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33-303

Session 2002
CIGR

MEASUREMENT OF PARTIAL DISCHARGES IN AN INDUSTRIAL HV TEST LABORATORY

R. MALEWSKI*
Instytut Elektrotechniki

W. MOKASKI

J. WIERZBICKI

Bydgoszcz Cable Works

Tradeways

Poland

Keywords: HV cable test - Partial discharge Induced disturbanceElectromagnetic shield - Shielded HV laboratory
Shielding efficiency - Conducted disturbance RF filter - Deep grounding Higher harmonics
Introduction
The minute current induced in the shield by e.g. a
An acceptance test of HV cables, transformers and other
broadcasting station can be diverted by greasy contacts
HV apparatus is carried out in industrial HV
between the door and its frame, or by a layer of oxide
laboratories. Some of these laboratories are designed to
on the metal panels bonded together by bolts. An
perform Partial Discharge (PD) measurements, and they
electromagnetic field enters the HV test hall through
have to be equipped with an electromagnetic shield that
such discontinuity, or opening in the shield, and
is sometimes referred to as Faraday cage. An ideal
induces disturbances in the PD measuring circuit that
shield forms a continuous metal enclosure that covers
acts as a large-size antenna. Such disturbances mask the
the walls, ceiling and floor of the test hall. Faraday has
minute PD signals and impair diagnostic of the
discovered that an external electromagnetic field
examined HV insulation.
impinging on such shield induces a current that flows in
The shield efficiency is defined as a ratio of the electric
the walls, ceiling or floor. This current prevents the
(or magnetic) field component outside and inside the
external field from penetration inside the enclosure.
shielded area. The higher the efficiency, the lower is
Radio stations broadcasting in AM mode emit the
background disturbance level. Naturally, the cost of HV
disturbing electromagnetic field. Besides, transient
test hall depends largely on the electromagnetic shield
electromagnetic field can be generated by the ignition
efficiency.
system of internal combustion engines, by sparking
An acceptable PD level is specified for each kind of
between an electric locomotive pantograph and traction
apparatus, and ranges from a few hundreds of
wire, by an arc welding, and by many other sources.
picocoulombs (pC) for power transformers, down to a
In practice, the electromagnetic shield cannot be
single pC for cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) cables.
continuous and completely enclosed, since it is
In the case of HV power transformers the background
composed of metal panels connected to each other at the
disturbance should not exceed a few tens of pC,
edge, and of doors and windows. It is imperative to
however, to test XLPE HV cables, the background
ensure a low-impedance contact between the panels, and
disturbance should be reduced to approximately one pC.
between the door and its frame.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
* Prof. Dr-Ing. Ryszard Malewski, owicka 53 m 12, 02 535 Warszawa, Poland, E-mail: malewski@ieee.org

