A novel system for generation, acquisition and analyses of partial discharges

A typical set of partial discharges (PD) occurring in insulation systems can be characterized by a three dimensional plot of their phase `Φ´ on the power line cycle, apparent charge magnitude `q´ and the number of pulses `n´. A digital acquisition system is developed which can measure `Φ´ and `q´ values of `n´ PD´s occurring on a given power line voltage and then plot n (φ, q). The system is developed using the data acquisition card NI-5112, which is a 2-channel high speed digitizer (100 MS/s) with the acquisition and analyses programs written in LabVIEW. The system is being tested using artificially generated PD pulses which have variable `Φ´ and `q´.