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Measurement variations of insulation resistance/polarization index during

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DOI: 10.1016/j.measurement.2014.09.034

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 Measurement 59 (2015) 21–29

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Measurement
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/measurement

Review

Measurement variations of insulation resistance/polarization

index during utilizing time in HV electrical machines – A survey
H. Torkaman ⇑, F. Karimi
Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Shahid Beheshti University, A.C., Tehran 1658953571, Iran

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The concept of insulation system is chiefly concerned with the stator winding lifetime of
Received 23 April 2014 the high voltage (HV) electrical machines. Along with the insulation testing, insulation
Received in revised form 9 August 2014 resistance (IR) and polarization index (PI) techniques are suitable for different types of
Accepted 16 September 2014
HV electrical machines and transformers. Since the power plant industries have to move
Available online 28 September 2014
toward higher reliability, the IR/PI accurate analysis needs to be optimized. This precise
study is necessary, since the results of resistance measurement during a period of time
Keywords:
are variable and depend on different factors. This point of view indicates the important role
Insulation quality measurement
Insulation resistance
of the IR/PI variations assessment over the utilization time. Therefore, this paper is an
Polarization index attempt to evaluate the dependency of IR/PI variations on the main profiles as; current
Insulation faults components, insulation conditions, and constant time. For this purpose, deviation of the
Fault analysis resistance values in the mentioned tests are presented and discussed to achieve the opti-
High voltage electrical machine mum trend of IR/PI results interpreting. A comprehensive review of literature was done
and industry experts were surveyed for their ideas and experience under a research pro-
ject. The main results are summarized in this paper.
Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
2. Review on insulation resistance test theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
3. Insulation current flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3.1. Capacitive current . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3.2. Conduction current . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3.3. Surface leakage current. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3.4. Dielectric absorption current or polarization current . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
4. Variation of IR/PI during utilization time according to currents behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
5. Variation of IR/PI during utilization time with respect to the insulation condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
6. Variation of IR/PI during utilization time with respect to constant time response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
7. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: H_torkaman@sbu.ac.ir (H. Torkaman).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.measurement.2014.09.034
0263-2241/Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
22 H. Torkaman, F. Karimi / Measurement 59 (2015) 21–29
1. Introduction
The reliability of high voltage electric machines
depends on the reliability and efficiency of their insulation
system. So that the expected life time for stator and rotor
windings is in association with their insulations [1–3].
Therefore calculating and monitoring the condition of the
insulation system in the operating period through inex-
pensive and simple methods have been a fundamental
issue in these kinds of studies [4,5].
On the other hand it is needless to say that the stator
insulation system is one of the most important parts in
HV electrical machines in terms of the production invest-
ment, maintenance and insulation lifetime [6,7]. The col-
lapse of stator insulation may be the result of thermal,
mechanical, electrical or environmental tensions or a com-
bination of them which are produced during their opera-
tion and lead to fault increase in the machine [8–11].
Generally there are four reasons for testing and moni-
toring the machines and transformers [12–14]:
a. Evaluating the insulation condition and the insula-
tion remaining life time.
b. Prioritizing the repairs and maintenance.
c. Testing the guarantee and contraction of the
manufacturer.
d. Collapse diagnosis.
Generally there are almost forty methods for testing
and monitoring which are used to diagnose and detect
the conditions of motor and generator windings [15–18].
An appropriate solution can be chosen on the basis of some
criteria such as test price, the period of keeping the
machine out of service for the test, reliability, availability,
applying simplicity and high accuracy [19–21]. The results
of these methods’ measurement depend on different fac-
tors such as; humidity [22], air pressure [23,24], mechani-
cal pressure [25], type of fault [26], temperature [27], raw
natural gas [28], power electronic arrangements [29], insu-
lation class [30], high and low frequency pulses [31,32],
partial discharges [33,34], and corona discharges [35].
HV insulation tests divide into two types individually
[36]:
a. Destructive tests.
b. Nondestructive tests [37].
In destructive tests, the applied voltage and electrical
field intensity are higher than their rated values. So deteri-
oration is probable in these types of tests. In such tests the
operator should check carefully that the high voltage
equipment are under which kinds of tension during their
operating time [38,39]. These tensions are the basis of
the destructive insulation tests. In nondestructive tests
the applied voltage is less than its rated value or equal.
So the insulation of the healthy systems should not be
destroyed in these kinds of tests. These tests include mea-
suring IR, measuring capacity and dielectric loss factor,
measuring polarization and depolarization currents, mea-
suring partial discharge (PD) [40–42].
Another subdivision is in terms of applying insulation
tests which consists of online and offline types [43,44]. If
a system like a generator is tested while working and con-
nected to the load, this type of test is called online test. Off-
line test is done when the generator is disconnected from
the load or grid. The main privilege of offline tests is that
they can be run under various voltage and temperature
ranges. Also with respect to the curve of voltage and tem-
perature variations, more comprehensive evaluation of the
insulation can be obtained [45]. Further destructive tests
which will detect general and major faults in insulation
can only be applied in offline mode.
According to the given information, it can be concluded
that monitoring the insulation status, continuously, is a
necessary issue in order to prevent destructive faults and
to remove minor faults. Thus users have to apply different
types of tests according to the conditions aforementioned.
In this regard, one nondestructive offline test namely as
IR/PI test and its variations during utilizing time are
assessed. This study helps to have precise interpretation