A well-designed electromagnetic shield can effectively

reduce disturbance induced in the PD measuring circuit.
However, disturbances are also conducted by the supply
and control cables, or by the laboratory grounding. The
power and control cables carry mainly power-frequency
currents, whereas the conducted disturbances contain
high-frequency spectral components. Radio-frequency
(RF) filters inserted in series with the supply wires
prevent these high-frequency currents form entering the
shielded enclosure.
Besides, in an industrial environment stray currents
circulate in the upper soil layers, between different
grounding points of supply transformers, large motors
and other loads installed in different factory buildings.
A large metal enclosure of the shielded HV test hall
offers a low-impedance path for these stray currents. An
on-and-off switching of such current induces a transient
disturbance in the PD measuring circuit. To prevent the
stray current from flowing in the electromagnetic shield
it has to be isolated from the local ground and from
structural elements connected to such ground. A special
grounding rod is driven deep into the soil, and insulated
from the upper soil layers. The electromagnetic shield
has to be connected to such deep-driven grounding rod,
and insulated from all locally grounded structures.
It has been reported that PD measured with purely
sinusoidal voltage waveform are lower than the
respective measurements taken on the same object with
a distorted-waveform voltage. However, an industrial
plant often uses large motors with a thyristor speedcontrolled drive. Such drive generates higher harmonics
of current and voltage in the supply system. A distorted
supply voltage affects the test voltage waveform, and
increases the PD level measured on the examined test
object. To reduce the test-voltage waveform distortion,
the HV laboratory should be supplied by a separate
power transformer.
To test of big EHV power transformers a very large
laboratory is required. The huge test hall has to be
protected by an electromagnetic shield that is required
to enable broad-band PD measurement. Such shield has
been designed for the world largest HV laboratories of
IREQ in Montreal [1] and EdeF in Renardieres. An
important practical experience was gathered since their
commissioning. Comments on this experience and some
findings on the shield performance may be of use for
designers of new installations, and will be presented in
this paper.
Testing HV power cables imposes the most stringent
requirements on the background disturbance level.
Design of a large laboratory that can perform
contractual and development test of XLPE cables rated
up to 400 kV represents a challenge to engineers
specialized in HV technique and in electromagnetic
compatibility.
Such
laboratory
was
recently
commissioned at Bydgoszcz Cable Works [2], and
represents the state of the art facility for quality control
of EHV power cables. This installation may serve as an

example how to protect the PD measuring circuit

against both induced and conducted disturbances.
P D measurement during acceptance-test of power
transformers.
International Standards require PD measurement during
the induced voltage test for transformers rated at 220 kV
and higher. However, many utilities specify PD
acceptance levels also for windings rated at 110 kV.
Usually, the acceptance level is indicated at 500 pC, but
recently lower values (300 pC and even 200 pC) are
often required [3]. Some specifications delimit an
acceptable variation of the measured PD level during
the last 30 minutes of one-hour test duration, and such
variation shall not exceed e.g. 30 pC. An unstable and
high level of PDs may indicate a high content of
moisture in cellulose, particles in oil and other
technological flaws that disqualify the transformer.
A reliable measurement of PDs at 100 pC level can be
performed if the background noise is restricted to 10 pC
range. The test circuit of 400 kV or 220 kV transformer
acts as a large size antenna and collects the signals
induced by stray electromagnetic field. In an unshielded
test hall such disturbance may exceed by orders of
magnitude the PDs measured in the transformer
insulation. The small, sought PD impulses are then
completely masked. To suppress the disturbance to an
acceptable level the test circuit has to be installed in an
efficient electromagnetic shield.
Design of the electromagnetic shield
Design features of the electromagnetic shield are
presented on an example of very large (8267m, 52m
clearance to the ceiling) HV test hall equipped with an
electromagnetic shield. The shielding efficiency of the
electric and magnetic field component was measured at
690 kHz and is presented in form of equal attenuation
lines shown in Fig. 1 [4]. Experience of transformer test
laboratories indicates that the attenuation of the
magnetic field component by 60 dB is in general
sufficient to reduce the PD background disturbance to
the required 10 pC level [5].

Fig.1 (after [4]). Attenuation of the electric (E) and

magnetic (H) field component inside a large
shielded HV test hall. A leakage of the disturbance
field in vicinity of the large entrance door, as well
as near the windows can be identified on this graph.
A penetration of the external disturbance field into the
test hall is mainly caused by a poor contact between the

3
doors and doorframe. This is due to a thin layer of
grease or dirt on the contact surface. The current that
circulates in the electromagnetic shield walls can be
effectively prevented from flowing across the door by
such a thin layer of dirt. An impedance of the dirt layer
is high enough to stop the current, since the voltage
difference at the contacts is of the order of some
microvolts only. Such doors behave then as a large
opening in the shield, and the external field can
penetrate into the test hall.
The shield has been construed from 44 m steel panels
connected by welding at spots spaced by approximately
0.3 m. The steel panels covered the four walls and
ceiling, and the whole shield was welded at spots spaced
by the same distance to the copper mesh that covers the
whole laboratory floor. A conceptual drawing of the
current flow in the electromagnetic shield is shown in
Fig. 2, assuming a vertically directed magnetic field (H)
vector.

