Cooling Power

CT
the Debate on with
Success Power
Surge testing
motors P6 in India P2 DB P8-9
Published by Megger
July 2019

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Comprehensive analysis of Single CT in Bus coupler

compared to Dual CT for Bus Bar protection scheme
Dr K N Dinesh Babu - Application Manager
Power System Protection Megger
Introduction: In this document, the pros & cons
of using single CT (current transformer) compared
to the conventional dual CT are discussed. Earlier
days, in bus bar protection relays, two CTs were
used on either side of the bus coupler breaker due
to the following reasons
1. CT current direction has to be matched in the
relay. It’s a common practice to earth the CT
towards the protected zone direction. In case of
two CTs, one will be earthed towards zone 1 and
one towards zone 2
breaker. When the fault is located in c, it’s a clear
zone 2 fault and zone 1 need not trip. This trip did
not occur in single CT arrangement as shown in
Table 1. Hence an unwanted trip of a healthy zone
can be eliminated by using single CT arrangement
only.
Analysis: The use of single CT has reduced the
cost and also met all the power system protection
principle by the use of advanced logic in numerical
relays. More over dual CT has dis advantages
compared to single CT as hi-lighted. With the
availability of this flexibility in numerical relays, dual
CT for Bus coupler and Bus section is no longer

Figure 2: Zone segregation for Dual CT arrangement

a mandatory requirement for low impedance bus K N Dinesh Babu is a

Figure 1: Zone segregation for single CT arrangement
2. To provide zone overlap and to prevent the blind
spot between the CT and the CB.
In modern relays, the above two concepts can be
achieved using the internal logics and flexibility of
the relay. Figure 1 shows the single CT arrangement
with faults located in various places. The color
shows the zone limit. In this example, green color
represents zone 1 and blue color represents zone 2.
The CT defines the boundary for both the zones.
Table 1 shows the trip matrix for various fault
locations of Figure 1. It can be observed that the
relay trips the faulty zone and there is no blind spot
in this scheme. For fault located in b, Zone2 trips
and opens the bus coupler circuit breaker. Opening
of bus coupler circuit breaker will eliminate the CT
from zone 1 which in turn will trip zone 1 thereby
clearing the fault.
Table 2 shows the trip matrix for various fault
locations of Figure 2. It can be observed the relay
trips the faulty zone and there is no blind spot in
this scheme too. For fault located in b and c, both
the zones trips and opens the bus coupler circuit
bar protection relays. However, In Table 1, we
observed that there was a delay in tripping of the
bus bar protection, if the fault is located at position
b. This delay is the breaker operation time delay
which may not be acceptable in some cases. Bus
bar protection relays are supposed to trip in 15ms
to 25ms as per majority of the specification and
hence this delay of CB operation time may act as a
dis-advantage. To better analyze the requirement,
we have to choose based on the application and
identify the number of incoming bays available
in the substation. If the substation is close to a
generation station and the bus fault can feed a
huge amount of fault current, then dual CT would
be beneficial as we cannot compromise on timing.
Fault Zone Zone
However, if the bus does not have major source,
Location 1 2
and the operation philosophy permits only one bay
a Trip No Trip through the Bus coupler, then there would not be
any difference between the fault current of a bus
Trip
b Trip bar and the fault current of a feeder bay. In such
(Delayed)
scenarios, the specification permits 35ms to 40 ms
c No Trip Trip for a feeder tripping and then why should the user
worry about a delay tripping of a bus where the
d No Trip Trip
bus itself acts as an extension of a feeder with the
same fault current? In such scenarios single CT
Table 1: Trip matrix for various fault location would be a cost effective solution.
in single CT arrangement
Conclusion: Bus Couplers with single & Dual
Fault Zone Zone CT application has been described in this paper,
Location 1 2 and both the types have merits and demerits
as hi-lighted. The application depending upon
a Trip No Trip
the operation philosophy and the fault current
b Trip Trip
magnitude would be the best input to decide
c Trip Trip the better option based on which the user is fee
to choose the type of CT arrangement for their
d No Trip Trip
station.
Table 2: Trip matrix for various fault location
in dual CT arrangement
professional power system
protection engineer in
India with extensive
experience in HV / EHV sub
stations and industries. His
work background includes
experience in working for
Alstom, ABB, GE and Megger in various roles like
testing; commissioning; design and application
engineering. A major portion of this experience
has been in the area of protective relaying with a
major focus on the application and coordination of
protective facilities on electrical power systems. His
experience includes the development of protection
philosophies, implementation of new technologies
in the field; control logic requirements for
protective systems; development of specifications
for protective relay settings; and analysis of
disturbances and faults in electric power systems.
He also trains protection engineers, field engineers
and O&M engineers on IEDs, SCADA, power
system protection and synchrophasors for major
utilities and industries in India and Abroad.
He holds a doctorate in electrical engineering and
is a DFSS certified six sigma green belt. He is a
senior member of IEEE and member of CIGRE. His
areas of contribution are electric traction, power
system protection and renewable energy utilization
and have published several articles in international
journals and conferences.

