15-00

GENERAL REPORT FOR GROUP 15

(Materials for Electrotechnology)
by
JOACHIM T. HOLBLL*
(Preferential Subjects 1 & 2)

TREVOR R. BLACKBURN**
(Preferential Subjects 3 & 4)

INTRODUCTION

The Plenary Session of Study Committee 15 was held

in Paris on August 27, 2002. The meeting was in two
parts, with a Panel Session on Electrical Power
Systems 2020 and the regular SC15 Discussion
Session. Only the regular Discussion Session will be
reported here.
There were a total of 22 submitted papers to SC15
discussed at the Session. They covered four
Preferential Subjects which are summarized below:
i)

Diagnostic database methods to support

diagnostics,
monitoring
of
data
and
interpretation of degradation mechanisms.

ii)

Insulation failure mechanisms under service

conditions.

iii)

In-service
systems.

iv)

Material reliability evaluation for emerging new

HV technologies.

ageing

of

electrical

insulating

The session was attended by about 200 delegates and

produced a wide-ranging and lively discussion of the
Preferential Subjects and the associated questions put
forward by the Special Reporters.
There were 20 questions put forward in the Special
report and all attracted contributions at the meeting.
There were 35 prepared contributions and 10
spontaneous contributions presented at the Session.
Preferential subjects 1 and 3 attracted most discussion
as they were seen to be subjects of particular current
importance in contemporary HV electrical system
operation.

PREFERENTIAL SUBJECT 1

DIAGNOSTIC DATABASE METHODS TO

SUPPORT OFF/ON LINE DIAGNOSTICS, NEW
WAYS TO ANALYSE MONITORING DATA,
UNDERLYING
INTERPRETATION
OF
DEGRADATION
MECHANISMS,
DATA
MINING TECHNIQUES AND NEURAL NET
APPLICATIONS.
The increasing number of diagnostic methods for
condition assessment of high voltage and power
equipment and the consequently increasing amount of
information available necessitate a considerable need
for analysing and interpreting tools. This need will be
intensified by possible shifts of maintenance strategies
from the traditional periodic maintenance to condition
based maintenance. Also, corrective maintenance
usually involves analysing work for failure cause
identification, the results of which have to be stored
and form the base for later preventive measures.
The methods treated under this subject cover a large
range from simple measuring systems with somewhat
limited but reliable outcome to complex database
methods which include not only the results from
condition monitoring but also information on service
history, equipment component data, earlier experiences
and similar related information. In this way, ideas from
the well-known expert systems are linked to newer
methods such as neural networks and data mining for
risk assessment of high voltage equipment. Data
mining turns out to be a valuable diagnostic tool, the
outcome of which can come close to the often-required
traffic light summarization of diagnostic results.

________________________________________________________________________________________________
* Dept. Electric Power Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Lyngby Denmark
** School of Electrical Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052 - Australia

This risk assessment can be based on self-learning

systems where the fault and service history is currently
updated for better identification of the actual risk level
involved. At the discussion meeting it was emphasized
by several contributors that the outcome of so-called
intelligent database methods always will be based on
the underlying knowledge including as many inputs as
possible.
Most advanced diagnostic systems are presently
limited to specific components and any transformation
to other apparatus needs new programming and/or
learning procedures.
Defect identification and classification is still
considered as being essential for reliable condition
assessment. And some methods were described at the
meeting to improve the reliability of the results by
better noise reduction and by investigation of more
features as the basis for classification.
There was agreement about the need for maintenance
strategies to be closely linked to economic
considerations. Even single diagnostic monitors used
for replacement or repair decisions of a single
component might involve considerations about the
economic benefit, depending on risk or failure, the
position of the component in the grid, the voltage level
and the number of customers involved. Cost-benefit
analyses now appear to be more and more common in
connection with the use of diagnostic systems. Some
systems are able to include economic aspects such as
maintenance and outage costs and associated penalties,
which have now been introduced in several countries.
Contributions from the Netherlands showed that there
is extensive activity there within this area.
A general discussion on the application and
expectations of diagnostic systems showed a wide
variation of different needs/wishes covering the range
from no monitoring application in the case of
corrective and periodic maintenance to application of
single systems or a large number of more or less
complex systems in the case of condition-based
maintenance. However there was general agreement
that diagnostic systems always have to be considered
as primarily providing support for decision making and
initiation of further action. They should not be used as
a stand-alone system only.
3

PREFERENTIAL SUBJECT 2

INSULATION FAILURE MECHANISMS UNDER

SERVICE CONDITIONS AND INFLUENCES OF
ADJACENT SYSTEMS DUE TO REPETITIVE
SURGES FROM POWER ELECTRONICS,
OVERLOAD AND OTHER NON-STANDARD
OPERATING CONDITIONS.

Given the increasing use of hard switching power

electronic systems in adjustable speed drives, this topic
is an area of increasing concern particularly to
operators of low voltage machines
Even with the limited number of contributions to this
Preferential Subject at the meeting it was clear that
partial discharge related insulation problems do occur
in connection with surge-polluted supply voltages.
Investigations show that the number of surges have a
direct influence on the risk of PD occurrence and thus
on the possibility of final insulation breakdown at later
stages.
4

PREFERENTIAL SUBJECT 3

SERVICE
AGEING
OF
ELECTRICAL
INSULATING SYSTEMS (i.e. GAS-LIQUIDSOLID
SYSTEMS
WITH
ASSOCIATED
CONDUCTORS), INCLUDING:
- FAILURE MECHANISMS
- METHODOLOGIES AND MODELLING
TO IMPROVE RELIABILITY AND
PREDICTION
OF
FUTURE
PERFORMANCE
- CONDITION AND RISK ASSESSMENT
The move of utilities towards a drastic reduction of
routine maintenance and testing of operating
equipment has necessarily focussed attention on the
development of new techniques of on-line condition
monitoring. There is also increased attention being
given to the application of new and existing monitoring
methods to the determination of service-ageing of
equipment using on-line monitoring and existing
methods of ageing determination. Such detailed
assessment of ageing necessitates correlation of many
factors, including detailed investigations of failure
causes, laboratory ageing determinations, detailed risk
assessment of equipment and accessories. This should
then allow the determination of techniques which will
combine information on failure mechanisms,
laboratory tests and risk analysis to provide reliable
indication of the condition of in-service electrical
equipment.
Five of the session papers related to service ageing or
laboratory ageing of a variety of insulation types,
including GIS/GIL, paper-oil and outdoor composite
polymer insulators. This aspect generated the majority
of the discussion in this Preferential Subject area.
Another paper examined the effect of space charge in
XLPE insulation with AC excitation and also the effect
of operating temperature on the insulation service life
when the space charge is present. The seventh paper
outlined a proposed methodology aimed at the
evaluation of ageing of insulation by detailed forensic
analysis of failed and service aged insulation. Both of

the latter papers generated some prepared and

spontaneous contributions.
The general outcome of the discussions on the
insulation ageing indicated that the prognosis for
determining ageing behaviour and for monitoring of
ageing in many of the insulation systems was good.
In the case of SF6 and SF6-N2 gas mixture insulation
systems, there are unlikely to be any problems with
long-term degradation if the manufacturing and
installation procedures are done properly. Long-term
laboratory tests and the general experience of operation
has shown that there are unlikely to be any long-term
ageing problems of GIS and GIL systems, even with
the solid spacer materials. It was noted that SF6-N2 gas
mixtures have been used in GIS for some time in arctic
regions where pure SF6 is not able to be used because
of liquefaction problems at very low temperatures.
There have been no ageing problems detected in the
operation of such systems. The major problems of both
types of insulation are free particles and fixed
protrusions and applications of standard diagnostic
techniques for pure SF6 GIS have been found to be
applicable and adequate to SF6-N2 mixtures. There is
even the possibility of enhanced PD detection
sensitivity for gas mixture systems, as it was noted in
the discussions that the ionisation coefficient will be
higher in gas mixtures than in pure SF6, so that more
lower level discharges may result from the same
particle.
The discussion relating to outdoor composite insulator
degradation provided very interesting comment to the
effect that the insulator surface damage and loss of
hydrophobicity on silicone rubber insulators was found
to be strongly dependent on the electric stress level at
the surface of the insulator. Surface damage on SiR
insulators was found to start at a critical electrical
stress level and it was recommended that the design
keep the electric stress below this level. It was also
noted that the use of guard rings to control the surface
stress was found to be necessary to limit damage and
hence loss of hydrophobicity.
A corollary to this result was that it cannot always be
assumed that SiR insulators in clean areas will never
lose their hydrophobicity. It was also noted by another
discussion contribution that loss of hydrophobicity due
to wind-borne sand particles was the result of
adherence of small particles to the surface. These
particles promote surface damage and loss of
hydrophobicity by virtue of their effect on the stress.
To prevent such damage it was recommended that
insulators with higher creepage lengths be used in areas
prone to such sand blast effects. It was also stated that
loss of hydrophobicity in these cases could be reversed
by periodic cleaning of the SiR insulators with clean
water and a soft brush to remove the particles.

