Re

On-Site Testing
of Gas Insulated Substation
with AC Voltage
M. Gamlin
J. Ricmann
!. Schia"si
R. #ege"
$. #ese"
rint
IS% &&
E 1-92
% I G % V O ' T A G ( T ( S T
On-Site Testing of Gas Insulated Substation with AC voltage
M. Gamlin, J. Ri!mann, ". Shi!a#s!i
Haefely Trench
Basel, Switzerland
R. $ege#, %. $ese#
University of Stuttgart
Germany
Abst#at
Recent experience has proven that the reliaility of a
G!S"G!# can e ensured y an $n%Site &'%Testing
after assemly comined with a sensitive partial dis%
charge measurement(
)ither conventional *+",+ Hz transformer systems or
resonant test systems with variale inductance as
well as resonant test systems with variale fre-uency
have een used to perform the G!S"G!# $n%Site
Testing(
The paper descries the different H. test systems
with their advantages and limitations and the appli%
cale partial discharge measuring methods( The
UH/ 01 measuring method is emphasised(
&. Int#odution
G!S"G!# testing has een performed either y &'%
voltage, lightning impulse voltage or switching im%
pulse voltage or a comination of them(
The experience showed that no single test method
detects all fault causes with the same sensitivity(
& G!S"G!# &'%testing with an increased voltage
level comined with a sensitive partial discharge
measurement has met est the re-uirements for de%
tecting the different fault causes 234(
0resent &' test procedures of several G!S"G!# sup%
pliers consists of a prestressing at a voltage level of
aout 53(3% 67U
m
" 6 for some seconds up to some
minutes followed y the 3 minute test voltage in the
range of 53(3%3(*7 U
m
and finished y a 01 meas%
urement at a voltage level of 3(3 U
m
" 6(
The &' test voltage for $n%Site Testing can either
e generated y a S/, insulated test transformer
system, a conventional series resonant test system at
*+",+ Hz or a series resonant test system with vari%
ale fre-uency 56+ (( 6++ Hz7( The series resonant
test systems are mainly applicale for a higher test
capacitance and longer test duration(
'. On Site AC Test S(stems
'.& On Site Testing with S$)-insulated test
t#ansfo#me# s(stems of the t(*e T+S
S/, insulated test transformer systems are designed
for a short time duty( The max( output voltage and
3* min output power is up to 3+++ 8. and 69* 8.&
at a weight to power ratio of approx( 3+ 8g"8.&(
The T)S%system can either e directly flanged to a
G!S or used in comination with a S/,"&ir%ushing(
!f directly flanged to the G!S via a multiflange
housing an encapsulated coupling capacitor can e
integrated( :ith such an arrangement and the appli%
cation of the conventional 01 measuring method a
01 level of less than ; p' can e verified(
&n optimised design of a S/,"&ir ushing in comi%
nation with a low volume intermediate flange results
in an easy and short time assemly procedure( To fa%
cilitate handling and transport all encapsulated com%
ponents are mounted on a ase frame(
$igu#e &, 230 kV, 45 kVA test system
& T)S%system which is possile to e tilted hydrau%
lically up to vertical position is designed to meet the
re-uirements for $n%Site Testing of a G!S termi%
nated y a S/,"&ir ushing( !n this case the &'%
testing should e comined with an UH/ 01 meas%
urement(
$igu#e ', 510 kV, 105 kVA test system
'.' On-Site Testing with onventional se#ies
#esonant test s(stems of the insulating (lin-
de# t(*e R-
'onventional oil insulated series resonant reactors of
the insulating cylinder type are designed for a longer
test duty and higher power rating( Typical perform%
ance data of a two module tower is an output voltage
up to <++ 8. and a 3h output power of up to 6;++
8.& at a weight to power ratio of approx( * 8g"8.&(
The test voltage is applied to the test o=ect via an
&ir"S/, ushing( Using this design several modules
can e cascaded to increase the test voltage ut a
fully encapsulated $n%Site Test arrangement is not
possile to achieve( Therefore the UH/ 01 measur%
ing method is preferred when using this test ar%
rangement(
The auxiliary e-uipment such as exciter transformer,
electrodes, ase frames and the measuring capacitor
is stored in a ;+> container( /urthermore a control
room is integrated in the container as well( The re%
actor itself is transported in a crate(
1isturances generated y the semiconductor
switching in the range of some n' re-uire a filtering
and shielding 5;7 of the power supply in order to al%
low a sensitive 01 measurement during the &'
testing(
Using a fully encapsulated arrangement a 01 level of
less than 3 p' can e verified(
& signal windowing of the 01 detector is not neces%
sary the full phase angle range can e recorded(
567
)
f
537 5;7
$igu#e ., Circuit diagram of a resonant test set with
variabe fre!uency
Cou*ling Ca*acito"
%.V. Reacto"
$igu#e /, "00 kV, 4 A, 50#$0 %& series resonant test
system
'./ On-Site Testing with S$
)
-insulated #esonant
test s(stems with va#iable f#e0uen( of the
t(*e RSS
:ith a S/
,
insulated series resonant reactor with
fixed inductance an encapsulated test set up with a
higher output power rating compared to a S/
,
insu%
lated test transformer can e achieved( The weight to
power rating ratio can e optimised to approx(
+(, 8g"8.&(
The test circuit is tuned to the resonant condition y
means of ad=usting the fre-uency of a high cloc8 rate
fre-uency converter 537( The fre-uency range of the
test system can e calculated y the following for%
mula?