www.megger.com ELECTRICAL TESTER - July 2019 1


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Developments in protection relay testing
Stan Thompson - Product manager
Recent developments have transformed the field
of protection relay testing, with the latest multi-
phase test sets in particular offering features and
benefits far beyond those provided by even their
recent predecessors. But exactly what can users
expect from these new test sets? Let’s take a look.
Flexibility
Test sets with fixed configurations deny their
users future proofing. In contrast, those that offer
flexible configurations mean that future changes
in requirements can be accommodated easily,
conveniently and at modest cost. Flexible multi-
phase test sets are now available that allow users
to choose up to four voltage/current generators
(VIGENs) to provide four voltages and four currents,
or to combine the four VIGENs with one double-
current generator to provide four voltages and
six currents simultaneously, or even to combine
three VIGENs with a single-channel voltage source
(VGEN) to provide four voltages and three currents.
Other options available with some of the most
versatile test sets include using five VIGENs with
both of their channels configured as current
outputs to provide a total of 10 current channels.
This allows the latest multi-phase differential
protection relays to be tested conveniently.
In addition, the ability to interconnect multiple
units together, along with the convertible voltage/
current channels, can provide up to 18 currents
for testing multi-phase bus differential protection
schemes.
Flexibility not only means that users can configure
their test sets so that they match their exact
requirements, but also that they can initially
purchase a unit with a modest specification safe
in the knowledge that they can upgrade it to a full
four- or even five-channel unit in the future, should
they need to do so.
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Constant power output
The latest high-power voltage-current amplifiers
deliver maximum compliance voltage to the load
constantly during the test, and range changing is
done automatically under load. This ensures better
test results and saves time, as the outputs don’t
have to be turned off to change ranges, as was
typically the case in older instruments.
In many cases, constant power output eliminates the
need to parallel- or series-connect channels when
testing high-burden relays. Outputs are regulated
and, therefore, they are unaffected by changes in
load impedance which, for example, occur with
saturating loads like inverse and extremely inverse
time characteristic electromechanical overcurrent
relays.
Higher output current
Best-in-class current amplifiers now provide 30 A
at 200 VArms per phase continuous and up to 60
A for 1.5 seconds. Six of these amplifiers can be
paralleled to provide 180 A at 1,200 VA or up to
360 A at 1,800 VA for 1.5 seconds.
Low range with higher accuracy
The availability of a 1 A range provides enhanced
accuracy at low test currents. Low current ranges
typically also have reduced switching noise, which
improves regulation and accuracy with test currents
as low as a few tens of milliamps.
Constant power output voltage amplifiers
The new voltage amplifiers provide higher current
output at low test voltages, from 30 V to 150 V.
This is important for users who want to test a
complete panel of relays as a single operation, as
this is often impossible with older test equipment
that has voltage amplifiers with a limited VA rating.
The new amplifiers also solve the problem of
testing old-style electromechanical distance relays
that can only be tested using a high-power voltage
source.
Compact construction and light weight
The best of modern test sets are very much smaller
and lighter than their predecessors. Specifiers and
intending purchasers should, however, exercise a
little caution in this respect. There are compact,
lightweight units available that have achieved their
diminutive dimensions and weight by sacrificing
performance, particularly in terms of output
power. These units are best avoided as, for most
users, their limitations outweigh their benefits.
Large, high-resolution colour display
An important innovation is the introduction of
large, high-resolution touch-screen colour user
interface systems that provide intuitive automatic,
semi-automatic and manual control of the test
set. In leading instruments, the screens are
complemented by a context-aware control knob
that allows easy and convenient adjustments to be
made to key parameters related to the particular
toolbox for substation 3-phase testing
currents and four voltages
functionality
and reliable for field use
and primary testing
test being performed.
Automatic ramp, pulse ramp and pulse ramp
binary search capabilities
The best test sets have all of these capabilities
and they also allow users to use the control knob
to ramp outputs up and down manually. When
using the automatic ramp functions, users can
easily adjust the ramp increment to suit their
requirements.
Click-on-fault impedance relay test screen
Another key feature found in the latest instruments
is a click-on-fault test screen facility for easy and
convenient testing of impedance relays. Typically,
all the user needs to do is to select from a menu
the generic operating characteristics of the relay
to be tested, or to select its exact operating
characteristics from the instrument’s relay library.
Click-on-fault impedance relay library
An integral relay library means that users simply pick
from a list of predefined operating characteristics
for popular relays from manufacturers such as
ABB, AREVA, General Electric and SEL. They then
enter the relay settings and select the type of
fault desired – line-to-earth, line-to-line or three-
phase. The test will then progress down a line as
a ramp, pulse ramp of pulse ramp binary search,
looking for the relay to operate. With the shot test
method, users can also select a test point within
and outside the characteristic to quickly check the
relay under test.
Real-time click-on-fault impedance test screen
This feature allows users to see, on the screen, the
operating characteristic of the relay under test with
the test pointer moving in the impedance plane
to indicate exactly where the test impedance is,
in real time. When the relay operates, a coloured
test point is displayed showing where the relay
operated – the test point is shown in red if the
relay failed the test, green if it passed. The user can
also see the test vectors changing in real time, or
see positive-, negative- and zero-sequence vector
values. When the test is complete, the test results
are displayed for each defined test point with pass/
fail indication.
Binary inputs and outputs
User-configurable binary inputs to monitor contacts
and high-current binary outputs are invaluable, and
in leading instruments they can even be allocated
user-defined names, such as Trip1 or Recl1, to
make them even easier to work with.
Overcurrent testing with IEC/IEEE curve
algorithms and relay-specific curves
The test set evaluates timing tests by automatically
comparing actual and theoretical operating times.
The user doesn’t need to refer to the manufacturer’s
time curve to determine error, which means that
this feature is a big time saver. The test set displays
the time curve for the relay under test, plots the
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test results automatically with the time curve, and
determines pass/fail.
Dynamic sequencing test capability
This feature provides multi-state dynamic testing to
include trip and reclose timings tests for, typically,
up to 15 states, including lockout. Each binary
input and output can be set with each state along
with voltage, current amplitudes and phase angles.
With each state, the user may input values of
voltage, current, phase angle, frequency and phase
angle, as well as setting the binary input sensing.
With some instruments, three-pole tripping as well
as single-pole can be simulated.
Simplified testing of three phase transformer
differential relays
In order to correctly test new three phase
transformer differential relays, three
compensations must be taken into consideration
by the relay; current magnitude compensation,
phase angle compensation and the zero sequence
current compensation. By performing transformer
differential tests for each sequence component
verifies that the differential protection will be stable
for all symmetrical and non-symmetrical external
faults, and through-load conditions. In addition,
tests will also confirm that the differential relay
will trip for any internal fault. The most modern
test systems can not only provide the six currents
required for testing two winding transformer
differential relays, but they also should include both
ANSI and IEC transformer models to accurately
calculate the required test currents and phase
angles relationships that get applied to the relay.
From the transformer model, the test system should
be able to take into consideration the transformer
vector groups, be able to eliminate zero sequence
when testing single phase to earth faults. Using a
touch screen to select test lines, it should also be
able to perform dual slope characteristic tests using
one of the seven different Biasing equations, and
one of the four different slope characteristics that
the modern microprocessor based relays use today.
Manually defined harmonic waveforms
A recently introduced feature on top-of-the-range
test sets, this allows users to easily create harmonic
waveforms consisting of a fundamental plus
superimposed second, third and fourth harmonic
waveforms. Individual harmonic amplitudes or
phase angles can be easily ramped as required.
This feature provides harmonic restraint testing
with a single current channel and is also useful for
checking the performance of power quality meters.
With the latest relay test sets offering so many new
and useful features, now is a very good time for
those involved with protection system testing to
take a long hard look at the test equipment they
are currently using. Undeniably, a new test set
represents a significant investment, but if the new
test equipment prevents just one significant power
outage it will, for most users, have paid for itself
many times over.

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TRULY SIMPLE
PERFORM TRANSFORMER MEASUREMENTS EFFORTLESSLY.
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Meet IDA:
An interview with Megger’s
Dr. Peter Werelius
Jill Duplessis - Global technical marketing
manager and Editor
On September 27, 2018, IEEE-SA Standards Board
approved IEEE C57.161-2018 – Guide for Dielectric
Frequency Response test. This work follows that of
other standards organizations, such as CIGRE’s TB
254, TB 414 and TB 445 – all technical brochures
that address aspects of dielectric frequency
response (DFR) testing.
A Dielectric Frequency Response (DFR) test is an
insulation health assessment tool that is more
discriminating than traditional dielectric screening
tests such as power factor/dissipation factor.
DFR testing can be used, for example, to assess
the insulation health of transformers, bushings,
instrument transformers and cables. In a complex
insulation system such as that of a transformer,
DFR testing provides a moisture assessment of the
solid insulation, conductivity of the liquid insulation
and information about the thermal behavior of the
insulation system.
With increasing attention being paid to the DFR
method, it seemed a very appropriate time for
Megger’s Jill Duplessis to talk to Dr Peter Werelius
who developed the first commercially available
DFR test set for field use. Here’s what he had
to say.
JD: Thanks Peter. I’d like to begin with
congratulations to you and your peers for your
collaborative work on the newly published IEEE
guide! Back in 1996, the first commercially
available DFR instrument designed for field use,
which is known today as the Megger IDAX, was
introduced. As its developer, what advice would
your “scientist self” of today give to your “scientist
self” 22 years ago?
PW: I am fortunate that my personal guiding
principles have served the development of the DFR
technology well. So I would offer to others my
firsthand experience that being generous to my
first and subsequent business partners (with whom
I founded WaBtech and later Pax Diagnostics) and
being honest and helpful to my former employer
along the way as well as early customers has
come back to me in unimaginably, positive ways.
My partners, my employees at that time, my
former employer GE Programma, Megger, early
customers, and KTH (Royal Institute of Technology)
have been very committed and supportive.
JD: I was really moved when I learned of the
origin of the name “IDAX”. I understand that it is
quite personal to you. Can you explain?
PW: Björn Bengtsson, who is now Björn
Jernström, and I were the co-founders of WaBtech
3 ELECTRICAL TESTER - July 2019 www.megger.com
AB. When we discussed a name for our first
product, we talked about a few requirements:
preferably it should be a name as well as an
acronym and ideally the acronym should work
in Swedish and in English. My now grown
up baby girl, born in 1995, is named Ida and
besides being very personal to me, her name
met our other requirements. In Swedish, it was
IsolationsDiagnostikApparat, which was later
changed to IsolationsDiagnostikAnalysator, and
in English it was Insulation Diagnostic Apparatus
and later Insulation Diagnostic Analyzer. When Pax
Diagnostics took over the IDA from GE-Programma
in 2006, the instrument’s name was modified
slightly to IDAX (Insulation Diagnostic Analyzer
by Pax). Both IDA and IDAX are pronounced as
names, not acronyms.
A true frequency domain
method that speeds
up measurement is
accomplished by applying
several frequencies
simultaneously, and
extracting measurement
data from the applied
frequencies simultaneously
JD: Can you tell us a little about the history
of the IDAX instruments and how they have
developed over the years since the first model
was introduced?
PW: The initial development of the DFR
instrument was part of my Ph.D. project that
began in early 1992 at KTH (Royal institute of
Technology, Stockholm). In 1994, Björn Jernström
joined me and helped me to turn my student set-
up into a practical instrument for field use. Late in
1996, we sold the first commercial unit, IDA#1,
to Vattenfall, Sweden. The second unit, IDA#2,
which we delivered in spring 1997 to ABB Inc. in
the USA, was already significantly changed from
IDA#1, so that it would fit into a case about half
the size of the previous one. After Programma
Electric acquired WaBtech in late 1998, the IDA
200 instrument was developed and released in
2000. IDAX 206 followed (2006) and IDAX 300
entered the market in 2008. At about this time,
competitors started to appear. Since then, we have
improved the hardware, software and digital signal
processing algorithms. An important milestone
was the introduction of the 2000V peak amplifier
accessory in 2011.
True 3-Phase transformer turns ratiometer
Baby Ida, the eponymous hero of the IDAX
JD: There has been some talk about the need to
compensate DFR test results for ageing byproducts;
otherwise, in some cases, moisture results may be
misleading. For perceptive users, this “red herring”
of sorts puts focus squarely back on the database.
Fundamentally, DFR analysis and the results it’s
intended to provide, such as moisture content in
solid insulation and oil conductivity, is based on
fitting the measured DFR curve to its best match
in a database of curves. The test software does
this through mathematical modeling – adjusting
parameters that affect the shape of the model
curve until the software finds the best match. The
parameters include:
„„ Relation of solid (cellulose) vs. liquid (oil)
insulation;
„„ moisture in solid insulation;
„„ and oil conductivity.
I think that it is important for users to recognize
that there is not one universal database shared by
all instrument manufacturers. When you acquire
a DFR instrument, you are selecting a database.
The database determines the accuracy of moisture
assessment results. If differences that are observed
in moisture assessments using different DFR
instruments (or in results from a DFR instrument as
compared to other moisture assessment tools) are
explained away as being due to some undefined
ELECTRICAL
TESTER
TTRU3
compensation algorithm, this may rightly cause
discerning users to grow uneasy.
How can a user go about validating an instrument
manufacturer’s database? Also, is there a more
pragmatic approach to take when a user has
legitimate concerns that aging of the asset may be
skewing moisture assessment results?
PW: The fact that aging byproducts, or more
specifically low molecular weight acids, affect DFR
results has been known by the industry for more
than 10 years ( See: Dielectric response of mineral
oil impregnated cellulose and the impact of aging,
D.Linhjell et. al. IEEE Transaction of Dielectrics and
Electrical Insulation, 2007). Our database and
others are typically applied without any attempt
to directly compensate the results. One database
attempts to compensate for the effect of aging
products by using measured oil conductivity but
in my opinion this approach is not successful.
It was reported in the paper referenced above
that low molecular weight acids influence DFR
response, but high molecular weight acids, which
also can affect oil conductivity, do not affect the
DFR response.
In my opinion, the influence of low molecular
weight acids is not a big problem. For dry
insulation, the DFR interpretation will give dry
insulation. If the insulation is moderately moist,
say with moisture content of 2%, the level of low
Continued on page 4...

