional investigative tool. If external stray signals can be clearly identified-and thus eliminated from consideration-some on-line application in monitoring transformers inservice may be feasible. However, truly continuous data acquisition and processing might involve a prohibitive amount of instrumentation and software. My concern is that the paper tends to give the impression that the determination of PD during acceptance tests is mainly an art and highly subjective. Actually, there are wellestablished measuring circuits and instruments with numerical read-out as well as evaluation criteria. Manuscript received February 5 , 1988.

RAM available in todays microcomputers. For longer test periods, direct access to disk is possible at rates of at least 250 OOO bls; this being adequate to easily capture all data during a one-hour partial discharge test. Obviously this would complicate postprocessing software somewhat, but at least no data would be lost and therefore presumably a more in-depth analysis would be possible. Perhaps the authors would consider these observations in future enhancements t o their system. Reference [l] J. D. Gassaway, P. B. Jacob, C. A. Vassiliadis, and P. H. Reynolds, Computer aided partial discharge measurement and recognition, 5th ISH, Braunschweig, Paper 41.03, August 1987. Manuscript received February 8, 1988.

R. E . James, B. T. Phung, and Q. Su (University of New South Wales,

Kensington, Australia): As indicated by the authors the presentation and interpretation of recorded data from a digital acquisition system is complex. We, too, have found that a plot of repetition rate U time is a reasonable guide as to possible increased partial discharge (PD) activity. The latter can then be studied during much shorter acquisition periods, even within appropriate individual cycles of the test frequency. The one second acquisition time and seven second processing time are acceptable for the one hour tests described in the paper. The mass of data becomes very difficult to manage as acquisition times are increased. This might be justified with a very low repetition rate of perhaps one or less per cycle as recorded in certain tests. Some mention is made of the location of PDs in respect to a particular leg (Fig. 5). Has it been practical to apply the system for electrical location of PDs? Perhaps by comparing pulses detected simultaneously (within 100 ps of each other) at the line and neutral of a particular phase, possibly as investigated with injected pulses on a large winding [l]. The presentation of results as in the 3D display of Fig. 7, together with color enhancement, appears to be of considerable assistance in the initial interpretation. A number of our measurements have indicated that relating the changes in PD magnitudes U frequency of occurrence and the variation in position within the phase U frequency of occurrence can give a guide as to the behavior of a discharge with time. For example, PDs initiated in an oil wedge adjacent to a paper or pressboard surface can eventually cause damage to the solid material: earlier tests indicated that it may be possible to detect such changes in some cases by analyses of the related frequency distributions at different times during the test [2]. Energy measurements may be of significance under some conditions. Have comparisons been made of this parameter derived from measurements at different positions on the same phase, for example when testing an autotransformer? Finally, the demonstration that a digital acquisition system for commercial testing of large three-phase power transformers can be successfully engineered and regularly applied encourages the continuation of attempts at solving two of the major outstanding problems associated with transformer PD measurements. Namely, i) the reliable location of a detectable PD, thereby allowing a better assessment of possible damaging effects, and ii) the identification of the type of PD including any change in form which might occur during a test or possibly, in-service. It is hoped

B. H . Ward,(Biddle Instruments, Blue Bell, PA): The authors are to be

complimented on their development of a digital partial discharge acquisition system and to their innovative software for processing and displaying partial discharge parameters. It comes at a time when many transformer manufacturers have only just begun to test for partial discharges using conventional techniques, and therefore, for some, there is little experience to draw from. For this reason a working group of the PSIM committee was formed to look into the subject of the digital acquisition and postprocessing of partial discharge data. A review pabr is being prepared which covers not only transformers but partial discharge testing of all types of power apparatus. One of the purposes of the paper is to attempt to give guidelines for those attempting to set acceptance levels to parameters of partial discharges measured using digital techniques and to present methods for the graphical representation of these parameters. The contents of this paper will certainly make a significant contribution to the work of this group. This discussers company has also produced a digital partial discharge acquisition system described in [l] and understands some of the problems involved in acquiring and displaying large masses of data. The authors report acquisition dead times as high as 90 percent during which time processing, storage, and display take place. It is the opinion of the discusser that this dead time is too long, particularly in that large dead times will always occur during high levels of partial discharge activity when a more detailed study of the results may be required. Also, if the system were configured such that shorter dead times were used or even eliminated, it would be possible to capture all partial discharge activity, for example, during induced testing at the enhanced level. This would enable parameters such as the variation of partial discharges with voltage, and true inception and extinction voltages to be determined. The equipment described in [lj, overcomes this problem by a) eliminating real time processing and display, and b) either capturing all signals in RAM, or by direct access to a disk.

