Evaluation of UHF method for partial discharge measurement by simultaneous observation of UHF signal and current pulse waveforms

The partial discharge - current pulse waveform analyzing (PD-CPWA) system can measure partial discharge (PD) current pulses continuously in high speed, and is being used for the study of PD mechanisms in SF₆ gas in a laboratory. On the other hand, the ultra high frequency (UHF) method is becoming popular for the on-site monitoring of gas-insulated switchgears (GIS). The former can detect PD with high accuracy and make it possible to analyze and understand discharge physics in detail. The latter is suitable to detect PD in actual power equipment, even in noisy site condition. Clarification of coincidence of PD characteristics measured with both methods is very important for further application of the UHF method. In this paper, PD current pulses generated from artificial defects in SF₆ gas were synchronously measured with both methods. Measured data were analyzed and compared in many PD characteristics. As a result, many characteristics coincided well between them. However, the scatter of PD and the limited equipment performance of the UHF method may cause some detection failures. An appropriate and advanced use of the UHF method was pointed out.