The industry’s recognised information tool
Contents
Comprehensive analysis of Single CT in Bus
coupler compared to Dual CT for Bus Bar
protection scheme........................................... p1
Dr K N Dinesh Babu - Application Manager
Power System Protection Megger
Meet IDA: An interview with
Megger’s Dr. Peter Werelius........................... p3
Jill Duplessis - Global technical marketing
manager and Editor
Big success for CT testing in India.................. p4
Ajay Goyal - Managing Director
Surge Testing Electric Motors –
Cooling the debate ..................................... P6,7
Mike Teska - Product Line Manager
Work safer on medium voltage systems........ p7
Damon Mount - UK Power Sales Manager
Maximising Asset Reliability........................ p8,9
Mark Meyer - Product Manager, PowerDB
Brad Perry - National Sales Manager, PowerDB
RADAR – IN 1904!............................................ p8
Keith Wilson - Electrical Engineer
Questions & Answers -
Winding resistance testing........................... p10
POWERED BY… Hein Putter......................... p10
A guide for configuration
& Testing of Blocking logic in
Bus Bar protection IEDs................................. p11
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4 ELECTRICAL TESTER - July 2019 www.megger.com
Continued from page 3...
molecular weight acids is usually very low. The
only case where low molecular weight acids may
influence the moisture assessment is that of a very
aged and wet transformer. However, acids are
also very bad for the insulation, so a high content
of acid with low molecular weight combined with
what turns out to be an actual moisture content
that is slightly less than estimated still requires
actions to be planned.
Before investing, decide how to treat the
transformer. Complementing analyses, including
insulation liquid analyses, are usually performed
to get a more complete picture about the
insulation condition.
JD: Some years ago, a DFR test on a healthy
transformer may have taken well over one hour.
Naturally, this was the source of some concern
in the industry since adoption of a test requires
that its value outweigh its cost – and the cost,
of course, is greatly affected by the time the test
takes to perform.
An early attempt to reduce DFR test time
combined the preferred frequency domain
spectroscopy (FDS) method, which has better
immunity to interference, with the polarization
and depolarization current (PDC) method by
arranging for the instrument to switch to the use
of DC voltage for measurement of polarization
current (PC) at low frequencies. These are the
frequencies where the FDS measurement is slow
because it has to wait for the completion of
several very time-consuming cycles of the applied
test voltage. However, reliability suffered with
this combined approach, especially in electrically
noisy field environments, because the PDC
Big success for CT testing in India
Ajay Goyal - Managing Director, Megger India
Current transformer test sets have long been
in high demand in India, but users had only a
handful of brands to choose from. However,
Megger recently entered this challenging market
and, in 2016, the company achieved a notable
success by securing a single order from Power
Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) for no
fewer than 106 of its latest MRCT test sets.
During 2014, PGCIL planned to double the
number of its 765 kV and 400 kV substations to
over 200, with each substation having a minimum
of 15 CTs. To ensure correct operation, it was
essential for the key parameters of each CT to
be verified against the manufacturer’s data as
part of the commissioning process. To carry out
this verification, PGCIL considered using primary
injection testing, but this involves time-consuming
set up procedures and the use of large, heavy test
sets. The company decided therefore to adopt
secondary injection testing.
A market survey of the available CT test sets
showed that the Megger MRCT offered a
number of key features that met PGCIL’s technical
method is particularly susceptible to error due to
interference. Is there a way to perform DFR tests
quickly without reverting to an approach that
combines FDS with PDC?
PW: Any time that you can perform an entire
measurement in only FDS mode, you have a better,
more reliable measurement. The DC method has
two major disadvantages. The first is fundamental
and is that a DC current interference will appear as
increased losses (power factor/dissipation factor),
especially at lower frequencies. This may lead to
under- or, more commonly, over-estimation of
moisture content. In a true frequency domain
measurement, DC current interference will not
affect the measured losses. Secondly, you can
look at a DC (PDC) measurement as applying all
frequencies at the same time. This may shorten the
measurement time but, by spreading the energy
across all frequencies, it makes the method more
sensitive to AC interference.
A true frequency domain method that speeds
up measurement time is accomplished simply
by applying several frequencies simultaneously,
and extracting measurement data from the
applied frequencies simultaneously. Of course,
the voltage level of each frequency needs to be
reduced, which makes the measurements a bit
more sensitive to AC interference, but DC current
interference will still not affect the measurements.
This multi-frequency approach is an advance over
the older approach of combining FDS with PDC,
which is more sensitive to AC interference and
also quite sensitive to DC interference.
The time savings of the multi-frequency method
are significant. For example, using three
frequencies simultaneously reduces measurement
time by about 40%
specifications. Before it was ready to place an
order for the instruments, however, PGCIL needed
to be sure that the instruments fully matched strict
technical and commercial qualification criteria, and
that they could be shown to operate satisfactorily
on one of the company’s 765 kV sites.
When the Megger team examined the
qualification criteria in detail, it found that, as
things stood, it was unable to meet some of these.
For example, the bidding documents stipulated
that the instrument must have a performance
certificate from a 400 kV substation in India.
But after Megger had provided demonstrations
at a number of PGCIL sites and engaged in in-
depth discussions with the company’s engineers,
PGCIL relaxed some of its bidding requirements.
Megger’s Dallas factory then arranged for the
remaining qualification documents to be supplied.
The next requirement was for Megger to
demonstrate successful operation of the MRCT in
a high noise 765 kV PGCIL substation but this was
far from easy to arrange. To locate a site where
the demonstration could be carried out, technical
and product experts from Megger India travelled
extensively to various regions of PGCIL and also
ELECTRICAL
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JD:
Speaking of time, if I’m testing a three-
winding transformer and I want to measure two
insulation components concurrently (e.g., CHL
and CLT), this requires an instrument with dual
measuring channels. If an instrument claims to
deliver DFR test results for two components in
the same amount time it takes to test a single
component, am I truly getting the same number
of measured values per insulation component
as I would if I had measured each insulation
component separately?
PW: In some dual channel instruments, both
channels share a single ammeter and, with these,
either half as many measurements are made or
no timesaving is realized. An instrument must
have two ammeters if it is to perform two truly
concurrent measurements.
JD: Most DFR test instruments provide a
maximum 140 V RMS signal (200 V peak),
primarily because this voltage is sufficient to
provide an accurate moisture assessment of the
solid insulation. In addition, the voltage source
lends itself to a lightweight, easily transported
instrument. However, in some instances, a 1400V
RMS is required to improve accuracy of the
measurement – or even to acquire intelligible test
results. Please share more about this.
PW: The most commonly used voltage level
is about 140 V RMS and this is enough for
measurement of the CHL-insulation in most
conditions. However, in situations where there is a
high level of interference or when measuring CH,
CL, reactors, bushings and current transformers
(CT’s), a 140V RMS signal does not provide a high
enough measurement signal-to-noise ratio to get
meaningful results. Using a higher test voltage
visited private customers such as Sterlite Grid.
However, they encountered numerous problems,
including the difficulty of taking the plant out
of service so that the tests could be performed,
sites in hard-to-reach locations, and the need
for multiple validation sessions to confirm that
the instrument was delivering accurate and
repeatable results.
More technical discussions were then held, as a
result of which Megger upgraded the MRCT to
incorporate 4 kV knee-point voltage testing, a
DC option, nameplate guessing and a turret CT
testing feature. Adding these features was a
major challenge, but the Megger team in Dallas
managed to complete the work in just two weeks.
Megger India then tested and validated the new
features on around 35 CTs (765 kV and 400 kV)
in preparation for a final demonstration to PGCIL.
For turret CT testing in particular, Megger made
eight site visits and tested close to 40 turret CTs in
765 kV substations. This exercise revealed not only
that the features had been correctly implemented,
but also that they delivered better results than
instruments from other manufacturers.
Finally, Megger carried out a formal demonstration
of the MRCT for PGCIL, which confirmed that
it fully met the PCGIL technical requirements
and also showed that the multi-tap testing
capability of the MRCT delivered big savings in
test time compared with standard instruments.
The exceptional performance of the MRCT,
the willingness of Megger to enhance the
standard design so that it complied with the
tender specification and the company’s ability to
demonstrate that all of PGCIL’s key requirements
had been met, combined with very competitive
pricing, allowed Megger to secure the order for
106 test sets.
 ELECTRICAL
The industry’s recognised information tool TESTER

