OBJECTIVES, METHODS & TESTING

PROCEDURES FOR RLA OF ELECTRICAL

EQUIPMENT

BY
DR. CHANNAKESHAVA
• Importance of Electrical Power & Status
• Generation, Transmission & Distribution
Supply Chain & Substation
• Major Power Equipment
• Objectives of RLA
• Conv. Tests
• Condition Monitoring & Diagnostics Tests
• Interpretation
• Conclusions
 Percapita Consumption
In India
year kWh
1950 15.60

1966 61.40
1974 97.50
1980 130.50
1990 238.00
1997 334.30
2002 559.20
2005 606.20
 Percapita Consumption
HDI-Composite of long.,know.,&income
Country kWh HDI
Canada 15129 0.96
USA 11796 0.94
Australia 8086 0.93
Singapore 7196 0.90
Korea 4453 0.89
Malaysia 2078 0.83
China 1200 0.65
India 606 0.45
INSTALLED CAPACITY(MW)
India

Resource Central State Private Total

Coal 24337.5 37627 4682 68308

Gas 4419.0 3260 4160 12430
Diesel - 598.6 597 1202
Total 28756.5 41486 8999 81940
Hydro 5449 23300 876.2 32135
Wind - 64.96 1804.7 6158
Nuclear 2720 - - 3310
Total 36975 64851 11680 121543
 Demand Forecast
• Forecasts for demand made by CEA Electric Power
Surveys (EPS) . 16th EPS latest.
• Partial end-use method used.

Peak Demand) Energy

(MW) requirement
(BU)
End of 10th 1,15,700 719
Plan
End of 12th 2,12,700 1319
Plan
• Forecast by CEA
REGION-WISE/TYPE-WISE BREAK UP OF
CAPACITY ADDITION REQUIRED
DURING 11th PLAN (2007-12) -
TENTATIVE (Figures in MW)
 VARIOUS RESOURCES & USAGE
TREND

• Coal
• Natural Gas
• Oil
• Hydro
• Nuclear
• Wind,Solar,Biomass,Fuel Cell,Hydrogen
ECONOMIC VOLTAGE LEVEL AS A FUNCTION OF
POWER & DISTANCE
 Typical 400 kV
Transmission Line
 POWERGRID

+ 500 kV DC Transmission Line

Typical Power System–Generation, Transmission, Switchyard
Single line diagram of a SS (Typical)
 POWER EQUIPMENT (Electrical)

• Turbo and Hydro generators

• Transformers
* Generator transformers
* Auxiliary transformers
* Station service transformers
* Transmission transformers
• Switchyard equipment---- CTs, CVTs & PTs
• Bus insulation and the like
• HV Motors
• Power cables
• Lightning arresters
• Isolators
• Insulators
♣ Important Aspects In Power Sector
* Power Availability

* Reliability

* Quality

* Affordable Cost
Benefits of Condition Monitoring
 
1. Economic
 Adaptive Maintenance
 Reduction of Maintenance personnel
 Minimum period of outage
 Minimum cost of outage
 
2. Safety
 Reduction of risk by early warning
 Timely technical input
 Less stress on service personnel
 
3. Technical
 Optimum use of operation
 Optimum use of systems
 Registration of system problems for future action
 Better correlation of testing & symptoms
 Upgradation of standards for tests
 Life extension & planned replacement
 Why Life Assessment?
• Estimates the Probable Life
• Helps in Planning
• Evaluates the Condition
• Identifies the Problems-Input for Remedial
Action & Timing
• Reduces Blind Risks
• Avoids Catastrophic Failures & Provides
Safety
 Testing

* Routine
* Type
* Special
* Acceptance
* Commissioning
* Diagnostic & Condition Monitoring
Condition Monitoring Techniques and Plant Monitored

Condition Monitoring Technique Plant/Equipment Monitored

Vibration Monitoring All Rotating Machinery

Oil Analysis Lubricant systems

Hydraulic Systems
Transformers
Bushings
Acoustic Emissions Rotating Machinery
Leak detection
Transformers
Switchgear
Thermography Electrical Equipment