$igu#e 1, 400 kV, 3 A test system with 0'5 n( cou)
*ing ca*acitor
!f the resonant system is designed for resonant fre%
-uencies aove <+ Hz"3++ Hz the G!S can e tested
with installed voltage transformers(
This allows testing of the fully assemled G!S with%
out any temporary disassemly of voltage transform%
ers which are designed for a *+",+ Hz system(
/. On-Site *a#tial disha#ge measu#ements on
GIS
/.& Conventional "2 measu#ements
f


max
f
min
C


max
C
min
/or on%site 01 measurements on G!S several differ%
ent measuring techni-ues are applicale( The con%
ventional 01 measuring method according to !)'
Similar to S/, test transformer systems the resonant
reactor system 567 can either e connected directly to
a G!S"G!# y using an intermediate flange or y
means of a S/,"&ir ushing(
,+;9+ is the most 8nown since it is in use already for
many years in various fields of 01 measurements(
01 signals are measured using a coupling capacitor
which can e fully enclosed or externally connected(
The 01 signal is not significantly damped in the G!S
so that this method can e calirated( Since 01 sig%
nals are measured in the 8Hz range excessive elec%
tromagnetic interference of much higher amplitude,
such as corona discharges of incoming overhead
lines, ma8es detection of 01 in G!S difficult( To
otain an acceptale ac8ground noise level the use
of costly filter and noise suppression methods is re%
-uired( /or this reason an on%site 01 measurement
with the conventional method is only suitale in fully
enclosed test set%ups(
Spektrum
Analyzer
Amplifier Highpass Peak
Detector
PRPD
PD easuring
De!ice
/.' Aousti "2 measu#ements
The acoustic method is another sensitive 01 meas%
uring techni-ue applicale on G!S( !t is immune to
electromagnetic noise in the sustation and ecause
it cannot e calirated, a sensitivity verification was
developed y the '!GR) wor8ing group
:G3*"66(+6(+* 2;4( Since the measuring range is
limited to one gas compartment acoustic 01 meas%
urements on a complete G!S are very time%
consuming( Therefore, this method is rather useful
for the location of an eventually occurring defect
than for an on%site 01 test of a G!S arrangement(
/./ 34$ "2 measu#ements
The measuring of 01 in G!S using the UH/ method
has een discussed intensively in the literature and is
meanwhile commonly accepted in the industry 264(
The 01 signals are detected at UH/ fre-uencies
56++@Hz% 6GHz7 with uilt%in plate sensors( Since
corona discharges do not create interfering signals in
the UH/ range on%site measurements on partially
open test set%ups ecome possile( The sensitivity of
the UH/ method is comparale to the conventional
method( @easurements can e performed either in
the fre-uency%domain with a andwidth of a few
@Hz, which is commonly referred to as the narrow%
and method, or in the time%domain over a road
fre-uency range up to ; GHz, which is usually called
the road%and method 5fig( ,7( The 01 detection
using the narrow%and method is done with a com%
mercial spectrum analyzer and low noise " high gain
UH/ preamplifiers and results in the fre-uency
spectrum of the 01 signal( /or the road%and
method the 01 signals are detected from an UH/
pea8 detector( Then, a suitale 01 measuring device
displays a 0R01 pattern similar to those otained
with the conventional method( /or noise suppression
and protection of the measuring e-uipment the use of
a high pass filter with a cut%off fre-uency of aout
;*+%6++@Hz in series is necessary(
$igu#e ), +rinci*e of the narrow)band ,eft- and
broad)band ,right- .%( detection method with ty*i)
ca obtained signas of a free moving *artice
0artial discharges in the G!S excite electromagnetic
waves propagating along the coaxial waveguide con%
stituted y the inner and outer conductor( 1ue to the
very fast rise time of the discharge currents waves
are not only excited in the T)@ mode ut also in
several higher order T) and T@ modes( Reflections
at various discontinuities of the waveguide 5spacers,
T%=unctions, etc(7 cause standing waves and complex
resonant patterns( The measurale UH/ 01 signal
depends strongly on the set%up, type and position of
the defect, and the sensors( Thus, a caliration of the
UH/ method is not possile( To overcome this short%
coming the '!GR) wor8ing group :G3*" 66(+6(+*
developed a two step procedure for a sensitivity veri%
fication of UH/ measuring systems 2;4(
!nvestigations have proven that pulses of a certain
