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B3_201 CIGRE 2012

*CMoldoveanu@novaindustrialsa.ro





On-line monitoring of substation condition a Romanian experience




C. MOLDOVEANU*, V. BREZOIANU,
A. VASILE, V. URSIANU, I. IONI,
F. GONI, C. RADU
Nova Industrial SA
Romania
S. GAL, V. METIU,
C. DIACONU, I.D. HATEGAN,
V. ZAHARESCU, Vl. ROSCA
CN Transelectrica SA
Romania
T. FAGARASAN, G. MORARU
Smart SA
Romania


SUMMARY

The paper presents the results of the correct on-line evaluation of the current technical
condition of the electrical equipment in high voltage substations owned and operated by
Romanian Power Grid Company - CN Transelectrica SA , using intelligent monitoring
systems. The paper describes parts of the intelligent systems dedicated to on-line monitoring
of all primary equipment used in the 400/110 kV Darste substation (the 400/110 kV Darste
substation is the first high voltage substation completely on-line monitored in Romania).
The complex system realized for the on-line monitoring of 400/110 kV Darste substation
includes dedicated systems designed for the on-line monitoring of power transformer, shunt
reactors, circuit breakers, disconnectors, voltage & current transformers and surge arresters.
These intelligent monitoring systems can be used stand-alone or within an integrated system
for on-line monitoring of electric power stations and substations Smart Grids.
Also the paper describes the software that makes the integration of the mentioned intelligent
systems as a whole and makes also their connection to the RCM integrated software designed
for managing the technical condition and maintenance of the HV power transformers, shunt
reactors, current and voltage transformers, circuit breakers, disconnectors and surge arresters
in the 110 kV - 750 kV substations of the Romanian Power Grid.
The paper points out also specific aspects, based on the experience and knowledge gained in
projects developed for CN Transelectrica, related to the on-line substation condition
monitoring system.

KEYWORDS

Substations, on-line monitoring, Smart Grids, HV equipment, power transformers, shunt
reactors, circuit breakers, disconnectors, current and voltage transformers, surge arresters

1

Figure 2. Single line diagram of 400/110 kV
Darste substation
1. INTRODUCTION
The age of the existing high voltage electrical equipment in operation in the national power system is
continuously increasing and their failure rate grows with the increase in age. The great majority of
failures appears as a result of the combined action of the thermal and electric stresses, to which
mechanical stresses are added. In order to repair the faulty equipment, it is often necessary to take
them out of operation for a long period of time. The policy related to the management of the operation
and maintenance of the existing high voltage electrical equipment is based on the following main
principles:
Their maintenance or even replacement should take into consideration their momentary technical
condition in the first place and not their age;
The on and/or off- line monitoring activity should discover (identify) the modification in the
momentary technical condition in due time, in order to minimize the risk of major outages,
accompanied or not by fire or other losses;
Extending the service lifetime in operation, by the means of adequate maintenance.

The Romanian Power Grid Company (CN Transelectrica) intends to implement "Smart Grids"
networks based on on-line monitoring systems dedicated to: high voltage substations, overhead power
lines and power quality (figure 1).

Figure 1 CN Transelectrica concept to integration in Smart Grid networks of the on-line monitoring
systems dedicated to high voltage substations, overhead power lines and power quality

CN Transelectrica started the pilot project for
the on-line monitoring of primary equipment
in the high voltage power stations, part of the
National Power Transmission Network, in
2010. CN Transelectrica chose three stations
(one 400/110 kV and two of 220/110 kV) of
those not included in the plan to be
refurbished in the close future, but with most
of the major equipment with consumed
lifetime greater than 25 years.

The 400/110 kV Darste substation (one of the
three stations) is now the first high voltage
substation completely on-line monitored in
Romania (the project was completed entirely
in 2010). The 400/110 kV Darste substation
diagram is presented in Figure 2.

The paper briefly describes the technological solutions and experience gained in projects
developed for CN Transelectrica related to life and operating management of high voltage
equipment using the on-line substation condition monitoring system.

