Chaotic analysis of partial discharge (CAPD) as a novel approach to investigate insulation degradation caused by the various defects

In connection with the monitoring of insulation degradation of large power apparatus in order to predict their unexpected service failures, a statistical treatment, such as phase resolved partial discharge analysis (PRPDA), has been established for the on-line monitoring system during the past decades. However, this method has shown some inconveniences to distinguish the nature of the PD source in power apparatus. In this regard, a novel approach based on the chaotic analysis (CAPD) is proposed describing the fundamental ideas, outcomes and different viewpoints from the conventional PRPDA. As a model for the possible defects causing sudden failures in service, several types of specimen were prepared. Partial discharge signals, originated from those samples, were measured and analyzed by means of PRPDA and CAPD respectively. Throughout this paper, it seems that the correlation between the consecutive PD pulses, depending on the nature of PD, could be clarified by CAPD. Therefore, it could be considered that the nature of PD source can be distinguished more distinctively when the PRPDA is combined with CAPD