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Scope: Define a procedure for testing individual capacitors installed in a capacitor bank without
disconnecting the unit from the bank.
Introduction
For this application the M4100 will serve solely as the measurement instrument, the power source will be the
M4110. The voltage supplied by the M4110 is monitored by the M4100 through the Red Low Voltage Lead (Red
LVL). The current drawn by the individual capacitor is measured by the M4100 through a Clamp on CT Probe
which is connected to the Blue Low Voltage Lead (Blue LVL).
Hardware Requirements
• M4100 Instrument
• Clamp-On CT Probe
• M4110
Software Requirements
M4000 Software with M4120 External Reference Module, version 2.1 or later
Test Principle
An external source voltage is applied to the capacitor bank and the M4100 system is used to measure the test
potential, and the individual cell current magnitude and angle (angle reference to the applied voltage). From this
information the software extracts the electrical parameters (V, I, watt, %PF and capacitance) for each individual cell
and our presented on the test plan of the M4000 External Reference software. The changes in %PF and capacitance
indicate the change in condition of the capacitor unit. The recommended external source to be used is the M4110,
which has a high output current (25A max.), as shown in Figure 1b.
N
I = Σ Ii
i=1
Clamp-on Current Probe
M4110 Top Bar
Ii
Bottom Bar
M4100
M4110
Bottom Bar
M4100
Using M4110 as the external source
FIGURE 1B
The current of each individual capacitor Ii is measured through the clamp-on current probe which is connected to
M4100 via Blue LVL (see Figure 1b). This test voltage is measured through the Red LV lead through the M4110
Red terminal, as shown in Figure 1b. The M4000 will determine the watts loss, power factor and capacitance of each
tested capacitor unit using the measured voltage, current and the phase angle between the voltage and current in the
same manner as in power factor testing [2].
Neutral Neutral
Unit Identification: To identify the individual capacitor in the bank, we use the general label “Xn-m”; where “X” is
the phase identification (ex. A, B and C). “n” is the rack position starting from the line to neutral end for series-
parallel groups or from top to bottom starting from outside rack for parallel groups. “m” is the cell position in the
rack starting from left to right when facing the capacitor rack. See the example of capacitor identification in the
Annex.
Line
M4110
Neutral
M4100
Test connection for multiple series-parallel groups
FIGURE 3
TABLE 1
Doble CapBank Test Procedure using M4110
M4110 M4100 Test
Description
Voltage Sense Lead Red Lead Black Lead Mode Red LV Blue LV Lead-
Lead Current Probe
1 Black to Back Lead Cap. Cap. Group UST-B M4110 Red Cap-Unit Fig.1b, 3
/White to Red Lead Group Top Bottom Terminal bushing and 4
Repeat Test 1 on each capacitor unit in the capacitor group by moving only the current probe and repeat the process
for each parallel group in the capacitor bank. The current probe polarity must agree with the current circulation or
source polarity. If the M4110 main breaker trips when safety switch is depressed, then the ground on cap bank
neutral has to be removed.
Test Voltage
The test voltage should not exceed 600V due to the rated voltage of the leads and current probe, while the total test
current is limited to the rated current of the test source. In general, the total test current (I) is a function of the test
voltage (V), frequency (f) and the total capacitance (C) of the capacitor group under test. The following equations
allow for the calculation of the test current and capacitance of the group under test:
I = 2π f C V ; [Equation 1]
N
C = Σ Ci ; [Equation 2]
i=1
Where N is the unit number in the capacitor group and Ci is the capacitance of the unit capacitor.
For a 60 Hz system, the preferred test voltage is 240V. If the total capacitance of the capacitor group under test is
too large, causing the protective devices to operate, then the test voltage is reduced to 120V. For a 50 Hz system,
Equation 1 and the above general guideline can be used. The following table is the summary:
TABLE 2
Recommended Test Voltage of Capacitor Bank
60 Hz System 50 Hz System
Test Voltage (V) Total group capacitance (μF) Test Voltage (V) Total group capacitance (μF)
240 < 221 (μF)
≤ 600 Volts < 3183*I/V (μF)
120 ≥ 221 (μF)
If the test current still exceeds the rated current of the source due to the size of the capacitance of the group
capacitor, then the test voltage can be reduced.
References
1. Long Pong, “Field Testing Capacitor Banks With M4000 Test Instrument”, Minutes of the 73nd Annual
International Conference of Doble Clients, 2005, in Arresters, Capacitors, Cables and Accessories Committee,
paper ACCA 7
2. Doble Engineering Company, “M4000 Insulation Analyzer User Guide”, PN 500-0110
3. “M4110 Leakage Reactance Interface”, Doble brochure
1
2
3 4 5
Two templates of test plan are available “CapBank_Template2.m4k” and CapBank_Template5.m4k” for capacitor
bank with 2 and 5 racks per phase respectively and each rack has 14 capacitor units.
These templates can be modified for other capacitor bank that has the different arrangement. To modify the test
template, the short cut command keys Ctrl + Ins or Ctrl + Del can be used respectively to add or delete a test line.
These adding or deleting test line command can be also performed through the menu Tools.
Testing Screen
FIGURE 5
Only NORMAL Test Type, see Figure 5c, needs to be performed. The following test sequence should be followed:
1. Clicking on “Run the Test” button to execute the test, see Figure 5 d
2. If this is the first test in the capacitor group, at Running Test screen, see Figure 6, adjust the test voltage
using M4110 voltage knob to the desired level (240V) which is displayed at the end of voltage ramping bar,
see Figure 6c. If this is the subsequent test in the group, go to the step 3
3. Use F3 key to make the measurement and F5 key to accept the test result.
Note: CAPACITANCE’s units in Figure 6d or Figure 5g becomes Henry when the current probe
polarity does not agree with the source polarity; reverse the current probe to correct the polarity. Also the
abnormally low capacitance can be caused by not fully closed jaws of the current probe.
4. Testing screen is reappeared, click on Next, see Figure 5e, to test the next unit and repeat the process of
step 1 to 3 until the end of the group.
5. Click “Done” to return to the test plan in Figure 4 and turn the M4110 voltage knob back to zero position.
To test another group or rack, change the test connection and repeat the steps 1 to 5 until the end of the capacitor
bank. A test can not be initiated if the M4110 voltage knob was not set back to zero position. The instruction of
M4110 operation can be found in [2] and [3].
1 A3-14
Rack position number Unit position
3
2
4
5
Five-Series-Parallel Groups
FIGURE 7
1 2 3 ……... 14 3
2 3
4
1 2 3 ……... 14 5
5 4
Grounded
Grounded
Neutral
Neutral
Terminal