The first commercially available DFR instrument designed for field use as a result of Peter Werelius’
Ph.D. project, known today as the Megger IDAX, was introduced in 1996
(1,400 V RMS/2,000 V peak) in these instances
will improve the measurement accuracy and is
recommended. And, referring back to your earlier
question, using a higher test voltage also makes
it possible to successfully use multi-frequency
measurements to shorten measurement times in
medium interference conditions.
JD: No discussion about insulation is complete
without addressing the important topic of
temperature. It is widely understood that the
electrical characteristics of insulating materials
change with temperature. Since diagnostic
tests on insulation rely on detecting changes in
the material(s)’s electrical characteristics, it is
important that only data that has been obtained
at the same temperature be compared. This way,
any change in the measured electrical parameters
can be attributed to a change in the state of the
material and not a change in temperature. Since
it is not practical to wait for same conditions
Dr. Peter Werelius is the man behind IDAX – the
The Megger IDAX today first field instrument for Frequency Domain
Spectroscopy (FDS) measurements.
every time data is needed, an alternate means and in some cases, this introduces quite large
to determine an insulation’s equivalent behavior errors. Fortunately, by using our knowledge of Roland Eriksson, and later my colleagues and I
at a baseline temperature of 20°C is extremely DFR interpretation and the fact that modern made was to take DFR testing out of the laboratory
valuable. A lot of information about an insulation’s power factor instruments can sweep over a range into the field. As you say, I have remained – and
thermal behavior can be accessed from DFR test of frequencies, we can now determine a much still remain – very closely involved with DFR
results. Can you explain a little more about this? more accurate temperature correction factor by testing and I am delighted to see how widely the
carrying out a limited frequency sweep on the
PW: The DFR interpretation used in IDAX – techniques that my colleagues and I devised and
and in other instruments – is based on the so actual test object.
developed are now being used. Of course, we no
called master curve technique, where the DFR longer have the field to ourselves, but they do say
JD: From what you’ve told us, Peter, it’s apparent
response of the impregnated cellulose material that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. With
that you were a true pioneer of DFR testing and
can be shifted to another temperature by simply
that you’re still a very active innovator in the field. this in mind, I’m sincerely flattered by how many
changing the frequency axis based on the
Is this a valid assessment? of our ideas other instrument manufacturers have
temperature difference while keeping the curve
now adopted!
shape unchanged. The analysis is then performed PW: It’s a good summary, but it’s only fair to
at actual measurement temperature, e.g. 32°C.
acknowledge that my early work on DFR testing JD: Thank you for your time, Peter. I know you’re
However, network frequency (50/60 Hz) power built on work that had already been carried out very busy but I’m sure your time has been well
factor measurements have traditionally been by others, notably by A K Jonscher in the UK and used and readers will be fascinated by the insights
corrected to 20°C by using an approximate by Professor Uno Gäfvert, Dr. Bo Nettelblad and
you’ve given us into DFR testing past and present.
correction factor. It is well-known that this Kenneth Johansson in Sweden. The big advance
correction factor depends on insulation status, our research group at KTH, headed by Professor PW: It’s a pleasure!

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The industry’s recognised information tool
Surge Testing Electric Motors –
Mike Teska - Product Line Manager
For many years, predictive maintenance and motor
reliability experts have debated the merits of surge
testing. Questions about the benefits and findings
of the test have fuelled heated discussions on
forums and in boardrooms around the world.
Some in the motor reliability community think that
the very process of finding insulation weakness
in an electric motor by surge testing damages
the remaining dielectric insulation so the motor
will not continue to operate. Others believe that
testing above operating voltage is absolutely
necessary to verify insulation integrity, and does
not precipitate insulation weaknesses.
So what is the truth? Can surge testing, done
properly, help industry reduce costly downtime,
or is it just smoke and mirrors? Does the fact
that the motor manufacturing and motor repair
industries specifically require surge testing to verify
insulation integrity outweigh the few that feel that
surge testing undermines reliability? Or has there
been so much misinformation published that the
true benefit of the test has been muddied?
This two-part article outlines the principle, proper
performance and insulation effects of surge
testing, and the second part includes motor test
results that should settle the debate.
Principle of the Surge Test
Whereas the insulation resistance (IR), polarization
index (PI) and HiPot tests are used to detect
ground wall problems, the surge test is used to
find turn-to-turn insulation weakness. Motor
winding insulation failures often start as turn-to-
turn failures that eventually damage the ground
wall insulation and lead to catastrophic failure.
The main claim of surge testing is that it can detect
the early stages of a problem before it becomes
severe, providing an opportunity to repair or
replace without unscheduled downtime.
Turn-to-turn insulation problems can be
definitively found with the surge test. The surge
test applies a fast rise-time, high-voltage impulse
to a winding, which produces a voltage difference
between adjacent loops of wire. If the insulation
between the two loops of wire is damaged or has
been somehow weakened through operation,
and if the voltage difference between the wires is
high enough, an arc will form between the wires.
6 ELECTRICAL TESTER - July 2019 www.megger.com
This arc shows up as a pattern change in the
surge waveform.
The surge test is performed with an impulse
generator with a display that continuously shows
the surge waveform. The surge waveform is
the voltage present across the test leads of the
instrument during the test. The indication of
a turn-to-turn fault is a rapid shift to the left or
a decrease in amplitude of the waveform. The
observed waveform is directly related to the coil’s
inductance. In effect, the coil becomes one of two
elements in a tank circuit. This circuit is a LC-type,
made up of the coil’s inductance (L) and the surge
tester’s internal capacitance (C).
The inductance (L) of a coil is determined by its
geometry (number of turns of wire) and the type
of iron core it rests in. The frequency of the wave
pattern is determined by:
This formula implies that when the inductance
decreases, the frequency increases.
A surge test detects a fault between turns by
observing a jump in the resonant frequency of
this LC tank circuit. If the voltage produced by
the surge is greater than the weakened dielectric
strength of the turn insulation, one or more turns
may be shorted out by arcing. This effectively
decreases the number of turns in the coil. Fewer
working turns reduces the inductance of the coil
and increases the frequency of the surge test
ringing pattern. The voltage or amplitude of a
surge wave pattern is determined by:
Where:
L = coil inductance
di = Delta i (instantaneous change in current)
dt = Delta T (amount of time to change)
Therefore, just as the reduction in L (due to a
faulty coil) causes a frequency change, it can also
cause an amplitude change. But this assumes di/
dt is constant, which is not usually the case in a
modern surge test. Typically, when we see the
small breakdowns that are useful for predictive
maintenance, the amplitude of the surge remains
the same, and only the frequency shifts. The surge
tester has enough energy to keep the voltage the
same into the slightly smaller L caused by the
breakdown.
Evolution of the Surge Test
Surge testing of motor coils has been an industry
practice since 1926, when J.L. Rylander published
“A High Frequency Voltage Test for Insulation of
Rotating Electrical Apparatus” in Transactions
of the AIEE. In 1926, an indication of a turn-to-
turn insulation failure was a drop of coil voltage
amplitude. This amplitude was determined by a
vacuum tube rectifier circuit using an apparatus
the size of a large workbench with rotating spark
gaps for switches and large step-up transformers
to charge large high-voltage capacitors. As
time wore on, there was a need for a compact,
portable machine that would produce a high
voltage at relatively low currents. At this time,
surge technology was not new; however, the
machines used for transformer testing were
expensive and cumbersome. To meet a growing
need for testing, the surge comparison tester was
developed. This compared the wave shape of two
or more identical windings against a known good
winding. This comparison made it possible to
study insulation faults as well as find them.
In the 1950s, the surge comparison test was
still considered fairly new. It was very useful
Testing insulation with a surge comparator (Westinghouse article, July 1951)
ELECTRICAL
TESTER
for finding insulation faults, and it opened up
numerous possibilities for improving insulation
testing equipment as well as insulating methods.
Even in these early days of surge testing, the
benign nature of the test was stated in an article
written by D.J. Reynolds, R.J. Alke, and L.W.
Buchanan of Westinghouse: “Because the energy
of the surge is extremely limited, the current
through the faulty insulation is so small that no
severe burning occurs at the point of weakness.”
With the amount of testing and information
gathering that Westinghouse was doing, one
would think that they would not make this
statement lightly.
There have been many advances in high-voltage
testing since the 1980s. Broad markets and
technology developments in the electronics
industry have helped manufacturers of motor
testing equipment make great strides in
modernization, reliability, and tester sensitivity.
Today’s high-voltage testers use advanced
high-speed electronic evaluation of changes in
resistance, leakage current, leakage current versus
time, voltage, step voltage, dielectric absorption,
frequency response, wave shape, corona inception