Fig. 2. The drawing shows an exaggerated effect of the

disturbance field penetration between the spot
connections of the adjacent metal panels. An
external electromagnetic field induces a current that
flows in the shield walls, and prevents the applied
field from penetration into the shielded area. Any
disturbance or attenuation of the induced current
flow affects the shielding efficiency and allows the
field to leak-in.
The disturbance field can penetrate into the shielded
area due to the non-continuous, spot connection of the
adjacent panels. However, such the penetration depth
may reach the distance equal to the spacing between the
welded points, if the wavelength of applied
electromagnetic field is comparable to this spacing. In
reality, the PD measurements in power transformers are
performed in the frequency range up to 1 MHz, and the
shielding efficiency beyond this frequency is of no
practical concern.
It has been observed in one of the test laboratories that a
high efficiency electromagnetic shield has deteriorated
after years of service. The shield was made of
overlapping copper panels simply nailed together along
the edge to ensure a good contact between adjacent
panels. The shield worked fine as long the copper
surface was free from oxidation. However, under the
action of atmospheric humidity a layer of oxide has
developed and the contact resistance increased to the
extent to impair circulation of induced current. At this

moment, the electromagnetic shield became transparent

to the external electromagnetic field, and the
background noise level increased by orders of
magnitude. Although trivial, this example confirms the
necessity of welded or soldered contacts between the
panels that form an electromagnetic shield.
Some manufacturers use a moving-bridge (crane) to
transport their transformers from the production hall to
the HV test area. The moving-bridge rails and supply
wires enter into the shielded test hall and reduce its
shielding efficiency. More modern plants use air
cushions to move the transformers, and then the
shielded test hall can be effectively closed.
Due consideration should be given to the cost of an
electromagnetic shield of a HV test hall large that is
enough to accommodate 400 kV power transformer
with the necessary clearance to the ceiling and walls.
Some smaller manufacturers cannot afford such
investment, and try to perform the induced voltage test
during night hours, when most of the disturbance
sources are not active. However, the presence and
intensity of disturbances are random and unpredictable.
A large manufacturer is bound to deliver transformers
according to a tight schedule and cannot afford the
suitable time testing.
PD measurement during acceptance test of crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) power cables
HV cross-linked polyethylene power cables are the most
difficult test objects for PD measurements, due to a very
low level of acceptable PDs. Usually the test
specification allows one, two or at most five pC. The
background disturbance shall be less than 1 pC, despite
a large physical size of test circuit. For instance, the 400
kV rated cable pothead assembled on a supporting
structure may be as high as 10 m. Even modest
electromagnetic disturbance field will induce a strong
signal in such antenna. An electromagnetic shield of the
HV test hall shall have a high efficiency, exceeding 100
dB in the frequency range extending to the PD
measuring instrument upper frequency limit, (usually
250 kHz). It is rather difficult, if not impossible, to
reach so high attenuation in an electromagnetic shield
improvised from metal panels welded at spots [6].
At Bydgoszcz Cable Works two professional, shielded
rooms have been installed, with specially designed
seams and joints [7]. Each Faraday cage has the floor
size 2516 m and 13 m clearance to the ceiling. These
are primarily used for PD measurements on XLPE
cables up to 400 kV rated voltage. Besides, lightning
and switching impulse, HVDC and power frequency
voltage withstand tests are carried out in these two
shielded laboratories.
This shielded enclosure complies with the International
[8] and American National [9] standard requirements.
The attenuation characteristic compares favorably to the
US military and National Security Agency specification
for shielding efficiency [10].
The shield walls are made of a double-layer aluminum
sheath, with plywood panels sandwiched in between to
provide a structural rigidity. Specially designed