characteristic in=ected via a sensor into a G!S excite
a UH/ spectrum similar to that of a free moving
particle( The rise time of the pulse has to e less than
one nanosecond, the pulse repetition rate less than
3++ 8Hz, and the time to half%value needs to e more
than a few ten nanoseconds, depending on the pulse
shape( !n the first step, the magnitude of the artificial
pulse has to e determined y placing a particle
close to a sensor in a compartment of the laoratory
set%up 5fig( 97( :hen the 01 signal of the moving
particle meets an apparent charge of * p' the UH/
spectrum is measured at sensors located in other
compartments of the set%up( !n=ecting artificial pulses
with varying magnitudes to the sensor near to the de%
fect the otained UH/ spectra are compared to the
one of the particle until the spectra are e-ual with an
accepted tolerance of ;+A 5fig( <7(
/or the second step, the sensitivity verification on%
site, the same type of test e-uipment has to e used
as during the laoratory test( &rtificial pulses of the
same shape and magnitude are in=ected into a sensor
of the G!S on%site( !f the signal can e measured at a
neighoring sensor, the sensitivity verification is
successful for the G!S section etween oth sensors(
a
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bushing
,-. V test t"ansfo"me"
/ m
0 m
/ m
/ully encapsulated test arrangements provide the
lowest ac8ground noise level in order to perform a
01 measurement either y conventional or with
UH/ method with the necessary sensitivity(
senso" / senso" 1
-- m
point of in"ection
senso" 2
senso" -
com*a"tment with
f"ee mo3ing *a"ticle
The UH/ method is preferred for Bopen> $n%Site
Test arrangement with interfering external signals(
$igu#e 5, /0*erimenta set)u* of the 420 kV 123
with ocation of sensors and free moving *artice
Refe#enes
234 1ieter CDnig, E( Farayana Rao
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f"e5uenc6 in G%7
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f"e5uenc6 in G%7
0artial 1ischarges in )lectrical 0ower &ppara%
tus, .1) .erlag 3GG6
2;4 Hoint '!GR) T/ 3*"66(+6(+*, 3GG<? Sensitivity
.erification for 0artial 1ischarge 1etection on
G!S with the UH/ and the &coustic @ethod,
53*"66(+6(+* !:1 96
264 R(Currer, C( /eser? The &pplication of Ultra%
$igu#e 6, .%( signas measured at sensor 3
eft4 free moving *artice, 5*C, 54mm,
653"0kV
right4 in7ected *use at sensor 2, 658V
:ith the new sensitivity verification of UH/ meas%
uring systems developed y the '!GR) wor8ing
group :G 3*"66(+6(+* its acceptance not only for
monitoring of G!S ut also for on%site testing will
certainly grow further( !n the near future a replace%
ment of the lightning impulse test on G!S through a
sensitive on%site UH/ 01 measurement seems to e
possile( Generally, oth UH/ methods are suitale
for on%site 01 tests on G!S( The roadand method
is certainly less cost intensive while the narrow%and
method is slightly more sensitive and offers the pos%
siility to suppress high fre-uency disturances li8e
T. transmitters or moile phones(
.. Summa#(
&' testing with an increased voltage level comined
with a sensitive partial discharge measurement is
now a common test method used for G!S"G!# $n%
Site Testing after assemly 2I%,4(
1epending on the G!S"G!# design these tests can e
performed y a fully encapsulated test arrangement
or y means of an &ir"S/, ushing(
& fully enclosed $n%Site Test arrangement can e
achieved either y using a conventional S/, insu%
lated test transformer system of the type T)S or y
using a S/, insulated series resonant system with
variale fre-uency of the type RSS(
/or Bopen> arrangements with a S/,"&ir ushing
each of the introduced $n%Site Test systems can e
used depending on the output power and test dura%
tion(
High%/re-uency 0artial 1ischarge @easurements
to Gas !nsulated Sustations, !))) Trans( on
0ower 1elivery, .ol(36, Fo( 6, Huly 3GG<
2I4 '( Feumann? G!S%.orortprJfung aus Sicht des
Betreiers, Highvolt Collo-uium KG9
2*4 :( Buesch, et al? &pplication of partial discharge
diagnostics in G!S at $n%Site 'ommissioning
Tests, 'igre Session 3GG<, 0aper 3*%3+I
2,4 G(H( Behrmann, S( Feuhold, R( 0ietsch? Results
of UH/ measurements in a ;;+ 8. G!S Susta%
tion during on%site commissioning tests, !SH
3GG9, @ontreal
%aefel6 Test AG
%igh Voltage Test 8i3ision
C%-/.24 +asel9Swit7e"land
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