An Improved Directional Sensor for On-line Partial Discharge Measurement in Overhead Covered Conductors

Abstract

Partial discharge is a symptom of the insulation condition of covered conductor lines and is effective for their predictive maintenance. Accordingly, there is increasing interest in identifying the traveling direction of partial discharge pulses in covered conductor lines in an effort to assist the location of the partial discharge source. In this article, a simple, convenient, and inexpensive sensor is designed to identify the traveling direction of partial discharge pulses. This improved sensor mainly consists of a pulse current transducer (an air-cored Rogowski coil) and a voltage coupler (two copper foil electrodes). The feasibility of this sensor is proven by software simulation and finally confirmed by both a pulse injection experiment and a high-voltage partial discharge test on a 10-kV cross linked polyethylene (XLPE) covered conductor.

Keywords:

• covered conductor
• partial discharge
• directional sensor
• Rogowski coil
• voltage coupler

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Weisheng He

Weisheng He received his B.S. in electrical engineering from Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China, in 2013. He is currently working toward his Ph.D. at the High-voltage Division, School of Electrical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University. His major research field is condition monitoring of power equipment.

Hongjie Li

Hongjie Li received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. from Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China, in 1989, 1992, and 1998, respectively. In 1997, he was a visiting scholar at Osaka University, Osaka, Japan; from 1999 to 2001, he was a research fellow on insulation condition monitoring at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore; from 2001 to 2007, he was employed in Singapore's National Grid Company, Ltd. Currently, he is a professor with the High-voltage Division, School of Electrical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University. His major research interests include insulation condition monitoring of the electrical equipment and modeling and numerical analysis of electromagnetic devices.

Deliang Liang

Deliang Liang received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. from Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China, in 1989, 1992, and 1996, respectively, all in electrical engineering. Since 1998, he has been a teaching and research assistant in the Department of Electrical Machinery, School of Electrical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University. His current research interests include electrical machines, electrical drives, and power electronics.

Haojie Sun

Haojie Sun received his B.S. from Civil Aviation University of China, Tianjin, China, in 2014. He is currently a graduate student at the High-voltage Division, School of Electrical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China. His research is focused on detection techniques for condition monitoring of power equipment.

Zhenquan Sun

Zhenquan Sun received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. from Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China, all in electrical engineering. He is currently working with Shaanxi Regional Electric Power Group Co., Ltd., Xi’an, China. His research interests include on-line detection and diagnosis techniques for electrical equipment and key technologies of smart grids.

Bin Liu

Bin Liu is currently working with Shaanxi Regional Electric Power Group Co., Ltd., Xi’an, China. His research interests include asset management of power equipment, key technologies of smart grids, and condition monitoring of power equipment.