Electrical Tests Electrical Equipments

Pressure Monitoring Switchgear

Visual Inspection All Equipments

 Rotating Machinery
• High Voltage Generator is the heart of the
Generating station. Reliability of generators
depends to a large extent of the quality of
their insulation systems. During normal
operation various stresses like electrical ,
thermal,mechanical, environmental,
deteriorate the insulation. By carrying out
certain diagnostic tests on the generator , it
is possible to assess extent of deterioration
or ageing of the insulation
• Vibration monitoring is an important
sub set of condition monitoring of any
rotating machinery or Power Pant
equipment. The vibration & noise
characteristics define the mechanical
condition of an equipment and is an
indicator of incipient failure.
GENERATORS / MOTORS
 Rotating Machine (Generators/Motors)
Problems Diagnostic Techniques Service Conditions
of the Equipment

Detection of major external Visual inspection OFF

changes in condition (loose
parts, corona discharge or over
heating
Influence of moisture and Insulation resistance/PI measurement, OFF
contamination winding to earth resistance

Inhomogenities in the stator Insulation leakage current measurement OFF

Winding, e.g. cracks in the as a function of DC-Voltage to earth (upto
insulation of surface tracking 2.4 * Un)

Detection of local weak – points Voltage test, winding to eath at 1.5 * Un OFF
in the insulation for 1 min.

Evaluation of dielectric losses Capacitance & Loss angle measurement OFF

& capacity (usually up to 0.6 or 1.2 * Un)

Evaluation of insulation PD measurement as a function of voltage OFF

to earth ON
(monitoring)
Evaluation of the mechanical Check of stator slot wedging (mechanical OFF
fixation of winding bars and electrical method)

Evaluation of the insulation to Voltage Surge test by means of oscillating OFF

ground & between turns voltages surge
 Generators/Motors
Diagnostic tests
Stator winding
Sl. No Tests Detection capability
1 Polarisation index test Index of dryness,cleanliness

2 Tan delta & capacitance test Dielectric losses

3 Partial discharge test Incipient faults, slot & end
winding discharges
4 Wedge mapping Loose wedges & Loose stator
bars
5 DC leakage current Discontinuities & cracks

6 Winding resistance measurement Loose or bad conductor

joints
7 Surge comparison test Inter turn faults
 ELECTRICAL TESTS
ON STATOR AND ROTORS OF
GENERATORS /MOTORS
•Insulation resistance / Polarisation index
•Dielectric loss angle test at various voltages
•Capacitance measurement at diff voltages
•Integrated partial discharge energy
•Partial discharge magnitude, Vi, Ve
•Surge comparison test
•Tan delta tip in %
•Capacitance tip up in %
•Inter laminar Insulation test
•High Voltage & High Current Tests
 SIGNIFICANCE OF TESTS
• Insulation resistance:
• It indicates the status of insulation. However
it fails to detect cracks and voids. Its
absolute value is less important than
continues steep fall

• Polarisation Index: It indicates dryness of

insulation

• Tan delta and tip up test: It detects loss component of

current in dielectric as a factor of capacitance current.
It indicates losses in solids and voids of insulation and
gives a general health and detiroation of winding with
age. High tan delta indicates poor insulation
 DIELECTRIC LOSS

• A dielectric (insulation) subjected

to a varying electric field
produced by an alternating
voltage applied to it, absorbs
some of the electric energy which
is transformed into heat in the
dielectric. This loss of energy is
called dielectric loss
 Dielectric Loss & Power- Factor
Test

• This is a diagnostic test & the parameters

measured are the fundamental properties
of the insulation
• If any change occurs due to the physical
movement of conductors,insulation
deformation,deterioration or
contamination then one or more of the
measurable fundamental characteristics
also changes
 POWER TRANSFORMER

 Major Insulation – paper (cellulose) & oil.

 Cellulose - kraft paper, board, spacers, etc.
 Oil - mineral oil
 STRESSES
 Dielectric
 Thermal
 Mechanical
 CPRI

FIELD TESTING IN PROGRESS

 Most important diagnostic techniques for surge arresters
PROBLEMS DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES SERVICE CONDITIONS OF THE
EQUIPMENT

CONVENTIONAL SURGE ARRESTERS

External pollution - Visual Inspection ON

- Mesurement of external leakage ON
current  
Heating of grading resistors Thermovision ON

Deterioration of grading system - Leakage current under controlled OFF

voltages  
- Watt loss under controlled voltages OFF
- 50 Hz sparkover voltage  
OFF
METAL OXIDE SURGE ARRESTERS