The industry’s recognised information tool
– Cooling the debate
voltage (CIV) and more, to detect faults at or
below the levels of energy the motor is exposed to
during operation.
Microprocessor-controlled instantaneous trips
allow winding conditions to be evaluated
without compromising dielectric integrity. The
addition of field-developed PASS/FAIL test
criteria makes this type of testing extremely
repeatable. One of the major advances is the
replacement of heavy step-up transformers
with compact and much lighter solid-state,
high-voltage power supplies, leading to great
improvements in equipment portability. Test
equipment that once tipped the scale at more than
500 kg now normally weighs less than 25 kg.
Work safer on medium voltage systems
Damon Mount - UK Power Sales Manager
When you work on medium voltage
switchgear, your first and overriding priority
will always be to maximise safety. But what
can you do to protect yourself against hidden
hazards that are not readily apparent? Damon
Mount of Megger looks into this issue and
offers some useful suggestions.
If you’re professionally involved with MV
switchgear, you’ll know that there are many ways
in which it can fail. You’ll also know that the most
common is insulation breakdown, and that the
results can be catastrophic. Even a modest fault
in an MV installation releases enough energy to
wreck equipment and, if the circumstances are
truly unfortunate, to kill. Which means that, when
you’re working with or even near MV equipment
you want to be as sure as you possibly can be that
such a fault is not likely to occur.
Unfortunately, equipment that’s about to fail rarely
gives you an advance warning. Or does it? In fact,
insulation breakdowns are very often preceded by
partial discharge (PD) events. If you can detect and
monitor these events, you will, therefore, have a
strong indication of equipment and cables that
may soon fail. You can then investigate further
and, if necessary, take the equipment out of
service before a really serious problem develops.
At the very least, you’ll know that it’s a good idea
to keep your distance from the suspect equipment
if you want to stay safe. That’s reason enough for
owners and operators of MV systems to insist
that PD checks are ALWAYS carried out on their
equipment before any work takes place on or
near it.
That’s all very well, but how do you carry out
these surveys? Equipment to detect PD is nothing
new but, for the most part, it has been designed
not only to detect PD but also to investigate and
characterise it. That’s excellent in its place, but
the consequence of all this functionality is that
the equipment requires skill to operate and to
correctly interpret the results. Also, if you invest
in this equipment, it will undoubtedly serve you
well in demanding applications, but if you only
intend to use it for MV switchgear surveys, you’ll
be paying for a lot of features you’ll never use.
What you really need is a compact instrument
– ideally handheld – that is very easy to use
and that provides clear, unambiguous go/no-go
results. You’ll need an instrument that works in
7 ELECTRICAL TESTER - July 2019 www.megger.com
The old surge comparison test, where two
windings are compared to a known good
“master” winding, has been modernized. Now
every surge pulse is digitized and compared to the
previously applied pulse. This type of comparison
was impossible without computer-analyzed
waveforms. If any weakness is detected, the
test is instantaneously stopped, preserving the
dielectric integrity. This gives the test the ability to
find micro-faults without human interpretation,
and provides a higher level of repeatability.
Weaknesses are recorded and stored in a
memory bank or database for future reference
and further evaluation.
Even with these advances, critics still feel that
the surge test can only be safely done at a motor
a live environment, so that you don’t need to
take equipment out of service to carry out your
surveys. You won’t, however, need sophisticated
functionality – you can always bring in other
equipment when you want to investigate potential
problems more fully – but you will need versatility,
so that you can deploy the widest possible range
of PD detection techniques. A PD detector can
offer the versatility you need by employing
multiple sensors – both internal and external – so
let’s take a look at some of the possibilities.
You will find an internal acoustic sensor –
essentially a microphone that listens for the
characteristic noise produced by partial discharges
– is a good choice for PD testing on air-insulated
MV switchgear and equipment that’s in direct line
of sight. If you need more flexibility in where you
can place the sensor, you can achieve this by using
an external acoustic sensor that connects to the
detector via a cable.
For fully enclosed switchgear, you’ll want a contact
probe that is sensitive to vibrations produced by
partial discharge, while for switchgear where the
components are not visually accessible – mostly
vacuum and GIS equipment – an internal TEV
(transient earth voltage) sensor will pick up RF
radiation from the PD via the switchgear’s metallic
enclosure. An external TEV sensor performs a
similar function but will also help you to localise
the PD source.
If you have a PD detector that allows you to connect
an HFCT (high-frequency current transformer)
sensor, this will usefully extend its functionality to
include simple on-line PD surveying of MV cables.
Finally, a parabolic acoustic sensor will let you
carry out outdoor surveys to detect, for example,
corona and surface discharge in terminations, CTs,
PTs and isolators.
Let’s remember now that if you’re going to be
routinely carrying out quick pre-work safety
surveys, your PD detector must be fast and
easy to use, so what should you need to do to
configure it appropriately for the type of sensor in
use? The answer is nothing! The detector should
automatically set itself up for the type of internal
sensor you select, or for the type of external
sensor you plug in. This not only saves you time
and trouble, but also makes it near impossible
for you to make mistakes that might produce
misleading results.
And what about those results? You may have
heard – or even know from your own experience
– that PD results can sometimes require skill and
repair facility, and even then some don’t want
it done at all. So why would you do it? What
is the essential benefit of surge testing electric
motors? The surge test is the most efficient way
to find turn insulation weaknesses. For those
who manufacture or rewind motors, being able
to manufacture coils free of insulation defects is
paramount to reliability. Therefore the surge test
is used universally in the manufacture of coils for
both small and large motors.
For motors in service, the dielectric strength of
the turn insulation slowly decreases with time
as the insulation ages. Some factors causing
the insulation to age include thermal cycling,
vibration, abrasion due to mechanical movement
experience to interpret. But you don’t need that
level of detail for a safety survey. So how about an
instrument that provides you with “traffic light”
results? Green for all is OK, amber for caution –
consider investigating further, and red for danger
– further investigation definitely needed.
Of course, as you gain experience, you may well
want to be able to alter the thresholds for amber
and red indications to suit your own specific
requirements, and you’ll almost definitely want a
little more detail in the results so you can record
and trend them. A phase-pattern PD display
option will also be useful, as it provides a very
useful way to distinguish between true partial
discharge effects and random noise.
Hopefully by now you’re convinced of the
benefits of routinely carrying out PD surveys on
MV equipment, especially before you start work
on or near it, and so you’ll be interested to know
that a PD survey instrument that meets all of the
requirements we’ve discussed has recently been
introduced to the market. This is the new PD Scan
from Megger.
In fact, this innovative device does rather more.
It includes, for example, a camera that allows
photographs to be easily attached to test reports,
ELECTRICAL
TESTER
of coils, chemical attack, partial discharge,
exposure to damaging transients, exposure to
radiation and variable frequency drive operation.
For operators of electric motors, confidence
that a motor’s insulation is sound is necessary
to maintain a productive and profitable process.
Properly performing a surge test to verify insulation
integrity is the easiest and fastest way to confirm
motor viability.
The second part of this article, which will
appear in a future edition of Electrical Tester,
will look at how to perform surge tests
properly, how motors fail, and the benefits
that modern surge testing techniques
can provide.
and which can also be used to read QR codes
to identify equipment and documentation. It
has a humidity and temperature sensor so that
you can easily add these key parameters to your
data, and there’s provision for you to download
your results easily into a PC and quickly generate
comprehensive reports.
For all of its versatility and functionality, this
instrument is as simple to use as a smartphone.
It has just three buttons, and a large colour
touchscreen that is intuitive in use and shows only
those options you need to deal with the current
operation, rather than forcing you to plough
through a rat’s nest of complicated menus.
Every one of us in the electrical sector is constantly
aware of the need for safe working, which is
why many safety precautions are “baked” into
our routines: locking out circuits under test, for
example, and grounding equipment that’s being
worked on. Now the easy-to-use equipment
discussed in this article provides us with the
opportunity to adopt another safety routine: that
of carrying out PD surveys before working on MV
equipment. The process is fast, easy and non-
disruptive; the results can save not just money,
but lives.
 ELECTRICAL
The industry’s recognised information tool TESTER