moldings fastened by a row of bolts join edges of

adjacent panels. Particular attention is paid to the
entrance doors that are large enough (54 m) to allow
for transportation of large and heavy HV cable drums.
An electromagnetic gasket sometimes referred to as
fingers is installed along the edge of the door frame,
and a knife edge of the doors is squeezed into these
fingers when the door is closed. The fingers are made
of a hard beryllium-copper alloy and soldered to the
doorframe. Each time the door is open and closed the
sharp and elastic fingers scratch the door edge,
remove the dirt layer and refresh the galvanic contact
between the shield and the doors.
Forced-air ventilation ducts of the shielded enclosure
are equipped with honeycomb type electromagnetic
barrier, and interference-free lighting fixtures do not
contribute to the background disturbance level.
Amplitude characteristic of the electromagnetic shield
installed in Bydgoszcz Cable Works, is shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 3. Attenuation of the magnetic field component by

the electromagnetic shield manufactured by
Universal Shielding Corporation Company and
installed in the HV test hall of Bydgoszcz Cable
Works. Superimposed are characteristics specified
by the US Air Force and the National Security
Agency (NSA 65-6).
German Standard (VDE) specifies 2 pC as the highest
allowed PD level measured during the test of HV
cables, and Polish Standard [11] imposes 5 pC limit at
the test voltage U=2*Uo. These requirements are
routinely fulfilled during the tests of XLPE cables
manufactured by Bydgoszcz Cable Works.
High Voltage test equipment
The state of the art shielded enclosure requires equally
refined HV test equipment that provides the PD-free test
voltage. A resonant-circuit test set-up, tuned to power
frequency by reactors with a moving magnetic core was
chosen [12], to avoid intense interference produced by
semiconductor controlled, frequency-regulated resonant
test set-ups. Two regulated reactors rated at 350 kV, 30
A can be stacked up and tuned to resonance with the
examined cable section. The test voltage is supplied by
a 500 kVA regulator and an exciting transformer with
500 kV rated highest-voltage output.
The measuring instrumentation is composed from the
computer assisted TE-571 PD detector, HV divider and

coupling capacitor, as well as auxiliary instruments, all

from the same leading manufacturer of HV test
equipment. A computerized test procedure can be
implemented owing to the integrated system of test
voltage control and measurement, as well as PD
recording. A fault location procedure is incorporated in
the PD measuring system, and a damaged insulation of
the examined cable section can be located within a few
meter uncertainty.
Filtering out the conducted disturbances
A well-designed and installed shield suppresses the
disturbances induced by external electromagnetic field
to a negligible level. High quality HV test equipment
provides PD-free test voltage. At this stage the
dominant disturbance is conducted by the supply and
control, as well as by the grounding system.
The requirement of a very low disturbance level brings
to the test hall designer attention another mechanism of
disturbance penetration into the test circuit. Namely,
disturbances conducted by the supply, control and
measuring cables. Special filters are installed in all
circuits entering the shielded HV test hall, to attenuate
the conducted disturbing signals. The filter complexity
and cost depends on the required attenuation
characteristic and on the power frequency current that
has to pass through the filter.
A typical filter is composed of series connected reactors
and parallel capacitors. A circuit diagram and amplitude
characteristic of such filter is shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 4. Circuit diagram of a typical RF filter employed

to supply the HV test transformer. An effect of core
saturation on the filter attenuation characteristic is
shown on the right sketch. An attenuation of the
differential and common mode disturbance is
presented conceptually on the lower sketch.
The air core reactors attenuate the differential mode
disturbance, and magnetic core reactors, with bi-filar
winding reduce the common mode disturbance. The
latter is conducted by the phase-conductors and returns
via the ground. In principle, the load current i50Hz shall

5
not saturate the reactor core, since the bi-filar winding
compensates the magnetic flux induced by the go and
return current. However, the residual flux may saturate
the core, if the reactor rated current is exceeded. A
saturated core reduces the reactor inductance and shifts
the attenuation characteristic toward a higher frequency.
Besides, the saturated reactor core contributes to the
test-voltage waveform distortion.
Distortion of the test voltage waveform by harmonics
One of practical problems to be solved by an industrial
test laboratory is to maintain a spectrally pure waveform
of the test voltage.
Usually the HV laboratory is located next to production
area, supplied from the same substation, and sometimes
even from the same transformer. A thyristor controlled
drive of large machines, and other non-linear loads,
distort the current, and in consequence the supply
voltage waveform.
This distortion is transferred to the test voltage and
corrupts PD measurements. For instance, the PD
intensity in a gas bubble trapped in solid insulation
increases with the test voltage steepness. An increasing
content of higher harmonics results in a steeper voltage
slope, and in consequence in a higher PD intensity. This
problem has been investigated [13], and a typical
example of such distortion is shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 5. (After [13]). An effect of the test voltage

distortion on the PD charge distribution Q=f1()
and frequency of occurrence N=f2(). On the left
side the Total Harmonic Distortion is negligible
(THD=0.7%). On the right side a high content of
fifth harmonics results in THD=10%.
To eliminate this problem at the source, Bydgoszcz
Cable Works has installed a separate power transformer
to supply the HV laboratory.
Faraday cage grounding
The electromagnetic shield is connected to a group of 5
grounding rods driven to the depth of 20 m, and

insulated from the topsoil layers to the depth of 6 m.

The grounding rods are star-connected and bonded to
the shielded enclosure in one point. This joint allows for
periodic checks of the grounding resistance (that does
not exceed 1 even during the dry season,) and also for
checking the insulation between the shielded enclosure
and locally grounded objects.
The upper soil layers conduct ground currents, and in
particular the higher harmonics of the power frequency
current. Such harmonics are generated by thyristor
controlled loads, such as electric motors, or rectifiers
[14].

Fig. 6. Supply circuit of thyristor controlled drives, and

the higher harmonics current flow path. The
harmonics and transient disturbance current flow
through the upper soil layers, as well as in structural
members of steel buildings.
It should be noted that the third and ninth harmonic
current flow by the three phase conductors in the same
phase. In consequence, these harmonic currents flow in
three-phase conductor in such a way, as if they were one
common conductor, i.e. homopolarly, as it is
schematically shown in Fig. 6.
This current returns to the supply source (power
transformer in substation) by the zero wire, and also
through the grounding system that is parallel to zero
conductor. At higher frequency the zero conductor
impedance is in general higher than that of the ground
return. For instance, the reactive impedance Xo of 300 m
section of zero wire attains Xo=2350[Hz]1[H/m]
300[m] 0.3 at the third harmonics, and at the ninth
it approaches 1.
Grounding system in general has lower impedance, and
the higher harmonics, as well as transient common
mode disturbance currents tend to flow through the
upper soil layer. Such transients are generated by arc
welding, sparking at the breaker or disconnect contacts,
sparking of the electric traction locomotive and similar
events.
Any metal object buried in the ground offers even lower
impedance path and attracts the ground currents. For
instance, a steel structure of the HV hall attracts the
higher harmonic currents, as well as any metal cable
shield, or a pipe buried in the ground, as it is sketched in
Fig. 7.
Random occurring disturbances sometimes recorded by
the PD measuring instrument come to the test set-up

through the harmful coupling between the

electromagnetic shield and the factory grounding
system. Another path leads through the RF filters, if
they are saturated by an excessive load-current.

