Knowledge Is Power SM

Apparatus Maintenance and Power Management

for Energy Delivery

Electrical Insulation Modeling

Doble Engineering Company

Scope

Prevention of Apparatus Failure and

Power System Interruptions due to
Insulation Failure
•Enhance System Reliability
•Minimize Damage to Apparatus
•Enhances Safety to Personnel
•Minimize Loss of Revenue
Benefit

Extension of Apparatus Life

Degradation of Insulation, if detected before failure, can
generally be restored to its original condition
Defer replacement costs
Better Utilization of Resources
Inspection interval may be safety extended or scheduled
to utilize resources efficiently and effectively
Variation of new apparatus
Verify that new apparatus meets purchased specification and
agrees with factory test reports
Assures proper field Assembly
Definition

What is a Power Factor/ Dissipation

Factor/Tangent Delta Test?…
The underlying principle of this test is to measure
the fundamental AC electrical characteristics of
insulation.
Definition

Insulation
IEEE Defines Insulation as:“Material or a
combination of suitable non-conducting
material that provides electrical isolation of
two parts at different voltages.”
Clarification

Insulation vs. Dielectric

Insulation relates to a medium’s ability to prevent
the flow of current, I.e. poor conduc
Dielectric implies that the medium or material has
specific measurable properties such as: Dielectric
Strength, Dielectric Constant, Dielectric Loss and
Power Factor.
Dielectric Constant

In 1836, Michael Faraday (the father of the Capacitance

-- Just look at his name) discovered that when the
plates between a capacitor were filled with another
insulating material, the capacitance would change.
This factor is the dielectric constant 
By definition the dielectric constant of a Vacuum is 1.0.
All other dielectric constants are referenced to this
standard.
Oil =2.2
Vacuum

Cvacuum=10 pF Coil =  x Vacuum = 22 pF

Dielectric Loss

Dielectric Loss is the time rate at which electric

energy is transformed into heat in a dielectric when it
is subjected to an electric field. The heat generated is
given in terms of Watts.

iR  Watts

Watts  E IR

Watts  Contamination + Deterioration

Contamination  Water + Carbon + Dirt
Deterioration  Carbon + Corona
Fundamental measurement

Fundamental AC Electrical
Characteristics. . .
Total Current IT
Capacitance C
Dielectric-Loss W
Dissipation Factor %DF or DF
Power Factor %PF or PF
Resistance R
Perfect Insulator

The Capacitor
Ideal Insulation System

Evaluating Insulation System

Current and Capacitance

Fundamental AC Electrical
Characteristics. . .
Total Current IT
Capacitance C} Evaluate physical makeup of
specimen, size dependent
Dielectric-Loss W
Power Factor %PF
Resistance R
Real Insulation Model

Simplified Equivalent Circuits of an Insulation Specimen

RS

CP

CS

Series Circuit Parallel Circuit

 Magnitude

-1

-1.5
-0.5
0
1

0.5
1.5
0.1
0.7
1.3
1.9
2.5
3.1
3.7
4.3
4.9
No phase shift

5.5
6.1

Tim e
6.7
7.3

7.9
8.5
The Perfect Resistor

9.1
9.7
10.3
10.9
11.5
12.1
Current
Voltage
Resistive Component

The Resistor

IR = I T
IR = E/R
W=EIR


E
IR
Real Component

Fundamental AC Electrical
Characteristics. . .
Total Current IT
Capacitance C
Dielectric-Loss W Evaluate quality of the
Resistance R } dielectric material, size
dependent
Power Factor %PF
Basic Insulation Circuit

Basic Power/Dissipation Factor Circuit

Power Factor Is Size Independent

IC2 IT2
Specimen 1: 5 MVA Transformer
Specimen 2: 10MVA Transformer

IC1 IT1

IR1 IR2 E

Power Factor is an evaluation of the quality of the insulation

and is size independent
remains the same regardless of the size of the transformer
Definition

The Term Power/Dissipation Factor Describes

The phase angle relationship between the applied voltage
across and the total current through a specimen.
The ratio of the real power to the apparent power.
The relationship between the total and resistive current
 Basic Insulation & Power Factor Theory