External pollution - visual inspection ON

- Measurement of external leakage ON
current  
- Integral charge ON
Deterioration of varistor blocks - Leakage current ON
- Harmonic decomposition of leakage ON
- Peak resistive current ON
- 3rd Harmonic of resistive current ON
- Reference voltage  OFF-L
 Important Diagnostic Techniques used for Power Transformers
Problems Diagnostic Techniques Service Conditions
of the Equipment

Mechanical Excitation current OFF-S

Low voltage impulse OFF-S
Frequency response analysis OFF-S
Leakage inductance measurement OFF-S
Turns ratio  

Thermal Gas-in-oil analysis by Gas Chrmotography ON

Oil-paper deterioration by Liquid ON
Chromotography-DP method  
Surge comparison test OFF
Recovery voltage measurements OFF-S
Insulation resistance & PI OFF-S
Loss Angle measurement OFF-S
Hot-spot detection by built in sensors  
Moisture, electric strength, resistivity,  
etc., of Oil………….. ON
Turns ratio  OFF-S
PD MEASUREMENT
Ultrasonic method ON
Electrical method OFF
OFF-S : Equipment out of service & test at site
OFF-L : Equipment out of service & test at laboratory
ON : Equipment in service
 INSTRUMENT TRANSFORMERS
CONDITION MONITORING TESTS
 IR/PI Test

 Tan Delta & Capacitance Test

 Partial discharge test

 D.C Recovery Voltage Test

 Physico- Chemical Analysis of Oil
 BDV, Water content, Tan  at 90°
 DGA
 Furan Analysis
 Infrared Thermography
Most important diagnostic techniques used for bushing
PROBLEMS DIAGNOSTIC SERVICE CONDITIONS OF
TECHNIQUES THE EQUIPMENT

Moisture Capacitance / loss angle OFF-S

Tap voltage
DC resistance

Corona Partial discharge (PD) OFF-S

Radio Influence voltage (RIV) ON

Ageing Capacitors / loss angle OFF-S

DC resistance OFF-S

Short circuited condensers Capacitance / loss angle OFF-S

Tap voltage ON/OFF-S

Internal surface leakage PD/RIV OFF-S

Capacitance / loss angle OFF-S
AC dielectric loss OFF-S

Poor connections Infrared scanning ON

Most important Diagnostic Techniques used for Circuit Breakers
Problems Diagnostic Techniques Service Conditions of the
Equipment

Insulation defects Measurement of  

- gas density ON
- Partial Discharge ON
HF current probe ON
HF capacitive probe ON
Ultrasonic ON

Dielectric Gas Quality SF6 quality  

- dielectric check ON
- gas analysis ON

Wear of Circuit Breaker Measurement by  

- potentimeter on OFF-S
moving contact  
- optical markers on OFF-S
moving parts  
- tripping time ON

Over Heating Measurement by  

- infrared camera ON
- contact resistance OFF-S
 Most important Diagnostic Techniques used for Gas
Insulated Systems (GIS)

PROBLEMS DIAGNOSTIC SERVICE CONDITIOS

TECHNIQUES OF THE EQUIPMENT

Metallic particles Partial discharge ON

Mechanical vibration ON

Imperfection in epoxy spacer Partial discharge ON

Loose bolt Mechanical vibration ON

Bad contact Partial discharge ON

Mechanical vibration ON

Internal fault Gas analysis ON / OFF - S

Most important diagnostic techniques used for capacitors

PROBLEMS DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES SERVICE CONDITIONS OF THE

EQUIPMENT

POWER FACTOR CORRECTION CAPACITORS

Breakdown of parallel fused element Decrease of capacitance ON

Deterioration of dielectric in paper Increase of power factor ON

capacitors

Deterioration of dielectric in both paper Increase of PD level OFF-S

and film capacitors

Breakdown of series elements Increase of capacitance ON

Ionisation in metallised paper of film Decrease of capacitance ON

capacitors

OIL IMPREGNATED COUPLING AND VOLTAGE TRANSFORMERS

Breakdown of series elements Increase of capacitance OFF-S

Ionisation Analysis of liquid impregnant ON

 Most important diagnostic techniques for surge arresters
PROBLEMS DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES SERVICE CONDITIONS OF THE
EQUIPMENT

CONVENTIONAL SURGE ARRESTERS

External pollution - Visual Inspection ON

- Mesurement of external leakage ON
current  
Heating of grading resistors Thermovision ON

Deterioration of grading system - Leakage current under controlled OFF

voltages  
- Watt loss under controlled voltages OFF
- 50 Hz sparkover voltage  
OFF
METAL OXIDE SURGE ARRESTERS

