Low cost RF sensor for partial discharge detection of high voltage apparatus

In-homogeneities, impurities, weakness within the insulating material or improper positioning of the electrode across insulator causes uneven electric field distribution into the localized area, which often creates partial discharge (PD) and are common mainly in high voltage power apparatus. After initiation of partial discharge into the localized region, it starts damaging the whole insulator with time. Thus detection of PD has become a major challenge for the researchers. This paper presents a method for design of low cost sensor for detection of PD, by detecting the radio frequency (RF) wave with the help of a patch antenna, which is simple and can be manufactured easily. A step by step approach has been described to develop the antenna for the detection of PD. Different analysis as required for the design parameter of the antenna has been simulated by ZELAND IE3D and presented in this paper. An experimental study has also been performed in the laboratory environment to validate the simulated results. The above study shows that, the indigenously made RF sensor is suitable to detect the partial discharge of a high voltage power apparatus and it is a cost effective tool in the field of online monitoring of partial discharge measurement.