2. COMPLEX SYSTEM FOR THE ON-LINE MONITORING OF 400/110 kV DARSTE
SUBSTATION
The EMCSIT complex system for the on-line monitoring of 400/110 kV Darste substation includes
(Figure 3):
167 pcs. apparatus for on-line monitoring of the technical condition and the operating parameters
of 400 kV and 110 kV electrical equipment, all created and developed 100% in Romania, based on
original ideas and conceptions :
2

o 2 pcs complex systems for on-line monitoring of 250/250/80 MVA 400/121/20 kV
power transformer and respectively of 100 MVAr, 400 kV shunt reactor ;
o 30 pcs for circuit breakers monitoring;
o 104 pcs for disconnectors monitoring;
o 22 pcs for current transformers and voltage transformers monitoring;
o 13 pcs for surge arresters monitoring;
2 pcs. on-line monitoring systems to control the power quality;
a substation video monitoring system;
hundreds of special sensors and transducers; GPS modules for synchronization; PC servers, etc.


Transformer IED

Surge arrester monitors

Disconnector monitors

HV bushing monitor

Current/voltage transformer monitors

PC screens in 400/110 kV Darste substation
control room

Circuit breaker monitors
Figure 3. Images from the on-line monitored 400/110 kV Darste substation

2.1. Intelligent monitoring systems for high voltage electrical equipment in Darste substation
2.1.1. System for on-line monitoring of the 250/250/80 MVA power transformer and of the
100 MVAr shunt reactor
This system assures on-line data acquisition regarding:
a) Operating condition: power transformer or shunt reactor meets / does not meet the standards
of operation; it is connected / disconnected to / from grid;
b) Operating parameters: currents, overloads, voltages, overvoltages, voltage increase, frequency,
power factor; powers: active, reactive, apparent; temperatures: winding temperatures, oil
temperature, hot spot temperature, ambient temperature, inlet/outlet cooler temperatures, etc.;
c) Operating condition for the active part (core + windings + inner connections) through on-line
monitoring of: dissolved gas-in-oil: hydrogen (H2), acetylene (C2H2) and carbon monoxide
(CO) concentrations; partial discharges: acoustical signals produced by partial discharges; the
moisture level of insulation by: on-line measurement of water-in-oil content and evaluation
of the water content in the solid insulation;
d) Operating condition of the cooling system, by: displaying the number of the coolers (cooling
batteries) in operation; highlighting the operating oil pumps and fans; evaluating the
efficiency of the coolers activity; evaluating the total operating time or between overhauls/
repairs of oil pumps and / or electric fans; displaying the proper or inadequate state of the
cooling system;
e) The insulation condition of high voltage bushings equipped with tap for measuring the power
/ dissipation factor, by: measuring of the current through C1 dielectric (bushing tap current)
and assessing the unbalance current resulted from the phase sum of the currents through the
C1 dielectric of the bushings mounted on R, S, T phases of the same three-phase windings;
3

Figure 4 Software main view for the on-line
monitoring of 250/250/80 MVA power
transformer
Figure 5 On-line monitoring of the gases and water content in
transformer oil
measuring the capacity of the C1 dielectric on each high voltage; measuring the tangent of
the phase angle between the bushing insulation currents for each pair of bushings of the same
three-phase winding; displaying the proper or inadequate state of the high voltage bushings;
f) The operating condition of the on-load tap changer - OLTC- (only for on-line monitoring of
the power transformer), by: monitoring the operation position of the tap changer; measuring
the load current of the drive mechanism motor and its stamp; counting the cumulated number
of OLTC operation; displaying the proper or inadequate state of the tap changer.
g) The condition of the oil conservator associated to the transformer tank: the oil level in the
tank, signaling of the moment when oil in conservator reaches the maximum or minimum
level;
h) The condition of the oil conservator associated to the tap changer compartment: signaling of
the moment when oil reaches the maximum or minimum level;
i) The operating condition of the Buchholz relay: the signaling step and the tripping step;
j) The operating condition of the pressure relay associated to the OLTC diverter switch
compartment;
k) The operating condition of overpressure protection devices associated to the main tank of the
transformer.