How to Calculate Power Factor

Real Power Real Current EI I
Apparent Power
=
Total Current
  R R

EI I
T T

Watts = E x IR

Watts
PF = Cosine  =
EI T
Basic Insulation & Power Factor Theory

Fundamental AC Electrical
Characteristics. . .
Total Current IT
Capacitance C
Dielectric-Loss W
Resistance R
Power Factor %PF } Overall evaluate of the
insulation (physical and
quality) requires at once one
other piece of information,
size independent
Measurement Overview

Capacitanc IT  Reference
e
 Applied Voltage
 Measure
 Total Current Vector
 Angle
 Magnitude
 Calculate
 Capacitance
 Power Factor
θ  Real Loss (Watts)

Watts V
 Basic Insulation & Power Factor Theory

Power Factor Vs. Dissipation Factor Vs. Tangent Delta

IC IT
I
Power Factor = COS  = R

I T

 I
Dissipation Factor = TAN  = R

I

C

IR E
 % PF (% COS )  % DF (% TAN )
90 0 0 0
89.71 .500 .29 .500
84.26 10.00 5.74 10.05
0 100.00 90 INFINITY
Voltage sensitive characteristics

• When we closely examine insulation, very small

gaps or “voids” could exist. These voids develop an
electrostatic potential on their surfaces. These
small gaps become ionized: Partial
Discharge/Corona.
Voids
Power Factor vs. Test Potential

As test voltage is increased, the power factor will increase depending

on the void density.

Tip-Up = Power Factor at Line-to-ground voltage -

Power Factor at 25% Line-to-ground voltage

%PF

%PF @ L-G
%PF @ 25% L-G

E
25% L-G L-G

Tip-up occurs in dry-type insulation specimens such as Dry Type

Transformer, rotating machinery, and cables.
 Knowledge Is Power SM
Apparatus Maintenance and Power Management
for Energy Delivery

Measurement Principle

Doble Engineering Company

Basic Laws of Electricity

• A Difference in Potential Must Exist

Between Two Points in order for
current to flow

• Current Always Returns to It’s Source

• Current Always Takes the Path of

Least Resistance
Test components of the test set

• Components of Simplified Test Circuits

• Power Source
• Current & Loss Meter
• High-Voltage Test Cable
• Low-Voltage Test Cable
• Insulation Specimen
• Test Ground
• Test Set operation is based on the Relative
Positions of the Power Source, Current &
Loss Meter, and the Insulation Specimen
with respect to the various test leads.
 Grounded-Specimen Test Mode (GST-
Ground)

High-Voltage Cable

Test-Set
Step-Up
Transformer
Low-Voltage Test-Set
Lead Ground Lead

Test Ground
Guard
Current &
Loss
Meter
 Grounded-Specimen Test Mode (GST-
Guard)

High-Voltage Cable

Test-Set
Step-Up
Transformer Low-Voltage Test-Set
Lead Ground Lead

Test Ground
Guard
Current &
Loss
Meter
 Ungrounded-Specimen Test Mode (UST)

High-Voltage
Cable

Test-Set
Step-Up
Transformer Low- Test-Set
Voltage Ground
Lead Lead
Guard

Test
Ground

Current &
Loss
Meter
 Measure CA and CB

High-Voltage
Cable
IA IB
GST-Ground
CA CB
Test-Set
Step-Up
Transform
er

Low-
IA+IB Voltage
Lead
Guar Test-Set
d Ground
Lead
Test
Current & Ground
Loss
Meter
 Measure CA Guard CB

