Vibration Monitoring of On-Load Tap Changers Using a Genetic Algorithm

On load tap changers (OLTC) are widely used for voltage regulation in electricity networks. Noninvasive vibration methods for condition monitoring of internal electrical contacts have been recently proposed in the literature. The vibration signals emitted during the tap changes are usually recorded and post-processed using spectral analysis and some pattern classifier technique. To reduce the complexity of the classifier, a new technique based on genetic algorithm is proposed in this paper. A description of the data acquisition system and the corresponding collected experimental data are presented. The proposed technique is detailed and preliminary experimental results are discussed