Partial Discharge Tester User Manual and Instruction Booklet

   1. Preparation before turning on the partial discharge tester

    Set the "Time Base Frequency" selector 7 to "50 (Internal)", and the "Time Base Mode" 5 to "Ellipse". Set the Logarithmic/Linear selection switch 2 to Linear. Connect the power socket 33 to a 220V AC power supply, press the power switch 12 to the "ON" position, and preheat for 5 minutes.

2. Instrument calibration

After wiring as shown in Figure 4, calibrate using the JZF calibration pulse generator before applying the test voltage.

    Note: The wire connected to the red terminal of the calibration pulse generator should be as short as possible and connected to the high-voltage end of the test object, while the wire connected to the black terminal should be connected to the low-voltage end of the test object.

Adjust the "Amplifier Gain Fine Adjustment" 13 and "Amplifier Gain Coarse Adjustment" 15 so that the injected pulse height is appropriate (display height below 2 cm on the oscilloscope screen); the readings on the voltage and discharge quantity digital meter (3) and the linear/logarithmic pointer meter (1) should match the injected known charge quantity.

After calibration, the position of the "Amplifier Gain Fine Adjustment" (13) knob must not be changed, and the amplifier's frequency band must not be changed during subsequent tests; it must remain the same as during calibration.

After calibration and before applying the test voltage, be sure to disconnect the calibration pulse generator from the test object to prevent high voltage from damaging the calibration pulse generator.

    Below, using Figure 4 as an example, a test method is introduced:

    Example: Use a JZF-9 or JZF-10 calibration pulse generator to inject a charge of 50 pC across the test object. Adjust the coarse adjustment knob 15 on the GH-6209 partial discharge detector panel, and on the third gear, adjust the amplifier gain fine adjustment knob 13 so that the meter "1" indicates 50 pC. Remove the calibration pulse generator, apply the test voltage, and the value indicated on meter 1 is the discharge quantity. If it exceeds 50 pC, attenuate by one gear on "15" ("15" is the amplifier gain coarse adjustment with 5 gears in total, each gear is 20 dB, a factor of 10).

    3. Partial discharge tester test operation

    Turn on the high-voltage test circuit power supply, set the kV-pC selection switch 4 to "kV", and the "Zero Mark Selection" switch 25 to "R" position. Slowly increase the test voltage; two zero mark pulses will appear on the ellipse, with a phase difference of 180°. If the test voltage exceeds the rated voltage level of the high-voltage resistor R, then at a lower voltage, set the "Zero Mark Selection" switch 25 to "Internal" position, and an auxiliary zero mark pulse generated by the instrument will appear. At this time, adjust knob 23 so that the phase of the auxiliary zero mark matches that of the "R" position (polarity must also be consistent). Then, at high voltage, a correct zero mark position can be obtained without using the high-voltage resistor "R".



    Rotate the "Ellipse Rotation" 9 to bring the ellipse to a position where it is convenient for observing discharge. Usually, this position is where the zero mark pulses are located at the upper left and lower right of the ellipse. Continuously increase the voltage, noting the first occurrence of continuous discharge. The voltage at which the discharge quantity exceeds the specified minimum value is the partial discharge inception voltage.

    During testing, various interferences may appear. Use the "Time Window" switches 18, 19, and one or both potentiometers 17 and 20 to change the width and position of the brightened area on the ellipse to avoid interference pulses. The time window device can be used to measure the discharge quantity in each half cycle separately.

    4. Partial discharge test at frequencies higher than 50 Hz

    When a partial discharge test at a frequency higher than 50 Hz is required, set the "Time Base Frequency" selector 7 to the corresponding frequency gear, and take a 10V-250V test voltage from the high-frequency test power supply and feed it into socket 29 (rotate the "High-Frequency Voltage" selector 8 to make the ellipse size appropriate).

    If an overload occurs due to improper position of the "High-Frequency Voltage" selector 8, the power will be automatically cut off, and the overload indicator light 6 will turn on. At this time, turn the "High-Frequency Voltage" selector 8 clockwise to the end, and press the "Reset" button 11 to restore operation (the overload indicator light 6 will turn off). An ellipse display will appear on the oscilloscope screen.

    Note: To protect the oscilloscope tube, the ellipse display appears only when the ratio of the test voltage input to the value indicated by the "High-Frequency Voltage" selector 8 is greater than 15%.   

(III) Supplementary provisions for the partial discharge tester

    1. Identification of discharge types and discharge sources

    First, introduce the elliptical trace on the oscilloscope screen. It rotates clockwise. The positive zero mark pulse indicates the test voltage begins to change from negative to positive polarity; the negative zero mark pulse is the opposite. The midpoint between the two zero marks is the positive and negative peak positions of the test voltage.

    Identifying discharge types from the discharge patterns on the ellipse and recognizing various interferences is a highly technical skill requiring rich practical experience (it is best to confirm with other methods). CIGRE (International Council on Large Electric Systems) has also compiled a booklet on discharge pattern recognition for this purpose. It is based on the discharge position in the pattern, whether it moves, the consistency of discharge amplitudes in positive and negative half cycles, and the variation characteristics of discharge amplitude with test voltage and pressurization time. Here, only a rough introduction can be given.

    Generally speaking, for partial discharge considered to be truly formed by internal bubbles, the main characteristic is that discharge mostly occurs in the two half cycles near the rising part before the peak of the test voltage.

    (1) Typical internal bubble partial discharge (see Figure 5), waveform characteristics: a. Discharge is mainly displayed in the two elliptical quadrants where the test voltage rises from zero to the peak. b. At the inception voltage Ui, discharge usually occurs near the peak, and when the test voltage exceeds Ui, discharge extends toward zero. c. The number and amplitude of discharges in two opposite half cycles are roughly the same (maximum difference up to 3:1). d. The discharge waveform is distinguishable. There are several cases: 1) If the discharge amplitude increases with the test voltage and the discharge waveform becomes blurred and indistinguishable, it is often due to multiple bubbles of various sizes in the medium, or surface discharge of the medium; 2) If in addition to the above, the discharge amplitude increases rapidly with pressurization time (up to 100 times or more), it is often bubble discharge in insulating liquid, a typical example being discharge in oil-impregnated paper capacitors.

Partial discharge tester waveform diagram

                               Figure   5

(2) Discharge of bubbles between metal and dielectric in partial discharge tester (see Figure 6 a), waveform characteristics: In the positive half cycle, there are many small-amplitude discharges; in the negative half cycle, there are a few large-amplitude discharges, with amplitude difference up to 10: