The Research and Application of Parallel Resonance In the Partial

Discharge test of the 800kV Converter Transformer

Yang Zai-bao, Shi Dong-wei, Ma Hua-hui

Shandong Electrical Engineering & Equipment Group Co.,Ltd,Jinan, China,yang16897188@163.com

ABSTRACT:

The converter transformer which is related to the safe operation of the entire power grid project
running efficiently is the key equipment HVDC transmission project, and it is the core equipment in the
AC-DC transmission system. The partial discharge test of the converter transformer should be carried
out before a major transition in order to prevent and detect the insulation inside. Based on the 800kV
converter transformer valve side entrance capacitance derived to calculate partial discharge
compensation reactance, and use of existing equipment for the test conducted one hour long induced
voltage test, obtain and analyze test data to explain the use of the parallel resonance principle
advantages of partial discharge test.

KEY WORD: Partial Discharge, Parallel resonant, Entrance capacitance, Reactance compensation,
Frequency Power

1.Introduction
Since the first HVDC transmission project which in Sweden Gothic put into operation in the world in
1954,the HVDC transmission technology has already obtained the development at all speed. HVDC
has been widely used all over the world as an important supplement of HVAC transmission technology.
It has many own advantages, such as long distance transmission, low cost, and so on. Though the
HVDC transmission technology is started lately in China, it is developing very quickly and it has
reached the leading level of the world[1]. The 800 kV UHVDC transmission project of Xiangjiaba -
Shanghai which is the independent research and development, design and construction by China in
2009 is the most advanced technological DC transmission project in the word. Its successful operation
marked that China has solved this universal problem in the field of UHVDC and UHVAC[1-2].
As the main equipment in the converter station, the converter transformers operation is of the
most important to the reliability of DC transmission. Before the hand-over test of transformers partial
discharge (PD) test must be carried out according to the requirements of The Precautionary Test For
the Electric Equipments. The PD test of the converter transformer is very important, because inside of
the converter transformer will be under AC and DC voltage. Generator cant meet the requirements of
the PD test, because of the converter transformer with large capacity. But frequency-converting power
and the parallel resonant are without the restriction. The advantages of the parallel resonant system are
small capacity power, low distortion, strong over loading resistance, high reliability, small size, and so
on. So this method is now paid more attention to in the field of high voltage test.
2.The principle of parallel resonant
The parallel resonant called current resonance also, see Fig.1.In the circuit, it is composed of
resistance and inductance, which is paralleled with capacitance. For capacitance, the circuit is the
resistance circuit when the phase of voltage and current at the same phase, and the branch current is
greater than the loop current. So the voltage of the capacitance will be very high.

I1cos1
I1
R I

U I1 I2
I2
L
I1sin1-I2
I1sin1

Fig.1 The schematic of parallel resonant Fig.2 Current diagram

Lets analysis the current relationship in RLC circuit from the Fig.2.The current I1 of RL is
composed of real and reactive current. I1cos1 is the real part, and I1sin1 is the reactive part. The
current I2 is a reactive current. The loop current is composed of I1 and I2 .
In the branch of RL, we can get current I1 according to the Ohms Law.

I1
U

U .....................................1
Z1 R 2
X
2
L

XL .................................................2
1 arctan
R
We can get current I2 in the same way.
U U
I2 j CU .....................................3
Z2 XC
The current I can be got in the loop circuit form (1) and (3).

I ( I1 cos 1 ) 2 ( I1 sin 1 I 2 ) 2 .............................4

I 1 sin 1 I 2 ......................................5
arctan
I 1 cos 1
From the formulas (4), we know that if I1sin1=I2,=0.We can get from (1),(2),(3).
1 R2 ..................................................6
2
LC L

Because 1 R 2 , so we can get the and f when parallel resonant occurs.

LC L2

1
0 LC ............................................7
1
f0
2 LC

3.The application in the PD test of the 800kV Converter Transformer

Take the 800kV converter transformer for example, let me introduce the application in the PD
test with the parallel resonant system. And then I will show you the test method from scheme making,
capacitance calculation of the transformer and scheme implementing.
3.1 Test scheme
The transformer partial discharge test generally related to the method of induction voltage, and the
voltage of the winding is higher than the working voltage. Test frequency must be higher than the rated
frequency because of core over excitation. If the test frequency is lower than 100Hz, the value of the
exciting current will be very big and the core overexcitation will be presented. The exciting current will
be decreasing with the increasing of the test frequency, but the decreasing is not unlimited. If the test
frequency is too high, the capacitive current will be doubied and redoubled, and this is not what we
want. So the test frequency is advisable in 150 ~ 200 Hz according to the experience[3-4].
We can consider the transformer as a capacitance when the PD test. According to the principle of
parallel resonant, the capacitance of the transformer and compensation reactor must be calculated.
From the formulas (7), we adjust the test frequency of the converter transformer. The wiring diagram of
the PD test in 800kV converter transformer, see Fig.3.The PD test system is composed dry-type
transformer, the converter transformer, excitation transformer and the compensation reactor. We choose
the appropriate tap when the PD test.

