High voltage

measurement and testing

Chapter-7
Why do we need to test the insulators
It is essential to ensure that the electrical equipment
is capable of withstanding the over-voltages that are
met with in service.

The over-voltages may be either due to natural

causes like lightning or system originated ones such
as switching or power frequency transient voltages.

Hence, testing for over-voltages is necessary

 TESTING OF INSULATORS
The overvoltage tests are classified into two groups: (i) power
frequency voltage tests; and (ii) impulse voltage tests. These
tests together ensure the over-volt-age withstand capability of an
apparatus.

Commonly used technical terms.

Disruptive Discharge Voltage: This is defined as the voltage

which produces the loss of dielectric strength of an insulation.
It is that voltage at which the electrical stress in the insulation
causes a failure which includes the collapse of voltage and
passage of current.
In solids, this causes a permanent loss of strength, and in liquids
or gases only temporary loss may be caused. When a discharge
takes place between two electrodes in a gas or a liquid or over a
solid surface in air, it is called flashover. If the discharge occurs
through a solid insulation it is called puncture
 Withstand Voltage: The voltage which has to be
applied to a test object under specified conditions in a
withstand test is called the withstand voltage [as per
IS: 73 1 and IS: 2099-1963].
Fifty Percent Flashover Voltage: This is the voltage
which has a probability of 50% flashover, when
applied to a test object. This is normally applied
in impulse tests in which the loss of insulation
strength is temporary.
Hundred Per Cent Flashover Voltage: The voltage
that causes a flashover at each of its applications
under specified conditions when applied to test
objects is specified as hundred per cent flashover
voltage.
 Creepage Distance: It is the shortest distance on the
contour of the external surface of the insulator unit or
between two metal fittings on the insulator.
A.C. Test Voltages: Alternating test voltages of power
frequency should have a frequency range of 40 to 60
Hz and should be approximately sinusoidal. The
deviation allowed from the standard sine curve is
about 7%. The deviation is checked by measuring
instantaneous values over specified intervals and
computing the rms value, the average value, and the
form factor.
Impulse Voltages : Impulse voltages are characterized
by polarity, peak value, time to front (tf), and time to
half the peak value after the peak (tt). The time to front
is defined as 1.67 times to the time between 30% and
90% of the peak value in the rising portion of
the wave.
 According to IS: 2071 (1973), standard impulse is
defined as one with tf = 1.2 s, tt =50 s (called 1/50
s wave). The tolerances allowed are 3% on the
peak value, 30% in the front time (tf), and 20% in
the tail time (tt).
Reference Atmospheric Conditions: The electrical
characteristics of the insulators and other
apparatus are normally referred to the reference
atmospheric conditions. According to the Indian
Standard Specifications, they are:
Temperature : 27 C
Pressure : 1013 millibars (or 760 torr)
Absolute humidity : 17 gm/m3.
 It is not always possible to do tests under these reference
conditions, correction factors have to be applied. In
some cases, the following test conditions are also used
as reference (British Standard Specifications)
conditions.
Temperature : 20 C
Pressure : 1013 millibars (or 760 torr)
Absolute humidity : 11 gm/m3(65% relative humidity at
20 C )
 Tests on insulators
The tests that are normally conducted are usually
subdivided as (i) type tests, and (ii) the routine tests
Type tests: Type tests are intended to prove or check
the design features and the quality. The routine tests
are intended to check the quality of the individual test
piece. Type tests are done on samples when new
designs or design changes are introduced.
Routine tests: The routine tests are done to ensure the
reliability of the individual test objects and quality and
consistency of the materials used in their manufacture.
High voltage tests include (i) the power frequency tests,
and (ii) impulse tests. All the insulators are tested for
both categories of test
Type tests (power frequency)
Dry and wet flashover test: A .c. voltage of power
frequency is applied across the insulator and increased
at a uniform rate of about 2 per cent per second of 75%
of the estimated test voltage, to such a value that a
breakdown occurs along the surface of the
insulator.
The test conducted under normal conditions
without any rain or precipitation is called "dry flashover
test".
The test done under conditions of rain is called "wet
flashover test. (specification of arrangement in IEC,
1979)
Application of 15 positive and 15 negative impulses
(IEC 1979). Two in each set are allowed to flashover. If
more than two flashovers occur in each set, then the
insulator is deemed to have failed the test
 Wet and Dry Withstand Tests (One Minute): In
these tests, the voltage specified in the
relevant specification is applied under dry or
wet conditions for a period of one minute with
an insulator mounted as in service conditions.
The test piece should withstand the specified
voltage. The characteristics of artificial rain in
IEC 168 (IEC,1979).
 Type tests (Impulse)
Impulse Withstand Voltage Test
This test is done by applying standard impulse
voltage of specified value under dry conditions with
both positive and negative polarities of the wave.
If five consecutive waves do not cause a flashover or
puncture, the insulator is deemed to have passed the
test.
If two applications cause flashover, the object is
deemed to have failed.
If there is only one failure ,additional ten applications
of the voltage wave are made.
If the test object has withstood the subsequent