Maximising Asset Reliability

Mark Meyer - Product Manager, PowerDB
Brad Perry - National Sales Manager, PowerDB
Regular maintenance on a fixed schedule is the
key to ensuring that assets operate reliably. At
least that’s the traditional view and it’s a view
that might have been justified in the days when
the true condition of many types of assets could
only be determined by dismantling them. But
in today’s world, the shortcomings of regular
maintenance carried out at fixed intervals are too
great to ignore, especially as modern technology
makes possible a much more efficient and cost-
effective approach.
But what are the shortcomings of fixed-interval
maintenance? The biggest is unnecessary
expenditure – maintenance work is carried out on
the asset whether it’s needed or not, and in many
cases it’s not needed, because the maintenance
intervals have to be set based on worst-case
scenarios. Unnecessary costs escalate further if
the maintenance program includes automatic
replacements of assets that have reached the end
of their nominal service lives, as many of these will
be perfectly capable of giving further service.
the end of their useful service lives, whether or
not this coincides with the end of their nominal
service lives. As well as the type of asset under
consideration, the formulation of the testing
program will take into account the criticality of
the asset, the criticality of its function, and its
operating conditions. Critical assets operating in
severe conditions will, for example, be scheduled
for the most frequent testing.
This approach to maximising asset reliability clearly
has a lot to recommend it but there are challenges
to its implementation. Many of these relate to
the data produced by regular testing. First of all,
there’s a lot of it, especially in a large organisation
like a power utility, so just collecting, recording
and storing it can be problematic. Then there’s
the needle-in-the-haystack effect: when a large
amount of test data is available, it’s very difficult
to spot the occasional unexpected result that may
well be indicative of a problem. Analysing and
reporting on the mountain of data and providing
easy access to specific sets of data when they’re
needed – for example, when comparing a new
result with historic results for the same asset – are
other challenges.
The capabilities of PowerDB, however, go far
beyond simply collecting, organising and storing
data, although these are the central elements
of its functionality. Three key requirements
for an effective program of regular testing are
scheduling, consistency and documentation.
PowerDB facilitates all of these. It supports, for
example, automatic generation of work orders
for testing based on asset maintenance periods
and features extensive job listing with powerful
filtering options for easy retrieval.
To help ensure consistency in work practices and
reports, and to provide an intuitive user interface,
PowerDB makes extensive use of forms for data
entry, data display and for producing printed
reports. An important benefit is that the data
entry screens are exactly the same as the printed
reports, which greatly simplifies interpretation
of the test results. Close to 400 predefined test
forms are provided in PowerDB covering many
types of electrical apparatus such as bushings,
batteries, cables, generators, transformers, relays
and motors.
These forms can be used as they stand, or users can
easily customise them to suit their own particular
requirements. Users can also design new forms
from scratch if they have special requirements for
which no similar form is available. No matter how
the forms are generated, their use enforces a high
degree of standardisation on the test procedure
and the recording of results, thereby achieving the
consistency that is essential if the full benefits are
to be gained from routine testing.
PowerDB can also help with scheduling and
compliance. The optional compliance view
makes it easy to monitor compliance with NERC-
mandated testing schedules or simply to track
regular testing of assets or groups of assets.
Users can create compliance categories and sub-
categories and assign these to individual assets or
groups. Powerful filtering capabilities then make
it a simple task to determine the compliance or
maintenance status of these assets or groups. The
display screen for the compliance view includes a
colour-coded calendar that provides an at-a-glance
overview of asset status. The default colours are

All of that being said, it’s also true that studies
have shown that the most frequent causes of asset
failure relate to poor or inadequate maintenance.
So what’s the solution? The answer is to replace
routine maintenance carried out at regular
intervals with maintenance carried out only when
needed and as determined by a carefully structured
program of testing. Modern test equipment and
techniques allow the condition of almost every
type of asset to be accurately assessed without
the need for dismantling or long periods out of
service, so this is a much more effective and much
less costly option.
Routine testing will form a major part of the
program, especially for assets that are already
in service, but the program will also include
acceptance testing for new assets and pre-service
tests for assets that have undergone repair. And
there will inevitably be a need from time to
time for diagnostic testing to determine the
cause of the problem when an asset is not
performing correctly.
The testing program will be designed to ensure
that, as far as possible, incipient faults are detected
before they progress to failures and that assets
are replaced when they have genuinely reached
It is with all of this in mind that Megger has
developed PowerDB, an asset and test data
management system that’s specifically designed
to make life easier for engineers and technicians
working with electrical power systems and also to
help users maximise the reliability of their assets
while minimising lifetime costs.
A key feature of this versatile software package
is that it runs on a readily available platform – a
modestly specified PC with a recent version of
Microsoft Windows is all that’s needed – and
that it can easily import data from a wide variety
of sources, including direct from many Megger
instruments, for which it provides a simple and
consistent user interface. It can also acquire data
from selected third-party test sets and import
existing test data in many popular formats, a
feature that is particularly useful for adding
historical data. Data can also be entered manually.
Once captured by PowerDB, test data is stored in a
database, and the databases from multiple devices
running PowerDB can be synchronised into a
single central database for added security and to
ensure wider accessibility. It is even possible to
merge data imports from other sources – such as
external databases – to aid analysis and trending.

8 ELECTRICAL TESTER - July 2019 www.megger.com

 ELECTRICAL
The industry’s recognised information tool TESTER

green for compliant, yellow for a warning period
and red for non-compliant.
Another PowerDB option is an alert notification
system, or alert manager, will automatically send
email or text messages to pre-defined recipients
when any time or activity threshold has been
reached, based on the information held in the
master database. This facility can be used, for
example, to produce a reminder when an asset is
becoming due for maintenance. The alert manager
can also be configured to create notifications for
database entries that reveal deficiencies, invalid
compliance status, out-of-limit test values and any
other situation that can be determined from the
data held in the database.
Versatile data trending and analysis functions are
further key features of PowerDB. Trending can be
performed on the fly while tests are being carried
out. This offers a convenient and efficient way of
comparing new readings with historical values
and with results from similar assets. Statistical
information is produced which aids the evaluation
of test results and, therefore, assessment of the
condition of the asset under test.
A wide range of analytical functions are available
for processing test results. These include the
generation of an asset ‘health index’ based on
information acquired from multiple tests, and
failure studies that can provide revealing insights
into the failure rates for a population of assets.
The intuitive PowerDB data query tool can be used
to extract data from the database and present it
in a format that is optimised for use in further
studies or for processing by third-party diagnostic
software.
PowerDB can be configured to pass data to
other computerised maintenance management
systems (CMMSs) and to generate comprehensive
documentation including, for example, cover
pages, table of contents, comment and deficiency
summaries, test forms populated with test results
and field service reports. This documentation,
which can be printed or saved in the form of
Adobe Acrobat pdf files for easy electronic storage
and transmission, is an exceptionally useful aid for
planning future activities and schedules.
Even though it offers wide-ranging functionality,
PowerDB is intuitive in operation and easy to use.
As has already been mentioned, it uses exactly the
same forms for data capture and for producing
reports, and there is a high level of uniformity
across different applications.
The simplicity and convenience of the standard
user interface can be further enhanced with the
optional dashboard add-on, which is a web-based
portal that gives access to the data in the master
database. The dashboard can be viewed using
almost any standard internet browser running
on a PC, a tablet or even a smartphone and it
opens with a summary view of activities, including
statistics about data entry and usage. Users can
then search and review entries in the database,
which are presented in forms which are identical
with those used elsewhere in the program.
Carefully planned testing is undoubtedly the surest
route to maximising asset reliability, but it is only
effective if the tests are carried out on schedule
using prescribed procedures, and the results are
properly organised, stored, analysed and reported.
These requirements might seem onerous, but
PowerDB, a powerful software package designed
specifically to meet the needs of the electrical
power sector, provides a complete and cost-
effective solution. To put it in a nutshell, a modest
investment in software unlocks big gains in asset
reliability which, in turn, means money saved and
disruption eliminated.

RADAR – IN 1904!
Keith Wilson - Electrical Engineer
Most engineers and many non-engineers will have at
least a vague idea about the beginnings of radar. It was
invented in Britain during the Second World War, wasn’t
it? And didn’t it help the Allies to win the war? The name
Watson-Watt may even come to mind as one of the
leading pioneers. Well, all of this is true but it’s not quite
the full story. In fact, the course of history could have
been very different because a form of radar was invented
and demonstrated in Germany in 1904!
The fascinating story is fully told in an article written by
V J Phillips and published in the July 1978 issue of the
British magazine, Wireless World. This article is, in turn,
based on an item published in The Electrical Magazine
(London) in 1904.
The inventor was Christian Hülsmeyer of Düsseldorf,
and he called his invention the Telemobiloscope. The
Electrical Magazine notes that he demonstrated his
apparatus to North German Lloyd (a major maritime
insurer), before going on to say:
“The new invention is based on the principles of wireless
telegraphy and is intended for viewing ships and
metallic objects at sea. [No aircraft in 1904, of course!]
In wireless telegraphy, the transmitter and receiver are
used separately on different ships, but both are on the
same ship with the Telemobiloscope. The electric waves,
not being able to reach directly the receiver, must be
reflected by metallic objects on the sea (that is ships) so
as to reach the receiver on a broken path. The advantage
afforded by this invention is mainly that ships fitted with
the transmitter and receiver will be able to view any
other ship devoid of these apparatus.” That’s a pretty
reasonable description of how radar works, isn’t it?
It seems incredible that this system could be made
to work given the technology available in 1904 – the
Telemobiloscope used a spark transmitter (essentially an
electric arc connected to an aerial) and a coherer receiver.
A coherer is a glass tube with metal filings loosely
contained between two metal plugs. Normally, the
electrical resistance between the plugs is high, but if the
device is exposed to RF energy (radio waves) the metal
filings stick together (cohere) and the resistance falls
to a much lower value. The device must then be reset
by tapping it to disturb the filings so that it is ready to
respond to the next burst of radio waves.
Unfortunately, this means that coherers are inherently
sensitive to mechanical vibration so, as V J Phillips notes
in his article, they were far from ideal for use on board a
ship! Conversely, they were very insensitive to RF, so a lot
of reflected energy from the “radar” target would have
been needed to get any response at all.
Given these limitations, did the system actually work? It
seems so, because The Electrical Magazine concludes
its piece by saying, “Experiments made so far on small
instruments designed for shorter distances [probably
less than a kilometre in this context] have given every
satisfaction.” British patent 13,170 was granted in 1904
for the original apparatus, and British patent 25,608
later in the same year for “certain improvements.”
Fortunately for the Allies in the Second World War, the
Telemobiloscope appears to have received little further
attention, most probably because of the limitations of
the technology used. That left the field clear for Watson-
Watt and his team to develop the first practical radar
system, which had such an enormous influence on the
course of the war. But, as we’ve seen, it could so easily These two diagrams are taken from the patent application. The top one shows
have been the Germans, not the Allies, who had the the general principle, and the bottom one (presumably!) shows the arrangement
advantage of radar in that conflict. of the apparatus.”

9 ELECTRICAL TESTER - July 2019 www.megger.com

 ELECTRICAL
The industry’s recognised information tool TESTER

Q&A
Winding resistance tests are used to assess the condition of the current carrying path between transformer bushing
terminals. Experts recommend that this test is carried out routinely as, arguably, it can reveal more incipient failure
modes than most other tests. Problems such as loose, defective or incorrect connections; open, partially-open (i.e.,
broken strands); short-circuited turns in windings; or high contact resistance in tap changers will result in a change
in resistance, and therefore be indicated by an unexpectedly high, low (for short-circuits) or unstable resistance
measurement. Here are some of the questions the Megger helpline frequently receives about this invaluable test.

Q: Some more experienced colleagues
have told me that we have only
recently started performing routine
winding resistance tests because of
the dangers involved. Can you explain
these dangers and suggest how they
can be mitigated?
A: A transformer winding is an inductor and, if
an inductor is suddenly open-circuited while dc
current is flowing through it, it will try to oppose
the change in current by developing a high voltage.
The voltage is given by V = IR + Ldi/dt, where I
is the dc test current, R is the resistance of the
winding, L is the inductance of the winding, and
di/dt is the rate of change of current. If a test lead
falls off or is pulled off a bushing terminal during
the test, a dangerously high voltage will develop.
For example, if the winding has an inductance
of 100 H, the test current is 25 A and di/dt =
25/0.1 (that is, the time taken for the test lead
to disconnect and the current to fall from 25 A to
0 A is 0.1 s), the voltage developed will be more
than 25,000 V! In addition, when dc test current
is injected into a winding for the duration of a
winding resistance test, a lot of energy is stored
in a transformer’s magnetic field. This energy
has to be dissipated before leads can be safely
disconnected, which can take several minutes for
a large transformer. To safeguard personnel, the
asset under test, and the test instrument, Megger
winding resistance test instruments are equipped
with multiple safety features. These include:
„„ A safety circuit that provides an “escape
path” for energy dissipation. (This uses
current and potential leads to provide an
alternate discharge path if leads are accidently
disconnected)
„„ Protection/automatic discharge when input
power is lost or when the test current is
accidentally changed before discharging the
existing test current.
„„ A test current indicator that remains
functional even when instrument power is lost
„„ An emergency off switch
Q: How can I be sure that my
winding resistance test results are
representative?
A: Make sure that the voltage (measuring) leads
are “inside” the current (source) leads – using
Kelvin clamps will remove any doubt about
test connections but you’ll still need to be sure
that the clamps make good contact with the A: It is often thought that higher test currents
bushing terminals. The transformer core must speed up the saturation of large transformers but,
be saturated to obtain representative results; in the majority of cases, this isn’t true. Voltage
if it isn’t, errors in excess of 20% are possible. determines the saturation rate of the test, as
Having an understanding of which instrument is given by: (flux) ɸ = Volts * t (seconds). Therefore,
the best to do each job is helpful. Generally, the when selecting a test instrument, compliance
test current should be greater than 1% of the voltages above 40V dc are preferred. Make sure
winding current rating but should not exceed
however, that the test current is greater than 1%
15%, as given in IEEE C57.152, to avoid heating
of the current rating of the winding under test. To
of the winding. If the test current is too high, this
improve saturation on transformer windings when
may cause an unquantifiable error as winding
charging time is slow, connecting the primary
resistance is temperature dependent. Check
and secondary windings in series may help. This
that your results compare well (within a couple
speeds up the test by providing more volt-turns
of percent) between phases and with previous
of charge. It is important, however, to ensure that
test results. Note, however, that when you make
the windings are connected so that the current
comparisons with previous results, your measured
through them produces a unidirectional flux in the
results, Rm, must be converted to temperature-
core. With this setup, the test current will flow
compensated results, Rs, to take into account the
temperature difference between the two tests. through the high voltage winding and the low
This is particularly important if the previous test voltage winding in series, while the dc voltage
results are factory measurements. drop will only be measured across the low voltage
Q: My test results are not stabilizing winding, for example. Since current will not flow
and I’m questioning whether the into the X1 bushing terminal, be aware that
transformer core is saturated. What the X1 bushing connection integrity will not be
should I do? assessed during this variation of the test.