of the resulted test values and detect the insulation status
correctly.
The organization of the paper is as follow: part II will
have a review on IR test theory. In part III current compo-
nents in insulation will be analyzed. part IV deals with ana-
lyzing IR test according to current responses then this issue
will be investigated with respect to insulation condition in
part V and it is going to be analyzed in part VI from the
sight of time constant behavior. Finally the conclusions
will be presented in part VII.
2. Review on insulation resistance test theory
Insulation resistance technique [46–48] is one of the
most functional testing techniques for evaluating rotor
and stator windings in motors and generators.
Insulation resistance shows the resistance value of the
insulation between copper conductor and the zero point
or the core of the electrical machine. This type of test can
be applied to majority of motors and various types of
windings of course except squirrel cage induction motors
whose motor winding does not have any insulation to be
tested. This test is successful in fault detections which
are caused by pollution and contamination of winding
insulation. In systems with old insulation, this test is able
to detect thermal deteriorations.
The ideal value for this resistance is as much as it pre-
vents current flow from winding to the core i.e. ideally this
resistance value is infinite because the insulation is meant
to protect the current from flowing between the copper
and the core. Practically and according to insulation char-
acteristics, the value of this parameter is not infinite and
always a limited current passes through the insulation.
Often when the value of insulation resistance is low, there
probably has to be a fault or a problem in the insulation.
The insulation resistance amount can be resulted from
applying a DC current and measuring the current with
respect to V = R  I. This resistance is often measured by
a metering instrument namely as Megger. Measuring the
insulation resistance is often run in four techniques:
 H. Torkaman, F. Karimi / Measurement 59 (2015) 21–29
a. Measuring insulation resistance in short time:1 min.
b. Measuring dielectric absorption rate (DAR): in rate
of 300 /600 .
c. Measuring polarization index (PI): in 1000 /600 .
d. Measuring stepped voltage [49].
Each of these measuring types can be used for insula-
tion resistance analysis or in other word the insulation
condition. Reminding that each of these test types shows
different values in its own range which has to be analyzed
according to the test type in order to observe and analyze
the type of fault, fault occurrence and fault severity.
The minimum value for insulation resistance is a rela-
tive factor, however, most of HV synchronous machine
users have adapted themselves for IEEE std. 43 suggestions
in which the minimum DC insulation resistance for the
whole winding (in MX) can be obtained through equation
below;
Rmin ½M X ¼ kV þ 1
where kV is the line nominal voltage in machine. The value
which has to be compared with the above number is the
value which is read after applying voltage for one minute
and after correction for 40 °C of temperature.
Resistance in 40 °C of temperature is resulted from;
Rc ¼ K t  Rt
where Rc is the corrected resistance for 40 °C, Rt is the mea-
sured resistance in ambient temperature, Kt is the correc-
tion factor. For different temperatures Kt can be obtained
from the standard which is based on a fact that for every
10 °C increase of temperature insulation resistance is
halved. This can be written as;
Rt ¼ ð0:5Þð40TÞk
So the correction factor for each specific temperature
can be calculated. The accuracy of this relation is only
accepted for partial differences between the measured
temperature and 40 °C. When the phases are tested one
by one and other phases are grounded, the value should
be divided by two. Also in case of using guard circuits in
other phases the resulted values for each phase should be
divided by three.
3. Insulation current flow
Four types of current pass through the insulation under
the electric field. Each of them represent a specific condi-
tion of the insulation and their quantities in test data anal-
ysis can be an appropriate guide for the fault type
recognition.
3.1. Capacitive current
The current which passes to charge the capacitance
formed by the insulation between copper conductor of
winding and the stator or rotor core is called capacitive
charging current [50,51].
This current decreases exponentially and is reduced to
zero in approximately first 10–20 s of external DC field
23
applying. The capacitance of these capacitors in large gen-
erators is almost 10 nF but in large hydro generators it
increases to 1 lF. As an example 3-phase to ground capac-
itance of the hydro generator installed in Karun4 Dam [52]
(located in Iran) is equal to 3.85 lF.
This quantity for 250 MW hydro generator which is
installed in Gotvand-e-Olya Dam [53], in single phase to
ground is equal to 0.96 lF. The single phase to ground
capacitance of Ansaldo Co. [54] designed 160 MW turbo
generator manufactured by ParsGen. Co. [55] is equal to
0.427 lF.
3.2. Conduction current
Conduction current in insulation material [56,57] is a
current that is caused by the transmission of free electrons
and ions between two electrodes. This current in new insu-
lation materials (Polyester/Epoxy-mica) is zero except
ð1Þ when the insulation is wet. When this type of current is
high in amount (i.e. the level of the insulation resistance
is very low) there has to be a fault in insulation. Generally
this current rate is constant as the time passes, which is
ideally zero. It increases as the humidity and temperature
increase. This current also flows if there is a crack, cut or a
small cavity or some kinds of pollution in insulation.
ð2Þ
3.3. Surface leakage current
This kind of DC current flows on the surface of insula-
tion or in end-winding [58,59]. The amount of this current
is constant but increases when temperature and humidity
increase. This kind of current is caused by the following
reasons:
Pollution in part of the conductor (oil or moisture com-
ð3Þ
bined with dust, dirt, ash, chemical substances) of winding.
If there is high amount of such a current the pollution is
probably caused by electrical gap. In addition, if the ambi-
ent temperature is as much as the dew point the surface
resistance decreases as a layer of moisture covers the sur-
face of bus.
3.4. Dielectric absorption current or polarization current
Dielectric absorption current is caused when the insula-
tion molecules are polarized [60–63]. When an external
electric field is applied to insulation, molecules in insula-
tion which are dispersed get aligned in the field direction.
This change causes a current which reduces to zero as the
time passes, with respect to the following equation:
Ipol ¼ Ktn ð4Þ
where Ipol is polarization current and t is time. The range of
this current in dry insulations in appropriate conditions
may not reduce to zero for hours. But in old insulations this
current in first 10–15 min and for new insulations like
Polyester/Epoxy-mica for almost first 4 min reduces to
zero. In high voltage laminated insulations, despite the
molecules alignment, because of the trapped electrons in
the gaps, absorption current may increase. Unfortunately
neither of these currents can be measured directly.
24 H. Torkaman, F. Karimi / Measurement 59 (2015) 21–29