applications, it is said to have passed the test
 Impulse Flashover Test:
The test is done as above with the specified
voltage.
Usually, the probability of failure is determined
for 40% and 60% failure values or 20% and
80% failure values, since it is difficult to adjust
the test voltage for the exact 50% flashover
values.
The average value of the upper and the lower
limit s is taken.
The insulator surface should not be damaged by
these tests, but slight marking on its surface or
chipping off of the cement is allowed.
 Pollution Testing :
There is problem of pollution of outdoor electrical
insulation and consequent problems of the maintenance
of electrical power systems, pollution testing is gaining
importance.
The pollution tests maybe made either to
determine the maximum degree of pollution withstood
by the insulator under a given voltage or to determine
its withstand voltage for a specified degree of
pollution.
The pollution tests involve application of the pollution
and simultaneous or subsequent application of voltage.
The pollution tests fall into two categories: the saline
fog method and the pre-deposited pollution method
(IEC, 1975)
 TESTING OF TRANSFORMERS
The following tests are required on most power
transformers, as recommended by IEC 76- 1 and 2 (IEC,
1976c,d),and 76-3-1 (IEC, 1987a).
Routine tests
a. Measurement of winding resistance
b. Measurement of voltage ratio and check of voltage vector
relationship
c. Measurement of impedance voltage, short-circuit
impedance, and load loss
d. Measurement of no-load loss and current
e. Tests on tap changers
Type tests
a. Dielectric tests
b. Temperature rise tests
Impulse Testing of Transformers
The purpose of the impulse tests is to determine
the ability of the insulation of the transformers
to withstand the transient voltages due to
lightning ,etc.
Impulse testing of transformers is done using both
the full wave and the chopped wave of the
standard impulse, produced by a rod gap with a
chopping time of 3 to 6 s.
To prevent large over voltages being induced in
the windings not under test, they are short
circuited and connected to ground .
Impulse testing is done in the following sequence
Applying impulse voltage of magnitude
75% of the Basic Impulse Level (BIL) of
the transformer under test.
one full wave voltage of 100% BIL,
two chopped waves of 100% BIL,
one full wave of 100% BIL, and
one full wave of 75% BIL.
It is very important to see that the grounding is
proper and the windings not under test are
suitably terminated.
Test voltages
The conventional forms of test voltages in use can
be divided into three main groups: (a) direct voltages,
(b) power-frequency alternating voltages, and
(c)impulse voltages, which are divided into lightning
and switching impulses. Also, in the case of testing
machine insulation, alternating voltages of low
frequency are sometimes used.
Tables list the recommended test voltages adopted for
testing equipment for rated AC voltages ranging
between l and 765kV (IEC, 1976b).
For equipment with rated voltages of 1 to 300 kV,
performance under power-frequency operating voltage,
temporary over-voltages, and switching over-voltages is
generally checked by a short-duration power-frequency
test.
 Testing with Direct voltages
Direct voltage is used mainly to test equipment used
in high-voltage DC transmission systems. It is
additionally used in insulation testing of arrangements
with high capacitance, such as capacitors and cables.
The value of the test voltage is defined by its
arithmetic mean, The test voltage, as applied to the
test object, should not contain AC components
corresponding to a ripple factor of more than 5% when
normal current is drawn.
During the test it is required that the rate of voltage rise
above 75% of its estimated final value should be about
2% per second (IEC, 1973).
The requirements of the test are generally satisfied if
no disruptive discharge occurs on the test object
when under the test voltage for the specified
duration.
Non destructive testing of Insulation
Nondestructive electrical tests are usually carried
out on the equipment insulation to ensure that its
electrical characteristics comply with the
specifications without destroying it. These tests
include partial discharges, radio interference,
dielectric loss angle, and insulation resistance
measurements (Kind, 1978).
Di-electric loss measurement
Losses always occur in dielectrics due to conduction,
polarization, and ionization. Dielectric losses cause
certain electrical effects, which can be utilized for
nondestructive high-voltage testing.
 Schering bridge for dielectric loss
measurement
The Schering bridge, devised by Schering in 1919, has
since been widely used to measure the capacitance and
loss angle of high-voltage insulators, capacitors, and cable
samples.
The bridge comprises two high-voltage (HV) arms and two
low-voltage (LV) arms. The HV arms are the test piece
and a standard capacitor, This capacitor should have no
significant losses over the full working range.
Both the LV arms and the null detector are shielded
from the high-voltage circuit to eliminate any errors in the
measurements caused by the effect of stray capacitances.
 In the power frequency range (25 to 100 Hz)
Schering bridge is a very versatile and sensitive
bridge and is readily suitable for high voltage
measurements. The tan can be readily obtained with
this bridge.
The lossy capacitor or capacitor with the dielectric
between electrodes is represented as an imperfect
capacitor of capacitance Cx together with a resistance
rx. The standard capacitor is shown as Cs which will
usually have a capacitance of 50 to 500 F.
The variable arms are R4 and C3R3. Balance is
obtained when
 The lossy capacitor which is made as an
equivalent Cx in series with rx can be
represented as a parallel combination of C and
R where the parallel combination Rx is found
to be