Fig. 7. Paths of the ground return current flow in the

upper layers of soil. To prevent this current from
flowing in the Faraday cage it has to be insulated
from local groundings, and connected to a deep
driven grounding rod.
Conclusions
Partial discharges measured in a HV laboratory
designed to test power transformers and XLPE cables
have a distinctly different intensity. In consequence, the
background disturbance level acceptable in these
laboratories is also quite different. The most severe
requirements are specified for XLPE power cables, and
the cable test laboratory has to be equipped with a high
efficiency electromagnetic shield.
An electromagnetic shield of a large HV test hall
represents a large investment for the factory, and has to
be carefully designed to attain the required, low
disturbance level. In the case of a power transformer
factory the shield can be made of steel panels welded
together in regularly spaced spots. However, a XLPE
cable factory had to acquire a professionally made
shield, with carefully designed seams and joints.
In addition to the disturbance signals induced by an
external electromagnetic field, disturbances may be
conducted by supply, control and measuring cables that
enter the shielded enclosure. An effective system of
filters has been installed, and every wire that penetrates
the shield passes through such filter.
Thyristor controlled drives and other non-linear
loads generate higher harmonics of the current drawn
from the local supply circuit. These result in a distortion
of the supply voltage, and in consequence of the test
voltage waveform. PDs measured in HV insulation
depend on the voltage steepness, and a distorted test
voltage waveform results in an exaggerated PD
intensity. To reduce the harmonic distortion, a separate
power transformer was installed to supply the HV test
laboratory directly from the substation.

Higher harmonics and transient disturbance

currents are conducted through the factory grounding
system. A large part of such currents circulates in the
topsoil layers. To suppress such disturbance, the
electromagnetic shield has been insulated from the
factory grounding system and connected to a group of
deep driven rods insulated from the topsoil.
A specialized supplier has delivered a complete set
of PD-free regulated transformer and reactors, as well as
a modern computer-assisted recording instrumentation.
These are pre-requisites to achieve the sought, very lowlevel background disturbances.
References
1. G., Karady, N., Hylten-Cavallius, Electromagnetic
Shielding of HV Laboratory, (IEEE Trans. Vol.
PAS-90, No. 3, May/June 1971, p. 1400).
2. H., Wesolowski, A., Rynkowski, New HV
Laboratory of Bydgoszcz Cable Plant, (V
Conference Power and communication cable
lines, Zakopane, March 1990, p. 265).
3. G., Vaillancourt, R., Malewski, D., Train,
"Comparison of Three Techniques of Partial
Discharge Measurements in Power Transformers",
(IEEE Transactions, Vol. PAS-104, No. 4, 1985,
pp. 900-909).
4. F., Rizk, Y., Gervais, H., Lhrmann, Performance
of Electromagnetic Shields in HV Laboratory,
(IEEE Trans. Vol. PAS-94, No. 6, 1975).
5. B., Don Russel, W.C., Kothenheimer, R.,
Malewski,
Substation
Electromagnetic
Interference. Part 2: Susceptibility Testing and EMI
Simulation in High Voltage Laboratories,(IEEE
Transactions, Vol. Vol.PAS-103, No. 7, p. 18711878)
6. J., Miedziski, Electromagnetic Screeing Theory
and Practice, (The British Electrical and Allied
Industries Research Association, Report #M/T135,
1959, Leatherhead, UK).
7. Shielded Enclosures, (catalogue of Universal
Shielding Corporation, US, 1996).
8. International Electrotechnical Commission, (Publ.
1000-4, -3; Publ, 461/462D).
9. American National Standards Association, (Std.
C63.4).
10. Department of Defense, US (Military Standard
MIL-258,).
11. Polish Standard Committee, (National Standard
PN-E-90410: 1994)
12. AC Voltage Test System Model RSZ, (Haefely
catalogue #E152.50, Basel, 1994).
13. M., Florkowski, Distortion of Partial Discharge
Images caused by High Voltage Harmonics, (10th
International Symposium on HV Engineering,
Montreal, 25-29 August, 1997, tom 4, p. 95.)
14. R., Redl, P., Tenti, Daan J., van Wyk, Power
Electronics Polluting Effects, (IEEE Spectrum,
May 1997, p. 33).