The question of the quantification of degradation of the

paper insulation in oil-impregnated systems elicited the
greatest discussion of any topic. The specific topic was
the question of whether furan monitoring or
measurement of the degree of polymerisation of oilimpregnated paper was the more useful diagnostic
technique to quantify deterioration.
It was agreed that there was considerable uncertainty in
the quantitative relationship between the furan level
(2Furfural) and the DP value, the relationship which is
fundamental to the use of furan levels to gauge paper
degradation. However, some quantitative relationships
that have been used by various groups were quoted.
While furans were seen as a very useful diagnostic
tool, the opinion was that DP was perhaps the more
fundamental indicator of deterioration, but there were
the problems of gaining access to paper at the hot-spot
areas where most deterioration would be expected.
One contribution to the discussion commented that a
single DP value did not give adequate information to
quantify ageing. The use of Gel Permeation
Chromatography was promoted as giving a better
ageing indicator by proving a spectrum of molecular
weight distribution of the paper. This distribution and
its change was able to be used for more sensitive
ageing determination purposes.
A contribution from National Grid outlined a method
used where plots of 2FAL vs (DP)-1 were used rather
than the usual 2FAL vs. DP. This representation used
by National Grid gives a better means of indication of
lifetime and has been used to provide a master curve
for use in ageing determinations of transformer
insulation.
It was also noted that arguably the most important
factor in the accuracy 2FAL vs. DP relationship which
is the basis of the furan method is the effect of
temperature on the distribution of the furans between
paper and oil. The Task Force 15.01.10 is currently
investigating this aspect.
With regard to the effects of ageing by space charge in
AC cables, it was commented that, although the space
charge generation was significant under AC excitation
of polymeric cables, when operated at the typical cable
stress level of 7kV/mm, the ageing effect was very
small at this level and would take many years to have a
significant effect.
It was found that the impact of increased temperature
on space charge could be beneficial in removing or
reducing the space charge level. Tests had found that
there was a favourable temperature level above which
there was an annealing effect which produced an
increase in the breakdown strength of the polymer.

Discussion on the paper covering methodologies for

ageing assessment of equipment in-service was seen to
be a valid approach to the problem. It was noted that
reliance of laboratory accelerated ageing methods may
not always provide reliable data. Such studies are
limited in their ability to replicate accurately the wide
variety of in-service conditions. It was felt that better
use of the large amounts of forensic data from
investigations of failed equipment would be beneficial
in such ageing studies. Such data was mostly only used
in a very narrow and ad hoc focus for single events
whereas it would be of considerable value if
incorporated in a wider and more general use for
ageing studies.

PREFERENTIAL SUBJECT 4

MATERIAL RELIABILITY EVALUATION FOR

EMERGING NEW HV TECHNOLOGIES, E.G.
HVDC,
HTSC,
HV
GENERATOR/TRANSFORMER.
Technology developments have presented the electrical
supply industry with a constant supply of new
materials over the years. Usually, these are just
relatively minor improvements of existing materials
and their applications, but recent years have seen a
significant development in rather more revolutionary
applications of materials compared to the more modest
development of existing material forms. This
preferential subject covered new forms of materials and
application and their reliability for high voltage
equipment applications.
There were five papers presented in this topic area.
One on modifications to SF6 GIS materials, one on
composite insulators, one on the use of polymeric
insulation for DC cable applications and two on
superconductor applications. Of these, only the
superconductor applications represent entirely new
applications. The others are examples of significant
changes of existing material applications.
The use of polymeric insulation for HVDC cables has
for long been a difficult application because of space
charge problems. However one contribution to the
discussion presented recent data on the number of such
HVDC polymer cable systems in operation and noted
that the operation of these systems gave encouraging
indications. After some 1200 km.years of operation, no
problems of any note have been encountered and the
prognosis is very good. The only requirement for such
polymeric DC cables is a very tight moisture barrier. It
was concluded that no more monitoring than usual
would be needed for such cables. However, given the
importance of temperature in electric stress in HVDC
cables, it was commented that temperature monitoring
along the whole cable route would be beneficial.

The use of composite polymers for outdoor insulators

is an area where ageing effects are less well-defined
than for ceramic materials. It was shown that for areas
of extreme industrial pollution the filler material will
be critical in determining the tracking resistance of the
insulators, but at the expense of the mechanical
strength.
The use of thin epoxy coatings to smooth the surface
and reduce the electric stress at the conductors in GIS
was found also to have a potential improvement in
ageing of the GIS by reducing the potential problems
caused by particles. The height of particle elevation is
substantially reduced by coatings and the charge
transfer is also reduced. Coating thus improved the
performance of AC systems. However the discussion
also made the point that particle motion under HVDC
in GIS is more active than in HVAC and the effect of
particles on HVDC insulation reliability in GIS is thus
more significant than for AC systems. Thus the use of
such coatings is very beneficial for HVDC GIS.
The discussion on the monitoring needs for high
temperature superconductor systems indicated that
while reliability would be high, the insulation problem
would be primarily dielectric breakdown and that the
main monitor needed would be PD inception
measurements. Nitrogen bubbles will occur in HTS and
may thus be the source of PDs. It was also noted that
thermal shock due to quenching was always a
possibility in HTS systems and that very rapid
detection of quench would be needed in operating HTS
systems. The point was also made that because of the
nature of HTS systems, access for monitoring systems
was necessarily very limited.
6

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

The discussion at the SC15 session indicated that the

topics of ageing and condition monitoring are still
areas of very major importance in HV electrical
systems. It was apparent from both the Session papers
and the submitted and spontaneous contributions that
there are significant developments in these areas.
The use of database methods for aiding the analysis
and interpretation of diagnostic data is providing a
means of extracting full value from monitored data in
the areas of ageing and trend analysis of equipment
condition. In the area of ageing quantification, there is
also evidence of significant progress towards a better
understanding of ageing processes, with a welcome
trend towards the use of in-service derived data to
supplement laboratory ageing tests. The discussion in
the emerging technology area indicated that HTS
systems will be an area of great activity and would
present new problems in developing monitoring
systems and in insulation ageing determination.