External pollution - visual inspection ON

- Measurement of external leakage ON
current  
- Integral charge ON
Deterioration of varistor blocks - Leakage current ON
- Harmonic decomposition of leakage ON
- Peak resistive current ON
- 3rd Harmonic of resistive current ON
- Reference voltage  OFF-L
•Construction of an Arrester

HIGH VOLTAGE DIVISION

MEASUREMENT CIRCUIT
 A Components at service voltage
Sub Assembly failure rate 1.Interrupting unit
2.Auxiliary inter resistor
12 13 1 3.Main Insulation to earth
B Electrical Control & Aux.Ckts.
7%14.0% 2
11 3.8% 4.Trip/Close circuits
5.Auxiliary Switches
8.9% 1% 3 6.Contactors, heaters etc.
5.7% 7.Gas Density monitor
C Operating mechanism.
10 9.0% 10.0% 4 8.Compressors,pumps etc.
9.Energy Storage.
8% 10. Control elements.
7.4% 11.Actuators, dampers etc.
9 13.6% 7.6% 5 12.Mechanical transmission
4.0% 13.Others
8 6
7
CIRCUIT
BREAKER

CONTACT RESISTANCE
MEASUREMENT OF
CLOSING
/OPENING TIME
 PARAMETERS TO BE MONITORED
Contd..

Due point of SF6 Gas As per norms

 Dew point of
- 45 deg C at Atm. Pr.
operating Air
Operating Timings 220kV 400k
V
Closing Time (max) -ms 200 150

Trip Time (max) -ms 035 025

Close / Trip Time (max) –ms

Pole discrepancy Ph to Ph.. 3.33 3.33
 PARAMETERS TO BE MONITORED
CONTD..

Tan Delta of Grading

0.007 at 20 deg C
Capacitors
 Capacitance of Within +10% of the
Grading rated
Capacitors - 5% value

Contact Resistance 150 micro ohms

Contact Resistance 10 micro ohms per

of connector
Terminal connectors
 MONITORING
• INFRARED THERMOVISION-
Thermovision cameras, used to map the hot spots at
the terminals,clamps and internal portion of the equipment

SWITCHING PARAMETERS
Operating timings, Contact resistance

Travel
timings,
 Capacitors
• Capacitors are used in power system to improve
the power factor. Due to improved materials,
design, construction and processing , phenomenal
growth in capacitor industry has taken place.
• Due to availability of low loss materials such as
polypropylene and new synthetic oil, the power
rating of shunt capacitors has reached 1000 KVAR
per unit, globally and 750 kvar in our country.
• Premature failure of power capacitors may be due
to several reasons.
• They can be broadly classified as failure due to
• (1)    faulty capacitors
• (2)    System disturbance
• System disturbance are caused due to over voltage ,
switching transients, harmonics etc.

• On Capacitor bank on-line pd monitoring is done by

Acoustic emission technique
POWER CABLES
Diagnostic Tests
IR/PI
DC leakage current test (PILC cable)
Tan delta & capacitance
50 Hz0.1 Hz
PD Test
HVdielectric spectroscopy (Frequency domain analysis)
Oil analysis (Oil filled cables)
PROTECTION RELAYS
Diagnostic Tests
Operating value test
Operating Time test
DC sequence checking
Scheme testing
• Automated relay testing is very useful for
testing any type, any brand, or make of
relays using Laptop computers. This
method automates all manuals testing of
relaying and repetitive testing. In an
average there are 5000/6000 relays in
grid like 220KV / 400KV sub station and
large power station of size 60MW /
110MW / 210MW along with distribution
network. Using software and computers it
reduces testing time by 1 / 3rd, brings
accuracy, generate database of test
methods and thus brings the reliability of
power supply
 FLOW CHART FOR LIFE EXTENSION OF
INSUALTION SYSTEM
Condition assessment using existing off line / on line diagnostic
techniques and recently developed advanced techniques

Data evaluation
Trend evaluation followed by visual inspection
Interpretation

Recommendation
 TEST INSTRUMENTS REQUIRED FOR
CONDUCTING THE TESTS

• Insulation analyser
• Tan delta & capacitance bridge
• Partial discharge detection analysing system
• Discharge free transformer
• Wedge tightness detection system
• Recurring surge tester
• Conductor resistance meters
• Frequency response analyser
• Dielectric spectroscopy