In a) the real time processing and display is achieved by using a standard analog-type partial discharge detector and using the output of its amplifier as the input to the digital acquisition system. In b) sufficient storage for up to a minimum of 8 min of testing at the highest rate of discharge activity is theoretically possible with the amount of

4 2 7
t h a t the work of CIGRE WG15-01 Fluid impregnated insulating systems w i l l make further contributions i nt h i s area. References The IREQ system allows for continuous acquisition on request from the operator who monitors the intensity of PD occurence and acts accordingly. This feature is often used around the 40 second time interval of application of 170% Um test voltage. The continuous acquisition and on line processing of PD was tried and examined in our laboratory during several tests of large HV power transformers. The conclusion from this study is very clear - no useful additional information can be drawn from the huge quantity of the acquired data. Such a procedure does not help the test inspector in his task of evaluating the transformer performance, on another hand the cost and complexity of the data acquisition system increase beyond reasonable limit for a test station used for quality control of an industrial product. This statement does not question the benefits which may be obtained when examining samples of insulation or models of insulating systems in a material science laboratory, using the continuous acquisition method. Undoubtedly, an academic study of the material behaviour may require acquisition and processing of all discharges which occur during the examination. This is not the case of real transformers subjected to acceptance test. The comments of Messrs. R.E. James, B.T. Phung and Q. Su are directly in line with our way of thinking that the acquisition period of one second is quite sufficient in view of the actual performance of large HV power transformers during the induced voltage test. The electrical location of PD based on their respective time of arrival to the winding terminals is more successfui in the case of layer windings than the interleaved disk windings. For a precise location of objectionable PDs we still use the acoustic method. In agreement with the discussors comments we can state that the format of three dimensional presentation of the PD measurements is very informative, and its interpretation can be enhanced by showing the three dimensional graphs acquired over one hour test duration after the test in quick succession. In such a way, the inspector can see in front of his eyes the trend or dynamic behavior of the PD occurence and nature compressed in three to five minutes duration. Concerning energy measurement, we have the possibility of doing it easily since it only involves a simple calculation on the data that has already been acquired by the system. But until now we have concentrated mainly on total charge which does not involve the instantaneous voltage values. It would be very easy and interesting to include a subroutine in our post-processing software to perform energy calculation and this will be part of the future improvements to our system. We are very much indebted to aL1 discussers for their interest in our paper and for all their well-informed comments.
Manuscript received April 29, 1988.

[l]

R. E. James, F. E. Trick, B. T. Phung, and P. A. White, A microprocessor based system for the e l e c t r i c a l location of p a r t i a l discharges: Example of application t o a large transformer winding, CIGRE Symposium on New and Improved Materials for Electrotechnology,Vienna, May 5-7, 1987,Paper 1 0 1 0 0 1 . and analysisof p a r t i a l discharges [ 2 ] P.A. White, Detection, recording, i n e l e c t r i c a l insulation using computer methods, Ph.D. thesis, University of New South Wales, Australia, 1985.
Manuscript received February 24, 1988.

G.

VAILLANCOURT. R. MALEWSKI

We feel privileged to receive the comments from discussers representing a major transformer manufacturer, a leading instrument maker and academia. With reference to Mr. Richard Musils remark on possible more advanced data processing technique which would enable detection and measurements of partial discharges (PD) on HV power transformers in service, we would like to indicate that this is the objective of another research project which is currently in progress in our laboratory. The instrument and the software described in our paper has been designed specifically for use inside HV laboratory during acceptance test, and the effective rejection of external interference has been demonstrated in the case of another laboratory set-up operating simultaneously in an adjacent test bay and inducing stray signals in our test object. Unfortunately, this cannot yet be generalized to the noise produced by HV transmission lines in substations which represents a quite different situation since many noise sources are usually present simultaneously. Another comment of Mr. Richard Musil on the subjective element in determination of PDs during acceptance test points out our failure in communicating an important with the presently available message : instrumentation we do measure the PD magnitude, rate of occurrence, phase and polarity without ambiguity. However, the interpretation of results obtained during the acceptance test of a transformer depends on the individual judgement of the test inspector. The aim of our data acquisition and processing technique is to provide the information to the inspector in the clearest and most efficient way with the intention of simplifying his job and reducing the subjective elements in the final outcome of the test. The initiative of Mr. Barry Ward to prepare a review paper summarizing the state of the art in PD measurement and processing employed during the test of cables, rotating machines, insulators, transformers etc. is highly appreciated and we would like to participate in this activity with a written contribution from IREQ.

In what concerns the PD acquisition system described in reference #1 of Mr. Wards discussion we have the following comments: