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International Conference on Condition Monitoring, Diagnosis and Maintenance

CMDM 2017 (4th edition)
September 25th -27th 2017, Radisson Blu Hotel Bucharest, Romania

109

Actual issues of HV bushing condition monitoring

dr. A. Kraiachich, dr. A. Mordkovich, dr. G. Tsfasman

ASU-VEI LLC
Russia

SUMMARY
Condition monitoring of high-voltage bushings during their life time has been discussed for a
long time. Earlier the problem was more critical because a damage of an oil-impregnated-paper bushing
could lead to an explosion and a transformer tank ignition. The appearance of HV bushings with solid
(RIP, RBP) insulation has created illusory hopes that the problem had already been solved and there is
no need to improve the existing methods and to develop new ones for bushings protection and monitor-
ing.
However, the experience having been gained over the past decade has not justified the hopes. As
before, up to 30% of the failures of transformer equipment are caused by damaged bushings. In the pa-
per much attention is given to the results of the authors’ long-term study in the field of development,
introduction and application of devices for high-voltage bushings continuous condition monitoring with
the use of voltage transformer method for direct measuring of bushings capacitance and tan δ. The main
problems of high-voltage bushings condition monitoring are formulated and some solutions are pro-
posed.

KEYWORDS
Transformer equipment – High-voltage bushing – Condenser bushing – Protection – Condition
monitoring – Insulation conductivity current – Insulation capacitance.

E-mail: kav@asu-vei.ru
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INTRODUCTION
The problem of ensuring the reliable operation of high-voltage (HV) bushings has been really
actual for many decades, both in Russia and abroad. According to information from various sources, for
example [1,2], the failure of transformer equipment caused by HV bushings faults amounts to 50% for
oil-impregnated bushings and to 30% for bushings with solid insulation (RIP, RBP). With increasing
application of solid bushings, the dominant factors causing damages have changed but the statistics are
still do not seem promising. So, for 8 years from 2006 to 2013, according to [3], 78 failures of trans-
former equipment occurred due to damage of high-voltage bushings, and these are the data from only
one transformer manufacturer. The accumulated experience of operation and analysis of accidents allow
us to conclude that the main risks of solid bushings insulation damage are as fallows: design defects, the
quality of production, the high temperature of the upper oil layers in a transformer, remaining mechani-
cal stresses, especially when HV bushings have to operate in regions with low temperatures.
The variety of influencing factors and their randomness in the process of operation makes the
task of predicting the service life of HV bushings using the results of periodic tests difficult to imple-
ment. In most cases, the deterioration of the electrical parameters of the bushings is not instantaneous
and can be timely detected by a condition monitoring system.
Of course, the problem of improving the reliability of high-voltage bushings is a multifactorial
one, which includes, first of all, the issues of improving design solutions and manufacturing technology.
However, this article is devoted to another aspect of the problem, that is, the issues of state-of-the-art
and the practice of applying methods and means of condition monitoring and protecting modern high-
voltage bushings and possible ways to improve them.
The conclusions and suggestions of the authors are worked out as a result of the development,
long-term experience of implementation and in-field operation of devices for the condition monitoring
of high-voltage bushings.

THE STATE OF THE PROBLEM

Up to now one the almost complete absence of standards which would regulate the requirements
for such devices, the rules for their using and operation has been one of the unresolved problems pre-
venting efficient using of the devices for condition monitoring and protecting HV bushings.
International standards IEC 60137 and IEEE C57.19.01 give only the limit values for the dissi-
pation factor for the routine tests under the operating voltage in normal conditions (see Table I). In this
case, the standards do not specify any requirements for the actions of personnel when certain values of
the HV bushings insulation parameters or the rate of their changes during operation are reached.
Table I
Max value of dissipation factor (DF) tan δ (for IEC 60137),
Type of bushing power factor (PF) cos ϕ (IEEE C57.19.01)
IEC 60137 IEEE C57.19.01
Oil-impregnated paper (OIP) 0,7% 0,5%
Resin-impregnated paper (RIP) 0,7% 0,85%
Resin-bonded paper (RBP) 1,5% 2,0%

Moreover, some HV bushings manufacturers specify different dependencies of the insulation pa-
rameters (e.g. tan δ) of operating conditions, and someone consider them negligible.
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The CIGRE brochure [4] determines three main methods for condition monitoring the HV bush-
ings isolation: inter-phase methods, phase-to-phase method and voltage transformer method.
In Russia, the practice of using devices based on the first method is widespread. Traditionally,
relay protection devices created more than 50 years ago [5] are used for bushings 500 kV and above.

This device (Figure 1) gener-

ates a relay warning signal and a com-
mand to disconnect the protected trans-
former equipment after the vector sum
of three phases bushings insulation cur-
rents has exceeded the threshold val-
ues.
With some "cosmetic" im-
provements, this device is used at pre-
sent time, both to protect oil-
impregnated bushings, and for HV
bushings with solid insulation.

Figure 1: Relay protection device of HV bushings

By the authors’ opinion, this relay protection device and other devices based on this principle
have a number of significant drawbacks, the main ones of which are:
 The device measures the parameter that is not guaranteed by any of the HV bushings manufacturers.
In the official documents (passport, test report, etc.) for each bushing only the limit values for dissi-
pation factor (DF) tan δ and capacitance C1 (C2) are stipulated. A qualitative parameter İa + İb + İc
seems to be a source of false information, since the reason for the vector sum of insulation currents
exceeding the threshold value may be not caused by a deterioration of the dielectric characteristics
of the bushing (bushings), but changes in the applied voltages in different asymmetrical modes, both
in amplitude and phase.
 Under such controlled parameter it is practically impossible to distinguish between isolation deterio-
ration of one bushing (in the 3-phase group) from simultaneously isolation deterioration of two oth-
er bushings. If the parameters of two HV bushings were deteriorated, the device could give false in-
formation about the malfunction of the third (healthy) bushing. There were cases when in this situa-
tion the healthy bushing was replaced, leaving the two damaged ones in operation.
 Up to now in this protection device they still use step-up current transformers (CT) to transfer the
bushing currents to remote protection terminal. These CT with a current transformation ratio of 5-10
are the explicit atavism that we have inherited from the time when the conductivity currents of the 3-
phase bushing group were summed up using a transformer-resistor circuit [5]. For modern high sen-
sitive microprocessor bushings protection devices CT give nothing but an additional phase error.
Besides, these CT stepping up the current on the secondary side by 5-10 times, also increase the
voltage at the test tap as well. As a result the requirements for electrical strength of the test tap insu-
lation increase.
 Another drawback of this scheme is the separation of the device, in which the sensor part (step-up
current transformer) is placed close to the monitored transformer equipment, and the executive part
(relay protection terminal or HV bushings protection relay block) is situated in the control desk
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building of the power facility. This design increases the consumption of cable products, and increas-
es the probability of electromagnetic interference influence on communication cables, the length of
which can reach 1000 meters or more.
 In practice, when one bushing of the 3-phase group is replaced, there is often a situation in which the
transformer operates with one new bushing with solid insulation and two others of oil-impregnated
type. For such cases, there is generally no recommendation for configuring HV bushing protection
devices and criteria for choosing protection boundary values.
The next acute issue of applying devices for condition monitoring and protecting HV bushings is
ensuring a safe and reliable connection of these devices to the HV bushings taps. It is exacerbated by the
fact that the test tap circuit is source of current and during operation it must be reliably short-circuited
by means of a low impedance circuit. For modern solid insulation bushings with a low capacitance value
of C2, in case of breakage in this circuit about half of the phase voltage arises on the test tap (depending
on the capacitance C2) which leads to arcing and causes accidents of various severity.
To transmit the conductivity current signal from the test tap to the protection and diagnostics
system, special connection devices are installed directly on the HV bushing test tap to provide contact
with it. During the operation of the bushing, the deterioration of this contact is intolerable, since the
slightest increase of the transient resistance leads to heating and burning of the contact spot on test tap
and to the bushing failure. Therefore, the connection device should ensure reliable contact with the test
tap at all possible range of external factors (climatic, mechanical, etc.). On the other hand, the connec-
tion device must perform several more important functions:
 to provide protection against overvoltages on the test tap in case of the measuring unit cable
break up (i.e., in fact disconnecting the test tap circuit);
 to provide protection against lightning and switching type overvoltages on the test tap;
 to provide convenient access to the test tap during the periodic routine tests of high-voltage
bushings.
The next issue is related to different constructions of connection devices. It is important to pay at-
tention to the problems that arise in the HV bushings protection and condition monitoring equipment
installation associated with the design of test tap of commercially available high-voltage bushings. On
the international market, and the Russian market in particular, there are several major HV bushings
manufacturers. Numerous types of high-voltage bushings produced by these manufacturers have a dif-
ferent design of the test tap. The most common constructions of connection devices are shown in
Figure 2.
Earlier the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) developed and introduced the
International Standard [6] regulating the dimensions and design of high-voltage bushings, including test
tap and potential tap (from which we can get power), depending on the voltage rates. Unfortunately, at
present not all HV bushings manufacturers follow this standard. It seems advisable to have the standard
that would prescribe the manufacturers to include the connection devices in each bushing package. Such
a connection device shall be equipped with means for limiting the overvoltage of the test tap resulting
from the measuring unit cable break up or in case of lightning or switching impulses.
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Figure 2: Connection device diversity for different type of HV bushings

DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVES
Nowadays for condition monitoring of high-voltage bushings in Russia, in most cases devices
based on the principle of measuring the vector sum of the 3-phase bushing insulation currents are used
and they have the above mentioned fundamental drawbacks.
More promising, according to the authors, is the method of direct measurement (voltage trans-
former method) of active and reactive components of bushing insulation current, bushing voltage and
network power frequency. Using these components the amplitudes and phase relation between current
and voltage are calculated, and then tan δ and capacitance C1 of the bushing isolation are determined.
This method allows to monitor exactly those parameters that characterize the isolation of the bushing to
the fullest extent possible and are specified in the official documents and guaranteed by the manufactur-
er. Moreover, such a device can also be a sensor for relay protection devices (as well as for other devic-
es used for monitoring transformer equipment - oil temperature and winding temperature sensors, devic-
es for monitoring dissolved gases and moisture, etc.). In such an implementation there is no need for a
step-up current transformer and a summation circuit. The relay protection device receive discrete signals
(or digital codes) indicating that the monitored parameters have exceeded the «warning» and/or «dan-
ger» thresholds, directly from the output of the condition monitoring device.
The principle of operation of such monitoring device is based on the calculation of tan δ and in-
sulation capacitance C1 by direct measurement of the bushing conductivity current and the voltage ap-
plied to the bushing and the decomposition of the measured periodic signals into orthogonal compo-
nents. The orthogonal cosine and sine components of the first harmonics of the measured signals are de-
termined by the first members of Digital Fourier Transforms of these functions.
It is important to pay attention to the accuracy of the measured parameters. The most critical pa-
rameter from this point is tan δ, since its normal values for HV bushings from different manufacturers
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are in the range 0.4-0.5%. Laboratory instruments that use the principle of the Schering bridge as a
measuring method provide an error of ± 0.01%. Modern microprocessor-based condition monitoring
devices for HV bushings using algorithms for digital signal processing make it possible to obtain the
result of tan δ with an error less than ± 0.05%. Although this error value makes it possible to evaluate
qualitatively the bushings isolation, the authors believe that it is possible to improve the characteristics
of monitoring devices to the level of laboratory instruments by using more sophisticated circuit design
and signal processing methods.
Also the authors offer the way of further improvement of the device for condition monitoring
and protecting HV bushings, which allows to solve two problems simultaneously: to use solutions de-
veloped for digital substations and to reduce the influence of long cable lines between the measuring
voltage transformers and the monitored transformer equipment.
The fact is that the measuring voltage transformers are often located at a considerable distance
from the monitored transformer equipment. For example in hydroelectric plants with the generator
transformers installed at the dam of the plant, the distance to the nearest measuring voltage transformers
located on the busbar at the beginning of the outgoing power lines can reach up to 1 Km and more.
In this case, the signals from the measuring voltage transformers to the device for condition
monitoring and protecting HV bushings have to be transmitted using a long cable line. There are two
types of signal distortion:
1. own signals distortions associated with their transmission over mismatched long line (usually
changes of signals amplitudes and phases);
2. interference in the cable line induced by electromagnetic fields created by the equipment and
station (substation) busbars.
Distortions of the first type have a regular character and can be compensated during the initial
calibration of the device. However, if the load on the secondary side of the measuring voltage trans-
formers (relay protection and automation, metering and electric power quality control devices) behind
the cable line is changed then the amplitude values and, what is especially important, the phases values
of the measured voltage will change as well. The distortions of the second type are in principle nonsta-
tionary and cannot be compensated. The authors proposed a solution, the essence of which is the im-
plementation of a distributed device consisting of two units [7]. The first unit is installed close to the
measuring voltage transformers and converts reference voltage signal into the digital form. The second
one is located near the monitored HV bushings and digitizes HV bushing conductivity currents. Digital
data of reference voltage is also transmitted to the second unit via optoelectronic cable. When imple-
menting such a distributed device, it is critically important to ensure the precise synchronization of the
digitization of the measured currents and voltages to provide measurement accuracy of tan δ.