4. Variation of IR/PI during utilization time according to

currents behavior

As it was mentioned, applying a DC voltage to a winding

insulation causes an insulation current which includes four
components. Capacitive charging current, which has tran-
sient and unstable natures and during few seconds reduces
to zero, absorption current, which has a damping nature
but takes more time in comparison with capacitive charg-
ing current and in some cases minutes to hours are needed
until it reduces to a negligible amount. The main factor of
insulation current is leakage current which passes
through the insulation volume and through faults and also
the surface. This current has a constant behavior during
utilization.
According to the nature of the insulation current in
which the leakage current is the most effective component, Fig. 2. Types of currents for an Epoxy-mica insulation with a relatively
low structure leakage current and no conductance current [48].
measuring insulation resistance is sensitive to humidity
and surface pollution of coils (surface current) and also
slots and perpendicular cracks in insulation which may
be filled by pollution. This test is also sensitive to temper-
ature and should be applied when the winding has adapted
its temperature with the environment and reached the sta-
ble conditions in terms of the temperature and humidity.
The results will be corrected for 40 °C.
Through insulation resistance variation or total current
variation during utilization, useful evaluation can be done
to the insulation so that better information of cleanness
and dryness can be obtained. As shown in Fig. 1, if the
winding is wet or exposed to pollution total current (IT)
will be constant during utilization because leakage current
(IL) and conducting current (IG) are much larger than
absorption current (Ia).
As it is illustrated in Fig. 2, in case the winding is dry
and clean, total current will normally decrease during
operation because total current is affected by absorption Fig. 3. Typical insulation resistance measurements for three different
current. systems [48].
In other words it can be said that four types of currents;
capacitive, conducting, surface leakage and absorption
form the total current, and if the applying voltage is resulted. Therefore according to current behaviors and tak-
divided by this current the resistance insulation will be ing into account that applying voltage is constant, insula-
tion resistance varies as the time passes. But so much
attention should be paid to this point that after 1 min with
complete elimination of IC the resistance value is only
resulted from IG, IA and Ipol. So during operation voltage is
applied first then increases slowly until it reaches a con-
stant point, the measured insulation resistance usually
increases fast (Fig. 3). This incremental trend may continue
for hours with a fixed applying voltage in dry winding in
appropriate conditions. For older type of insulations, it
reaches a stable reasonable value during 10–15 min. For
new insulations in stator winding, such as Film-coated,
Epoxy-mica or Polyester-mica it reaches a constant resis-
tance in less than four minutes. If the winding is wet and
dirty a stable point will be resulted within one or two min-
utes after applying the test voltage.
As mentioned before polarization index is defined nor-
mally as the division of insulation resistance in 10 to
1 min;

Fig. 1. Types of currents for Asphaltic-mica insulation [48]. PI ¼ IR10 =IR1 ð5Þ
 H. Torkaman, F. Karimi / Measurement 59 (2015) 21–29 25

Fig. 4. Variation of insulation resistance versus time of applied voltage [65].

PI indicates the slope of the characteristic curve (Fig. 3)

and is able to indicate the insulation condition indepen-
dent of time. In order to have accuracy in one minute,
and evaluating in logarithmic coordinate, it is common to
sample other ranges such as 15–30–45 s and 1, 1.5, 2, 3
to 10 min [48]. When PI is less than 1 the insulation is des-
tructed and needs immediate repairs. This type of test is
used for dry insulation systems like dry transformers,
cables and electric machines, etc.

5. Variation of IR/PI during utilization time with respect

to the insulation condition

The study of structural and chemical changes to which

the insulation has been exposed during aging is not enough
and the insulation cannot be assessed accurately by this
information. Therefore it is essential to evaluate the mech-
anism of insulation degradation during utilization [64].
Deviation in IR value during a measurement in a period
of time is more reliable and applicable than its value taken
instantly or separately. This is indicated in the slope of the
curve which is drawn as a proportion of resistance and
time. This curve is called dielectric absorption curve. In
order to draw it, standard test voltage is applied for
10 min and IR values are read every minute or less. Fig. 4
shows some curves of these types which belong to some
insulation systems of different conditions.
If this curve reduces to a low and constant value less
than three minutes, this indicates the superiority of leak-
age current versus absorption current which demonstrates
the pollution and humidity on the surface of the insulation.
In this case the winding should be cleaned completely and
tested again. In case of severely wet insulations, dielectric
Fig. 5. Variation of insulation resistance versus time of insulation drying
[66].
absorption curve may rise first and then fall to a lower
value than the initial one in starting the test.
Measured IR values are functions of insulation dryness
in spite of being the function of time. Fig. 5 shows the IR
variations in one minute and 10 min as a function of time
in which the insulation is under the drying process. In the
first period of insulation drying, the insulation temperature
does not reach the vaporization temperature of the mois-
ture inside, and therefore drying process is not started
yet. So IR values in this limitation should be disregarded
until the temperature reaches the drying temperature.
Generally the changes in measured resistance in first
few minutes depend on the insulation condition and exter-
26 H. Torkaman, F. Karimi / Measurement 59 (2015) 21–29

nal factors like pollution and humidity. This response of

the insulation leads to introduce polarization index.
PI is used to evaluate the cleanness and dryness and in
some cases the severe collapse of the winding insulation.
This parameter also depends on winding components and
the insulation class. B class insulation of windings usually
shows larger PI values than A class insulations. Of course
on the condition that the end-windings are covered by
anti-corona semi-conductor, these values will be lower a
little. Industrial motor users regard the value of almost
1.5–2 as PI. The value of 1–1.5 for dirty/wet windings
and the value of less than 1 belongs to a severely polluted
area with humidity and the value of 2–5 often indicates
dry and clean windings. High PI amounts especially in
Epoxy systems are portent of the laminated insulations.
Studies have shown that PI decreases as the machine
ages. This may be related to the pollution penetration into
the windings. So that in first years of the machine opera-
tion, cleaning the insulation has a significant effect on
Fig. 7. Time effects on polarization index of complete windings during
the PI increase. Whereas, when the machine ages and more
utilizing time [67].
pollution penetrates, even winding cleaning does not show
its former efficiency and small changes will be found in PI.
Therefore, high values of IR and PI confirm the dryness of
the winding and crack exclusion in the insulation but do
not necessarily confirm the health of the winding insula-
tion. For consecutive measuring if the PI has a decrease
of 25% a cleaning process is necessary.
In an appropriate insulation system the IR shows
increase when the voltage is applied during a period of
time. On the other hand an insulation which is polluted
with humidity, dirt, etc. shows low IR value in response.
In a perfect insulation system, the effects of absorption
current will be decreased during the time.
It is significant to say that a raw IR value alone may not
include so much information to judge the machine insula-
tion system status. But ‘‘Trend Analysis’’, which is resulted
from the periodic measuring in equal conditions, is more
authenticated to be the basis of the assessments. Fig. 8. Variation of insulation resistance with increasing number of aging
Figs. 6 and 7 show the IR and PI values of 3 and 6 kV cycles during utilizing time [68].
machines as a function of their operating time. Black points
indicate the measured accepted values and white points
show the values after cleaning and drying. Despite high
dispersion in data, both cases show the decremental
behavior. Cleaning and drying process have improved the
value to some extent. As shown in Figs. 6 and 7 after
20 years of age, the insulation characteristics cannot be
returned i.e. after almost 20 years, cleaning does not result
a positive effect [67].
Test results on high voltage electric machines with F
thermal class (155 °C) are shown in Fig. 8 [68]. As it is
observed in figure, IR value tends to low amounts with
increasing aging cycle. But it has to be mentioned that IR
amount is still too much after 3090 h and in 215 °C of tem-
perature (almost 100 GX) that Epoxy decomposition may
be a reason for these changes.

6. Variation of IR/PI during utilization time with respect

to constant time response

Fig. 6. Time effects on insulation resistance of complete windings during Analyzing different results of IR and PI for several
utilizing time [67]. machines shows a lot of information. Insulation resistance
 H. Torkaman, F. Karimi / Measurement 59 (2015) 21–29
Fig. 9. Insulation time constant versus winding age [69,70].
of different machines cannot be compared with each other
directly. It is due to the fact that each winding has its own
capacitance. That is why instead of the insulation resis-
tance; insulation time constant is used. This metering
parameter is the product of insulation resistance multi-
plied by winding capacitance.
Fig. 9 shows insulation time constant as a function of
winding age. This curve is drawn from the analyzed infor-
mation of 50 electrical machines. In these machines insula-
tion resistances are measured under the voltage of 2 KV
and in 25 °C of temperature after 30 min. The marked
numbers in this figure are as followed:
(1) Shellac mica-folium insulation.
(2) Discontinuous insulation-mica wool folium on a
paper backing pre-impregnated with epoxy resin.
(3) Continuous insulation-mica and glass tape vacuum
impregnated with solventless thermosetting epoxy
resin.
As it is observed from Fig. 9, time constant of the mod-
ern and old insulation systems are classified at different
levels. Windings with shellac-folium insulation are com-
27
pletely in dry and clean condition and their insulation time
constant tends to increase as they age. First rapid rise can
be related to the rest of drying and curing of insulation
during the first years.
Most time constants are in a range of 800–2000 after
12 years of utilization. Further analyses have shown that
time constants lower than 400 belong to polluted or wet
insulations.
It is more common to use one minute IR to calculate
time constant. Regarding PI as 3.6 for shellac system which
is in proper condition, insulation time constant is between
220 s and 560 s. The amounts less than 200 s (PI almost 2)
indicate polluted or humid insulations. In these calcula-
tions IR in 10 min and 30 min are assumed to be equal.
The Epoxy–resin curve is not drawn completely since a
short time has passed from the usage of Epoxy–resin based
systems, although the measures have shown that the time
constant of such systems is significantly higher than the
highest amount of the same factor in shellac insulation
systems. In [69] time constant behavior as a function of
winding age for 11 kV machines with non-synthetic insula-
tion system is studied by ERA Company in which 1 min IR
test is used. The achieved results in Table 1 shows the
28 H. Torkaman, F. Karimi / Measurement 59 (2015) 21–29
Table 1
Relationship between insulation’s constant time with contamination level
[69].
Contamination level Insulation’s constant time (XF)
Low >400
Normal 180–400
High 40–180
Severe <40
ranges which can be used as a guide line for contamination
degree evaluation. It is difficult to relate part of the time
constant to the pollution range.
7. Conclusion
In this paper firstly in order to evaluate the insulation
system condition, IR test solution was presented and it
was observed that in order to analyze the insulation condi-
tion it is better to analyze the insulation response during
the utilization time so that reliable and applicable results
will be achieved. In this case important parameters which
lead to significant variations in insulation during the oper-
ation were investigated. Some of these most important
parameters such as currents flowing in insulation, insula-
tion condition and the insulation time constant, their var-
iation process and reasons, were analyzed. It was
concluded that offline DC IR/PD test is better to be run with
analyzing its variation trend during the operation of the
insulation. Since the result numbers are functions of differ-
ent conditions such as ambient, test and the machine spe-
cific conditions which should be taken into consideration,
this study helps researchers and engineers to achieve more
reliable data in HV machines insulation testing and accu-
rate interpreting of them.
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