The normal method of balancing is by fixing

the value of R3 and adjusting C3 and R4.
R is usually an decade resistor box.
 High voltage measurement
Measurement of high voltages d.c., a.c. or impulse
voltages involves unusual problems that may not
be familiar to specialists in the common electrical
measurement techniques.
The difficulties are mainly related to the large
structures necessary to control the electrical elds, to
avoid ashover and sometimes to control the heat
dissipation within the circuits.
 HV Measurement Techniques
Peak voltage measurements by spark gaps
Simple spark gaps insulated by atmospheric air can
be used to measure the amplitude of a voltage above
about 10 kV.
The complex mechanism of this physical effect, often
employed in protecting equipment from over-voltages.
The fast transition from an either completely insulating or
still highly insulating state of a gap to the high conducting
arc state is used to determine a voltage level, the
disruptive discharge does not offer a direct reading of the
voltage across the gap.
A complete short-circuit is the result of a spark, and
therefore the voltage source must be capable to allow
such a short-circuit, although the currents may and
sometimes must be limited by resistors in series with the
gap.
 Sphere gaps
Two adjacent metal spheres of equal diameters,
with certain separation distance ,form a sphere gap
for the measurement of the peak value of either d.c.,
a.c. or both kinds of impulse voltages.
The ability to respond to peak values of voltages, if
the duration of the peak region is not too short in time
(13sec), is governed by a short statistical time lag.
i.e.
Time lag is the waiting time for an electron to
appear to initiate an electron avalanche and
breakdown streamer, and an equally short formative
time lag required for the voltage breakdown or fast
current increase within the breakdown channel.
Standardized construction for sphere gap
 A and B dene clearances such as to maintain the
eld distribution between the points on the two spheres
that are closest to each other (sparking points) within
narrow limits.
The height of the sparking point P above the
horizontal ground plane, which can be a
conducting network in or on the oor of the
laboratory, or a conducting surface on the support
in which the sphere gap is placed, must be within
given limits related to the sphere diameter D.
To be accepted as a standard measuring device, a
minimum clearance B around the sphere must also be
available, within which no extraneous objects (such as
walls, ceilings, transformer tanks, impulse generators)
or supporting framework for the spheres are allowed.
 Disruptive discharge voltages
Sphere gap of diameter D and spacing S will spark at
a peak voltage whose value will be close to the
nominal values.
For every sphere diameter the sparking voltage is a
non-linear function of the gap distance, which is
mainly due to the increasing eld in homogeneity and
only less to the physics of breakdown.
The calibration data, related to the atmospheric
reference conditions (temperature 20C; air pressure
101.3 kPa or 760 mmHg) and the kind and polarity of
voltage applied, are a result of joint international
measurements within the period 1920 to about 1955.
Remarks on the use of the sphere gap
The sphere gap represents a capacitance, which
may form a series resonant circuit with its leads.
Heavy pre discharges across a test object will
excite superimposed oscillations that may cause erratic
breakdown.
To avoid excessive pitting of the spheres, protective
series resistances may be placed between test object
and sphere gap, whose value may range from 0.1 to 1
M for d.c. and a.c. power frequency voltages. For
higher frequencies, the voltage drop would increase
and it is necessary to reduce the resistance.
For impulse volt- ages such protective resistors should
not be used or should not exceed a value of 500
(inductance less than 30 H)
 The disruptive discharge values of Tables apply to
measurements made without irradiation other than
random ionization already present, except in
The measurement of voltages below 50 kV peak,
irrespective of the sphere diameters,
The measurement of voltages with spheres of 125
mm diameter and less, whatever the voltage.
The application of spark gaps is time consuming.
The procedure usually consists of establishing a
relation between a high voltage, as measured by the
sphere gap, and the indication of a voltmeter, an
oscilloscope, or other device connected in the control
circuit of the equipment
 The voltage measured by the sphere gap is derived
from the spacing.
The procedure in establishing the relationship varies
with the type of voltage to be measured, as
follows:
For the measurement of direct and alternating
voltages, the voltage shall be applied with an
amplitude low enough not to cause disruptive
discharge during the switching transient and it is
then raised sufficiently slowly for the l.v.
indicator to be read accurately at the instant of
disruptive discharge of the gap.
 The procedure for the measurement of impulse
voltages is different:
In order to obtain the 50 per cent disruptive discharge
voltage, the spacing of the sphere gap or the charging
voltage of the impulse generator shall be adjusted in
steps corresponding to not more than 2 per cent of the
expected disruptive discharge value.
Six applications of the impulse should be made at each
step. The interval between applications shall not be
less than 5 sec.
The value giving 50% probability of disruptive
discharge is preferably obtained by interpolation
between at least two gap or voltage settings, one
resulting in two disruptive discharges or less, and the
other in four disruptive discharges or more. Another,
less accurate, method is to adjust the settings
until four to six disruptive discharges are obtained in
a series of ten successive applications.