T1 T2 H V FP T3 Sam ple

9H
L
9H

T1:Dry-type transformer;T2:Dry-type transformer; HVFP :The converter transformer;T3:Excitation transformer;

L: Compensation reactor; Sample: 800kV converter transformer
Fig.3 The wiring diagram of the PD test in 800kV converter transformer
According to IEC 60076-3:2000,the background noise level shall not exceed 100pC,and time
sequence for the application of test voltage with respect to earth see Fig.4.For the PD test of 800kV
converter transformer, we applied voltage no more than 1/3U2 at the beginning. Keep 5min, when the
voltage reached 1.1Um/3, and keep 5min at U2.The time should be no less than 15s when the voltage
reached U1.Then lower the voltage to U2 and keep 60min. Keep 5min at 1.1Um/3, and 1/3U2 at last.
There is no relationship between test time and frequency except U1.
C

B D

A
E
U1
U2 U2
1.1Um/ 1.1Um/
<1/3U 2
1/3U 2 3 3

A=5min;B=5min;C=test time; D=60min for Um300kV or 30min for Um300kVE=5min

Fig.4 Time sequence for the application of test voltage with respect to earth
The test is considered to be successful if it meet the following condition[5]:
(1)There is no collapse of the voltage occurs;
(2)The continuous level of PD does not excess 500pC during the long duration test at U2;
(3)The continuous level of apparent charge does not excess 100pC at 1.1Um/3.
3.2 Capacitance calculation of the transformer
The capacitance of the transformer change with way of applied voltage. The real capacitance is
equal to the geometric capacitance multiply by convert coefficient. The geometric capacitance can be
got by drawings. The real capacitance of the transformer decided the test scheme.

Fig.5 Energy integral method

The real capacitance is derived by the energy integral method in this paper[6-7], see Fig.5.
U1 U1' U U2'
U ( x ) U 1 ( x ) U 2 ( x ) x U 1 ' ( 2 x U 2 ')
h h ........................(7)
(U 1 U 2 ) (U 1 'U 2 ' )
x (U 1 'U 2 ' )
h

U1 U 2 U U
U U2 U A ( 1 2 )U A ( pu 1 pu 2 )U A pU A
If 1 UA UA UA
U 'U 2 ' U ' U ' ,
U 1 'U 2 ' 1 U A ( 1 2 )U A ( pu 1 ' pu 2 ' )U A p ' U A
UA UA UA

then p p' .............................................(8)

U (x) ( x p ' )U A
h
In the formula (8):
pu: Per-unit value;
UA : The rated voltage;
pu1: The per-unit value at the top of outside coil;
pu2: The per-unit value at the top of inside coil;
pu1': The per-unit value at the bottom of outside;
pu2': The per-unit value at the bottom of inside.
p: The difference between the top coils;
p': The difference between the bottom coils;
The power of the capacitance is:
p p' C
P ( x) ( x p ' ) 2 UA 2 ( ) x
h h
p p' C
And dP ( x ) ( x p ' ) 2 UA 2 ( ) dx ...................................(9)
h h
We can integrating the formula (9):
 h
(p - p' ) 2 2 2 ( p p ' ) p ' C
P [ x x p ' 2 ] * UA 2 ( )dx
0
h2 h h
( p p' )2 x3 h
( p p' ) p' x 2
h
x
h

p '2 * UA 2 C .............................(10)
3h 3 h2 h 0
0 0
( p p' )2
( p p ' ) p ' p ' 2 ) * UA 2 C
3
( p p' )2
pp ' * UA 2 C
3

From the formula (9) we can see:

(1)When p=p'(The difference is the same between the top and bottom coils),p=pp'UA2C,and The
real capacitance is the geometric capacitance. The convert coefficient k=1.
(2)When p p'(The difference is different between the top and bottom coils).The convert
coefficient
( p p')2
k pp '
3
3.3 The test process and results
The measuring equipment is partial discharge analyzer in the PD test, and the type is
TWPD-2B.The partial discharge signal is to lead into the partial discharge analyzer and screen signal
amplifier.The voltage signal is to lead into the peak meter form the voltage divider, and the chosen of
the ground point must be paid attention to. The transfer ratio must be measured first according to the
transfer relation of the transformer after wiring. We checked the square wave by the square box. The
charge is 500pC,and the frequency is 500Hz.
The background of the partial discharge is 15pC.The transfer ratio is 498:88(the line side to the
valve side) from the line side applied voltage, and the transfer ratio is 27:509(the valve to the line side)
from the valve side applied voltage. The line side is channel 1 and the valve side is channel 2.The time
sequence for the application of test voltage with respect to earth is decided according to IEC
60076-3:2000.Making record when the test .

Fig.6 The record paper of the PD test

As shown in the Fig.6, the value of PD in the line side is 26.41pC as the value of PD in the valve
side is 69.84pC when the applied voltage is 1.5Um/ 3.The result is less than 500pC which is the
standard requirement. The time of PD test is 75.5min, and it is very successful. The feasibility of the
parallel resonant system has been proved by the test.
4.Conclusion
This paper proposes a new method of the PD test. It elaborated on the principle of parallel
resonant and the application in the PD test of converter transformer. The parallel resonant test system is
prefect in theory if the system frequency can be running in the state of resonance or nearly. The method
is tested by the example of the 800kV converter transformer, and the test is successful. It is very
convenient to adjust the compensation capacity. It is provided that reference better for the PD test in
future.

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