Resolution improvement in radiometric partial discharge detection by fusion of detected levels

Early stages of insulation defects in high voltage equipment initiate partial discharges which emit radio frequency impulses. Location of the defect can be estimated by identifying the source of this radiation. Directive antennas are capable of identifying the direction in which the source of a particular signal source is located. However the resolution that can be achieved is limited by its beam width. This paper presents a post processing method based on fusion which improves resolution by statistically estimating partial discharge levels in several equipments. The sources can be located within main-lobe of the antenna, or within any grating-lobes. Numerical simulations with assumed fault levels display good performance.