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5kV and 10 kV Insulation Testing – Testing in Noisy Environments
Application Note
1
“KEEP THE NOISE DOWN”
Application note
 
What is electrical noise?
 
What effects will noise have on insulation testing?
 
How does a Megger insulation tester deal with noise?
 
What does the noise immunity specification mean?
 
What else can reduce the effects of noise?
 
How and when to use screened test leads?
What is electrical noise?
The term electrical noise is used to describe a whole range of electrical phenomena, signals, RF, electromagnetic, electronic, etc. Generally it is unwanted electrical energy, in other words electrical energy that will produce an unwanted effect of some kind. When listening to music electrical noise can produce an unwanted hiss in the background. Electrical noise we are interested in is produced at a variety of frequencies, and can appear in the sample being tested. It is usually induced currents or voltages from adjacent equipment and is very common in substations, particularly high voltage substations where power frequencies predominate.
What effects will noise have on insulation testing?
This electrical noise superimposes an AC signal on the DC test current and can cause considerable variations in readings and may prevent the operator getting a reading at all if it is beyond the capabilities of your instrument. Many operators see this as something they have to live with, a sort of occupational hazard. One solution is to implement a complete and expensive shutdown to remove the source of noise. In the worst case it can lead to incomplete test schedules and as a key objective of diagnostic insulation testing is to prevent expensive and dangerous failures this is not good news.
How does a Megger insulation tester deal with noise?
For fear of stating the obvious Megger builds in immunity to noise. Megger has over 100 years of experience in the innovation and design of insulation testers. Each generation of instruments improves on the last, combining our experience with cutting edge technology. The result is instruments that are designed to operate in any environment the operator is ever likely to encounter, including electrical noise.
 
5kV and 10 kV Insulation Testing – Testing in Noisy Environments
Application Note
2
In Europe we have to meet stringent EMC standards, to meet these standards Megger has invested in it’s very own EMC test laboratory at the Dover manufacturing site. The latest generation of MIT and S1 5kV and 10kV insulation testers where all tested there and pass the latest edition of IEC61326-1 that came into force in February 2009. Not only that, they passed the standard to the “heavy industrial” limits. However, it doesn’t stop there, in extreme testing environments experience has shown that the electrical noise instruments are subjected to can be far in excess of the limits laid down by IEC61326. One example is HV substations, especially in locations where earthing or grounding is difficult.
What does the noise immunity specification mean?
So when choosing an 5kV or 10kV insulation tester how can you be confident that it will be able to provide accurate insulation measurements in noisy environments. Any manufacturer can say that an instrument has high noise immunity, but are they willing to add a specification to their literature? Megger have for many years specified the noise immunity of insulation testers, the latest MIT and S1 instruments are no exception. The level of immunity specified for these instruments is 2mA at 50/60Hz, but what does that mean? Basically nearby powered up equipment, for example corona on HV bushings, radiates electrical noise that gets picked up either by the test leads or the item being tested. Nearby cables can also induce current due to their electromagnetic field. This effectively results in unwanted noise current flowing in the test. The amount of current induced depends on the amount of electrical noise in the locality of course.
Adjacent live cablesInducing noise currentAdjacent equipmentradiating noiseTest piece
<2mA Max.
 
Adjacent live cablesInducing noise currentAdjacent equipmentradiating noiseTest piece
 
Adjacent live cablesInducing noise currentAdjacent equipmentradiating noiseTest piece
 
Adjacent live cablesInducing noise currentAdjacent equipmentradiating noiseTest piece
<2mA Max.
 
5kV and 10 kV Insulation Testing – Testing in Noisy Environments
Application Note
3
So, back to the specification of 2mA at 50/60Hz. This is actually a worst case, the MIT and S1 instruments employ capacitive filtering which means that as the noise frequency increases then so does the level of immunity. The noise generated from the effects of corona on HV bushes is typically in the kHz region, hence why we can hear it crackling. Noise immunity of 2mA is sufficient for the majority of applications, but what happens in extreme environments such as >150kV substations. In these locations it is not uncommon to encounter noise currents up to 4mA. The answer is the Megger S1-554/2 and its 10kV counterpart the S1-1054/2. These instruments represent the ultimate in noise immunity available on an insulation tester. Specially developed input filtration efficiently remove any high frequency effects on the reading, and then firmware filtering techniques remove the low frequency variation on the reading. The S1-554/2 and S1-1054/2 have been successfully tested and used in the noisiest switchyards in the world, including locations in India. Can the noise current exceed 4mA, and what happens if it does, I hear you ask? Connecting to the tips of bushing on the top of transformers can involve the use of very long test leads making very effective aerials, so the answer is occasionally it will. In these circumstances the answer is prevent the noise inducing a current in the first place.
What else can reduce the effects of noise?
The first thing that can be done is take care with test lead layout. Keep them as short as possible and where you can keep them near to earth / ground to minimize noise pick up.
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