Each on-line monitoring system contains one IED - Intelligent Electronic Device that receives signals
from sensors, transducers or monitoring subsystems, and sends the information regarding the operating
parameters and momentary state of the monitored equipment, to the control room or to the protection
systems.

The dedicated software of the on-line monitoring
system is compatible with Microsoft Windows XP
and it is designed on a client-server architecture.

The software allows: the real-time viewing of the
parameters which are monitored on-line, the
diagnose of the monitored power transformer, the
display of historical measurements (stored in a
database) and their evolution in time (as charts,
tables, etc.), the export of the data monitored on-
line in the RCM (Reliability Centered
Maintenance) database, for the on-line and off-line
analysis, the technical expertise and prediction of
the remaining lifetime, based on the information
stored in the RCM database, etc.

In Figure no. 5 it is presented
as example, the data
acquisition form regarding
the gases content [hydrogen
(H2), acetylene (C2H2),
carbon monoxide (CO)] and
water content in 250/250/80
MVA transformer oil.

In Figure no. 6 it is presented
as example, the data
acquisition form regarding
the current through C1
dielectric, the capacity of the C1 dielectric on each high voltage, the tangent of the phase angle
between the bushing insulation currents for each pair of bushings of the same three-phase winding;
4

Figure 6 On-line monitoring of 400 kV and 110 kV bushings
displaying the proper or inadequate state of the 400 kV and 110 kV bushings of the mentioned power
transformer.

The on-line monitoring
equipment of the partial
discharges (acoustical
signals), installed on the
250/250/80 MVA power
transformer and 100 MVAr
shunt reactor, indicates big
differences between the
values of the same
parameters (figures 7a and
b), due to signals produced
by mechanical vibrations,
higher at the shunt reactor
than at the power
transformer.

7a 7b
Figure 7 The on-line monitoring of partial discharges (acoustic signals) of partial discharges at
250/250/80 MVA transformer (7a) and at 100 MVAr shunt reactor (7b)

2.1.2. System for on-line monitoring of the 400 kV and 110 kV circuit breakers
This system ensures the on-line data acquisition regarding the operating parameters and the condition
of all monitored circuit breakers from substation, such as: circuit breaker technical condition, close /
open operating condition, operating times, lack of synchronization of operation between poles, arcing
times, contact speed, re-ignition, number of operations, wearing of the contacts, pressure of the
insulating fluid, the ambient temperature, the operating condition of the operating mechanism (current
through motor, operating times.

Each monitoring apparatus works connected to a local data processing unit. The processing unit
provides recording and processing of data coming from several on-line monitoring apparatus. The
processing unit stores the data and then transmits them through the LAN, to the control room of the
substation, or through WAN to the Regional Monitoring Center.

The operation of each on-line circuit breaker monitoring apparatus is divided into three sections,
namely:
a) Section for measuring the parameters in stand-by, where the following parameters are
measured: operative voltage, ambient temperature, SF6 gas pressure, etc.;
b) Section for measuring the operating parameters, where the following parameters are
measured: currents (through opening and closing coils), each phase line current, dynamic
characteristics of the circuit breaker (calculated by software, based on parameters measured
directly). Each measurement lasts 3 seconds, the whole event being completely recorded. In
this section the digital signals are also included - opening, closing, end of stroke, etc.
c) Section for signaling, where signalization events generated by incorrect operation of the
monitored circuit breaker (including switchgear) are measured, for example: lack or fall
below a certain limit of the battery voltage, fall below a certain limit of the SF6 gas pressure,
the lack of some mandatory digital signals - end of stroke after a close or open operation, etc.

5

The software dedicated to the on-line monitoring system for high voltage circuit breakers is structured
in the following modules:
a) server application software, for data acquisition and Oracle database storage EMCSIT-I
Server;
b) client application software, for viewing analog and digital parameters (states) EMCSIT-I
Client,
c) application software for viewing and analyzing events EMCSIT - I Event graphics;
d) application software for viewing history information recorded in the database EMCSIT-I
History.

The interface of client/server application software allows the user to view values for the monitored
analog and digital parameters (Figure 8) and to view information on the events that involved the
monitored circuit breaker (Figure 9).


Figure 8. Main view EMCSIT - I server

Figure 9. A circuit breaker opening operation

2.1.3. System for on-line monitoring of the 400 kV and 110 kV disconnectors
The system provides the on-line monitoring of all high voltage disconnectors from substation,
ensuring on-line data acquisition regarding the operating parameters and the condition of the
monitored equipment, such as: disconnector technical condition, close / open operating condition,
operation times, lack of synchronization of operation between poles, contact speed, number of
operations, the ambient temperature, the operating condition of the driver mechanism (current through
motor, operating times, etc.).
Each monitoring apparatus works connected to a local data processing unit.
The software for disconectors on-line monitoring contains similar modules as those mentioned for the
on-line monitoring of circuit breakers (Client, Server, Event graphics, History). The interface of
client/server software allows the user to view values for the monitored analog and digital parameters
(Figure 10) and to view information on the events that involved the monitored disconnector (Figure
11).


Figure 10. Main view EMCSIT-S server

Figure 11. A disconnector opening operation
6

Figure 14. Main window
EMCSIT - D server

2.1.4. System for on-line monitoring of the 400 kV and 110 kV current and voltage transformers
This system provides the on-line monitoring of current and/or voltage instrument transformers,
ensuring on-line data acquisition regarding the operating parameters and the condition of the
monitored equipment, such as: the technical condition of the transformer, the operating condition, the
pressure of the insulating fluid, etc. The equipment can also ensure data on current and/or voltage
over-stresses (the estimated amplitude, the occurrence time, the event duration, etc.) in the power
network where the instrument transformer is mounted.

The software for the current/voltage transformer on-line monitoring contains similar modules as
mentioned for the on-line monitoring of circuit breakers (Client, Server, Event graphics, History).The
interface of client/server software allows the user to view values for the monitored analog and digital
parameters (Figure 12) and to view information on the events that involved the monitored
current/voltage transformer (Figure 13).


Figure 12. Main view EMCSIT
TC/TT server

Figure 13 An instrument transformer event capture

2.1.5. System for on-line monitoring of the 400 kV and 110 kV surge
arresters
The system ensures the on-line data acquisition regarding the operating
parameters and the condition of all monitored surge arresters from
substation, such as: the technical condition of the surge arrester, the total
current passing through each surge arrester on the R, S, T phases of the
same power network, the unbalance current resulting from the total currents
passing through the surge arresters on the three phases of the network, the
third harmonics of the total current through each surge arrester, the number
of operations for each surge arrester on R, S, T phases.
The software for surge arrester on-line monitoring contains the
following modules: Client, Server, History. The interface of
client/server application software allows the user to view values for the
monitored analog parameters (Figure 14).

All on-line monitoring equipment EMCSIT TRAFOMON, I, S, TC / TT and D are integrated into the
SCADA system, into the Transelectricas intranet (fiber optic and GSM) network, and also can be
used as standalone equipment or integrated into an on-line monitoring system of primary equipment in
high voltage substations - Smart Grid.

2.2. Integrating intelligent EMCSIT systems in the complex system for on-line monitoring of
400/110 kV Darste substation
All mentioned on-line monitoring systems, dedicated for the on-line monitoring of all high voltage
equipment in 400/110 kV Darste substation, were integrated into EMCSIT INFO station, a complex
7

Figure 15. The graphical interface of EMCSIT INFO
station application presents the monitored substations
schematic electrical circuit diagram
software system for substation monitoring.