CONCLUSIONS
1. To achieve the maximum effect from using protective and condition monitoring means of
high-voltage bushings, it is necessary to develop standards where the technical require-
ments for HV bushings continuous monitoring and protective devicesare formulated, and
the order of their application and instructions for HV bushings monitoring and operation
are defined.
2. The most perspective way (according to technical and economic aspects characteristics) is
to refuse the usage of separate devices for HV bushings protection and condition monitor-
ing and to use unified systems which integrate all diagnostic and protection functions and
are located close to the monitored equipment.
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3. It seems advisable (according to both technical and legal aspects) to use these parameters
for HV bushings condition monitoring and protection guaranteed by the manufacturers: the
conduction current, tan δ and insulation capacitance C1 of each bushing.
4. It is necessary to develop and introduce a standard (similar to the IEEE standard) which
would regulate and unify the requirements for the dimensions and design of test taps as
well as potential taps of HV bushings, including special connection devices with built-in
surge arresters for connecting bushings to protection and condition monitoring devices.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

[1] Zhornyak L.B., Raykova E.Y., Osinskaya V.I. “Improving reliability and efficiency of high-
voltage bushings”, Bulletin KGPU named after Mikhail Ostrogradsky. 2008. no. 4, pp. 95-99.
[2] Slavinsky A.Z., Sipilkin K.G, Kassihin S.D., Nikitin Y.V. “On the reliability of high-voltage
bushings 330-500 kV with solid polymer insulation”, “Electrical stations” magazine, no.
3, Russia, 2013. pp. 52-55.
[3] Dolya O.E. “Increasing the operational reliability of the bushings”. Report on Dimrus confer-
ence 2013. Perm, Russia, 2013 г.
[4] CIGRE WG A2.44: Technical Brochure 630, “Guide on transformer intelligent condition moni-
toring (ticm) systems”, Sep./2015.
[5] Svi P. M., “Methods and means for diagnostics of high voltage equipment”, EnergoAtomIzdat
publ., Moscow, Russia, 1992. 239 p.
[6] IEEE C57.19.01 Standard “Performance Characteristics and Dimensions for Outdoor Appa-
ratus Bushings”, 2000.
[7] Mordkovich A.G., Nesvizhsky A.M., Tarasov A.A., Tsfasman G.M.
“Device for monitoring the state of high-voltage bushings”, RF patent no. 2452973, MPK
G01R 31/02, 2011.