High-Voltage
Cable
IA IB
GST-Guard
CA CB
Test-Set
Step-Up
Transformer

Low-
IB Voltage
Lead
Test-Set
Ground
Lead

Test
Guard Current & Ground
Loss
Meter
 Measure CA Ground/Guard CB

High-Voltage
Cable
IA IB
UST
CA CB
Test-Set
Step-Up
Transformer

Low- Test-Set
Voltage Ground

IA Lead Lead

Guard

Test
Ground Current &
Loss
Meter
 Measure CA + CB + CC

High-Voltage
Cable
GST Ground IA IB IC
Red + Blue

CA CB CC
Test-Set
Step-Up
Low-
Transformer
Voltage
Leads

IA+IB +IC Test-Set

Ground
Guard Lead

Test
Current & Ground
Loss
Meter
 Measure CB + CC

High-Voltage
Cable
GST Gnd Red IA IB IC
Guard Blue

CA CB CC
Test-Set
Step-Up
Low-
Transformer
Voltage
Leads

IB +IC Test-Set
Ground
Guard Lead

Test
Current & Ground
Loss
Meter
 Measure CA + CC

High-Voltage
Cable
GST Gnd Blue IA IB IC
Guard Red

CA CB CC
Test-Set
Step-Up
Low-
Transform
Voltage
er
Leads

IA+IC Test-Set
Ground
Guard Lead

Test
Current & Ground
Loss
Meter
 Measure CC

High-Voltage
Cable
GST Guard IA IB IC
Red + Blue

CA CB CC
Test-Set
Step-Up
Low-
Transform
Voltage
er
Leads

IC Test-Set
Ground
Guard Lead

Test
Current & Ground
Loss
Meter
 Measure CA + CB

High-Voltage
Cable
UST Measure IA IB IC
Red + Blue

CA CB CC
Test-Set
Step-Up
Low-
Transformer
Voltage
Leads

IA+IB Test-Set
Ground
Guard Lead

Test
Ground Current &
Loss
Meter
 Measure CB

High-Voltage
Cable
UST Measure IA IB IC
Red Gnd Blue

CA CB CC
Test-Set
Step-Up
Low-
Transformer
Voltage
Leads

IB Test-Set
Ground
Guard Lead

Test
Ground Current &
Loss
Meter
 Measure CA

High-Voltage
Cable
UST Measure IA IB IC
Blue Gnd Red

CA CB CC
Test-Set
Step-Up
Low-
Transformer
Voltage
Leads

IA Test-Set
Ground
Guard Lead

Test
Ground Current &
Loss
Meter
Test set shielding

Understanding Electrostatic Interference

Ie+ Ie
Static
Ie Ie Ie Ie Test Cable Source
Terminations
Ie Ground Guard Ie
Shield Shield

Ie High-Voltage Test Cable

Test Cable Guard Shield
Test Cable Ground Shield
It
LV Lead Ie
Ie+ Ie
Test Set Ground Shield

Ie
Test Set Guard Shield

Specimen

IT
Ie

Current &
Ie Loss Meter
Electrostatic Interference

Characteristics of Interference
IC

IR

IL
Electrostatic Interference and
Measurements

IT
IT

IR
W W

IL
Traditional suppression method
• Interference Suppression - Line Sync Reversal
(Traditional)
• Reports the average of the normal and 180 degree reversed reading
at 60 Hz. It is only effective when the specimen current is greater
than the interference current.
• The test frequency is obtained from the 120/240-volt line frequency.
Some difficulties may be encountered when using an unstable
frequency source with this type of test.

IR

IC

IC

IR
 Updated approach to interference
cancellation
• Interference Suppression - Line Frequency
Modulation
• Reports the computed result at line frequency of the two
measurements at +-5% of the line frequency, e.g. 57 and 63 Hz. This
method minimizes the effects of electrostatic interference and yields
superior results in high levels of electrostatic interference.
• The test frequency is obtained from an internal oscillator. This type of
test creates a synthesized test voltage that is isolated from the input
and offers better performance using a generator or DC to AC inverter

Interference
Measurements
Current

57 60 63 Frequency (HZ)
Input voltage interference

• Causes
• Portable power supply
• Power quality issue
• Cannot be suppressed
• Stability will affect accuracy of measure
• Test signal should be independent
to power line frequency
Issue to consider when testing

• Safety!
• Isolate and ground apparatus under test
• Work between visible grounds
• Ground M4100
• Connect test lead to the M4100 first
• Never come in contact with the test leads
while testing
• Isolating test specimen