POWERED BY… Hein Putter

Thanks to its team of extraordinary people,
Megger is able to bring to market exceptional
innovations and great products that make life
easier for everyone whose work involves electrical
measurement. One of those great people is
Hein Putter, and we’re very pleased to interview
him for the latest instalment of our “Powered
by …” series.
Hello Hein! Please tell us a little about what
you do at Megger.
I’m Product Manager for Megger’s German site,
which means I’m responsible for the test and
diagnostic equipment that the company develops
and manufactures in Germany.
What is the thing you most enjoy about
your job?
Well, being a product manager is not the world’s
easiest job. You’re “in the middle” between all
departments and, if something goes wrong, you’re
the one who gets the blame! You need to have
broad shoulders, which I don’t, but hopefully my
height makes up for this. Being serious though,
I really enjoy being a product manager because
of the contact and discussions I have with our
customers, sales teams, R&D people and others.
The wide range of people I deal with makes my
job really interesting; every day is different, and
every day brings new challenges.
What’s been your biggest work-related
challenge to date?
Adapting to local cultures! Every country has its
own culture and when you work in a country or
even with a country it’s essential to learn about
and understand the local culture. If you don’t,
doing business, getting information and building
relationships becomes very difficult.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
As I travel a lot, I like to spend most of my spare
time with my family in and around our home. I
have two daughters, who are one and three years
old, and love spending time with them – except
at night-time when they won’t go to sleep! They
give me a lot of energy and inspiration and, to
be honest, they give me a good excuse to be
young again and do things that adults shouldn’t
really do.
Tell us something about you that not many
people know.
Rules and regulations are everywhere, and the
Netherlands, where I was born, is no exception.
When I was doing my Master’s degree, I rented
a flat with a friend and, nine months before
we finished our studies, we were visited by
a representative of the local municipality. He
inspected our flat and, after about five minutes,
he left. We thought that was it but, a couple of
weeks later, we had a letter from the municipality
saying that we were using the flat illegally and
we must leave. Eventually we found out what the
problem was – the flat was designated for use by
families only, but not even our landlord knew. To
get around this, my friend and I had to say that
entire world. One of the first things that comes to
we were gay and the municipality even made us
mind is free vaccinations for all so that everyone
put it in writing before they would accept it and
has a chance to live a full life. And it might help
let us stay in the flat!
us to completely eradicate some diseases. Also,
If you were President of the World, what I would ban single-use plastic bags. I travel a lot
would be your first executive order? and in my travels, I see evidence that these bags
are major source of pollution everywhere in the
This is tough question, as it’s really not easy to world. We need to think about the future and
come up with something that would benefit the stop using them.

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www.megger.com
ELECTRICAL TESTER - September 2018 1
ELECTR
ICAL
TESTER
- Jan
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2018
1

10 ELECTRICAL TESTER - July 2019 www.megger.com

 ELECTRICAL
The industry’s recognised information tool TESTER
A guide for configuration & Testing of Blocking
logic in Bus Bar protection IEDs
Dr K N Dinesh Babu - Application Manager
Power System Protection Megger

CT ISSUES AND BB BLOCKING LOGICS

The CT trouble logic in bus bar protection relay

is used to identify the flow of differential current
in the IED due to errors in the secondary system
and not a bus fault. The IED can discriminate
a bus bar fault and a secondary system fault by
the comparison of additional security measures
like the directional principle and the bus voltage
supervision check. Check zone cannot identify this
issue unless it is using a separate CT or a different
core from the same CT. Even different core of
the same CT may not meet the requirement since
open CT conditions affect the CT itself and it does
not reproduce the primary current properly.
Based on the above verification measures, the CT
trouble function is detected on failure of a CT and
differential is blocked. However in case of a real
bus bar fault followed by the CT trouble; the relay
will not trip, since the CT trouble functionality
is blocking its operation. In IEDs, this issue may
be handled by implementing the logic shown in
Fig.1. In case of a CT trouble, the IED verifies the
healthiness of the bus bar voltage and bus bar
protection is blocked only during voltage healthy
conditions. When there is a bus fault following
a CT trouble, the bus voltage collapses and the
blocking command is unblocked dynamically,
thereby executing a tripping command
successfully as desired. In installations where bus
PT is not available, or in situations when the PT
fuse fails, a ‘NOR’ logic of ‘instantaneous over
current (IOC) is used as a backup as shown.
During a healthy (no fault) scenario, the current in
all the IOC elements will be below the threshold
settings which will ensure that the second input
of the second ‘AND’ gate is high, thus permitting
a block during CT trouble conditions. The CT
circuitry issues will increase the differential
current but not the IOC element. Any of the IOC
elements will pick up during a fault which in turn
blocks the CT trouble element, thus permitting a
tripping. In this manner, the blocking operand
will block bus bar protection.
In certain situation, it has also been observed that
during a rare scenario of battery failure during
maintenance activity, the blocking logic fails to
block bus bar resulting in an unwanted tripping.
This issue is address using a logic which is detailed
below.
Fig. 1. Zone 1 block logic – DC changeover security
ADDITIONAL SECURITY FOR BATTERY
FAILURE DURING MAINTENANCE
During maintenance of any bus, the differential
protection will be blocked using a switch. Let
us assume that some activities are being carried
out using CT secondary shorting mechanism
and PT fuse removal such that, the IED measures
a differential current during healthy condition
which results in picks up in check zone. If the
bus bar is having very less no of bays in service
(say 2 or 3), there are more chances that the main
zone directional principle is also satisfied. In this
situation, the block input is the only source that
is holding the bus bar from tripping. During this
condition, if there is a disturbance or a fault in
the DC source, the DC changeover switch, will
switch the DC from source 1 to source 2. The
switching time may be less than 10 ms, however
during this period, the block input will be low and
as the other conditions for tripping are already
satisfied, it would result in bus bar tripping. To
prevent this kind of scenario, a drop out timer
as shown in Fig.1 is included in the block logic.
This time should be adjusted to twice that of
the DC changeover time thereby assuring that
the input will be latched for a duration when
the DC switching is completed. The relay will
still be powered ON during this changeover as
it normally takes more than 100ms to switch off
due to the use of capacitors in the power supply.
Alternatively, this issue can be handled by utilizing
a non-volatile latch with dual inputs from the cut-
off switch. The latch will be reset only when the
reset input is high by the change in state of the
switch.
During DC failure scenarios as explained above,
both the inputs will be low and the latch will
maintain its previous state thus preventing such
unwarranted operation.
The above sections ensure proper tripping and
blocking of Bus Bar protection under different
scenarios. These conditions may be updated in
the testing procedure to verify the performance
of the IED operations using the State sequencer
options available in RTMS software. To reproduce
a real bus differential scenario, the need for more
number of current inputs plays a vital role and
Megger introduces the option to connect multiple
test sets in series and the software treats all the
units as a single test set with which multiple
current inputs can be simulated. Figure 2 shows
the testing of Bus bar differential relay using 18
current inputs.
The sophistication of Megger test sets to play
multiple test sets helps the user to even reproduce
a real bus fault by playing back the oscillograph
file where many current inputs would be present
in reality. The software can also playback the
digital signals and hence scenarios like local
breaker backup (LBB) can also be simulated and
verified.
K N Dinesh Babu is a
professional power
system protection
engineer in India with
extensive experience in
HV / EHV sub stations
and industries. His
work background
includes experience in working for Alstom,
ABB, GE and Megger in various roles like
testing; commissioning; design and application
engineering. A major portion of this experience
has been in the area of protective relaying with a
major focus on the application and coordination
of protective facilities on electrical power systems.
His experience includes the development of
protection philosophies, implementation of
new technologies in the field; control logic
requirements for protective systems; development
of specifications for protective relay settings; and
analysis of disturbances and faults in electric
power systems. He has also experience in training
protection engineers, field engineers and O&M
engineers on IEDs, SCADA, power system
protection and synchrophasors for major utilities
and industries in India and Abroad.
He holds a doctorate in electrical engineering and
is a DFSS certified six sigma green belt. He is a
senior member of IEEE. His areas of contribution
are electric traction, power system protection and
renewable energy utilization and have published
several articles in international journals and
conferences.

Conclusion:

The above article may provide the user to

configure the blocking logic of Bus Bar protection
to differentiate between a secondary system
fault and a real fault to act accordingly. In
addition the facility available in sophisticated
relay testing equipment would further assist the
user to test and verify the developed logic in a
proper manner ensuring proper operation of
the bus bar protection relay in accordance with
the specification of the utility and prescribed
Fig. 2. Megger Software (RTMS) used to test Bus Bar with 18 currents standards

11 ELECTRICAL TESTER - July 2019 www.megger.com

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