This dynamical software application offers the users a simple and easy to use graphical interface,
allowing to acquire information on the monitored parameters and technical data from the local servers
corresponding to the dedicated monitoring systems that individually monitor all primary equipment in
Darste substation.

The EMCSIT INFO station
software is installed on the central
server which is in the same LAN
with the local servers from the
substation relay rooms.

The software updates the
information displayed every minute,
so any change in the values of the
monitored parameters or states, for
each one of the types of items
displayed, can be viewed.

In terms of connecting all EMCSIT
monitoring equipment in the
substation, the software acquires
signals in real time and updates the
substations diagram, according to
the information received (Figure
15).

When the user moves the mouse
cursor over the graphic element that
represents a type of primary
equipment, information such as name and most recent measured values for the monitored parameters
will be displayed.

If user requests a detailed view for a specific monitored equipment, by clicking with the mouse on the
graphic element corresponding to that device, a new window will appear, containing the client
software for that specific equipment. For example if a disconnector was selected, EMCSIT INFO
station software will connect to the server database, will make the correlation between name of the
device and the ID recorded in the database for that equipment and will open a new window for the
dedicated EMCSIT - S Client application software. EMCSIT - S Client runs within the same LAN
with EMCSIT - S Server application and acquires the latest information recorded in the database for
the selected device.

3. CONCLUSIONS

Clearly the on-line monitoring of primary equipment in high power substations reduces the volume
and the costs of maintenance works, and provides a grounded justification for the transition from time-
based predictive maintenance, to maintenance based on technical condition of equipment.

The intelligent on-line monitoring systems described above and used within in 400/110 kV Darste
substation provides to the user (CN Transelectrica) quick and correct information about the operating
parameters and the technical condition of all monitored high voltage equipment, being an optimal
support for best real time decisions, on the management and safe operation of substations, with
relatively reduced costs.

In addition to that, important useful information was obtained in real time, with the equipment in
operation, some being impossible to obtain with off-line measurements and tests.
8


The solutions adopted for 400/110 kV Darste substation will be applied as a first phase to the other
two 220/110 kV substations, part of the CN Transelectrica pilot project for a Smart Grid system for
on-line monitoring of power substations.

4. BIBLIOGRAPHY
[1] C. Moldoveanu, V. Brezoianu, A. Vasile, V. Ursianu, F. Goni, C. Radu, Ir. Ioni: Intelligent System for the
On-Line Real Time Monitoring of High Voltage Substations Proceedings of the International IEEE
Conference Innovative Smart Grid Technologies-Europe, October-11-13, 2010, Gothenburg, Sweden,
paper 2046316;
[2] S. Gal, V. Zaharescu, T. Fagarasan, M. Oltean, C. Moldoveanu - Integrated system of on-line ETG monitoring
parameters, part of the Smart Grid development. Case study: ST Sibiu Proc. of the 10th Edition of WEC
Regional Energy Forum - FOREN 2010, paper S3-22;
[3] C. Moldoveanu , Ci. Diaconu - "On and off-line monitoring of large power transformers - a Romanian
experience, Proceedings of the International Conference on Condition Monitoring and Diagnosis CMD
2006 Changwon, Korea, April 2 - 5, 2006, paper 408;
[4] C. Moldoveanu, Ci. Diaconu, R. Ursianu, E. Ursianu E., E. Mihalcea E.; M. Nestor M.; F. Goni; L. Goia,
P.G. Curiac, V. Ursianu - Determination of the optimal moments for investigating technical state of
primary equipments for the purpose of assuring the safety levels - Proc. of the International Conference on
Condition Monitoring and Diagnosis, 2008. CMD 2008, 21-24 April 2008 Page(s):601 604, IEEE Catalog
number; CFP0830D-PRT; ISBN 978-1-4244-1621-9;
[5] C. Moldoveanu., Ci. Diaconu, C. Pop, V. Ursianu, C. Radu Expert systems for condition and maintenance
assessment of HV equipment from CN Transelectricas substations - Proceedings of CIGRE Session 2006,
Report B3-107.

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