On the Detection and Control of Metallic Particle CO

in Compressed GIs Equipment

M.M. Morcos
Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS USA

S.A. Ward
University of Zagazig
Shoubra, Egypt

Abstract
Metallic particles drastically impair the insulation
integrity of compressed gas insulated substation (GIS)
equipment. Such particles present a special hazard when
in close proximity of support insulators. For GIS
equipment to be reliable and economic, the problem of
particle contamination should be overcome. Most GIS
equipment manufacturers employ a variety of techniques
and devices, such as electrostatic particle traps, to
control metallic particle contamination. Conductors in
gas-insulated systems may be coated with a dielectric
material to restore some of the dielectric strength of the
compressed gas that is lost due to surface roughness and
contamination with conducting particles. Free metallic
particles are a major cause of partial discharge (PD) in
GIs. Several methods have been used in checking for
PD activity. Recent diagnostic techniques include VHF
and UHF-band PD detecting systems and ultrasonic
vibration detecting systems. The methods used for the
detection of pre-discharge caused by contaminating
particles in GIS and the means of using this detection as
a diagnostic tool for particle contamination are
presented.

hexafluoride (SFa may be drastically reduced due to the

presence of conducting particles in a gas insulated gap.
Fig. 1 shows the actual breakdown field at the inner
conductor in percent of the theoretical value for SF,, in
the presence of conducting particles [4]. The effect of
metallic particles on the SF, breakdown voltage is more
pronounced at high gas pressures [SI. Several attempts
have been made to determine the role of conducting
particles in the breakdown process of compressed gas
insulation [l-71. Cookson et al found that elongated
particles greatly reduce the SF, breakdown voltage and
corona onset levels [3]. In general, the gas breakdown
voltage decreases with the wire particle length, while the
breakdown voltage is not necessarily reduced by
decreasing the particle diameter.
Under the influence of the applied voltage, free
conducting particles become charged and oscillate in the
inter-electrode gap. Particle motion largely depends
upon the type of applied voltage. Under AC voltages,
for a wire particle of given radius, the activity increases
with particle length since the particle charge-to-mass
ratio at lifting increases with length. This ratio
.- -

Introduction

5
The presence of particle contaminants in gas insulated
switchgear (GIS) can greatly deteriorate the integrity of
the insulation. Those particles may be insulating or
conducting; insulating particles have little effect on the
insulating behavior of the gases. Particles may be free
to move in the electric field, may be fixed on the
electrodes or may be fiied on spacers, thus grossly
enhancing electrode surface roughness.
Many
experimental results have been published involving
particle contamination in uniform and coaxial fields.
The particles studied are of many different shapes and
sizes such as spheres, filamentary (wires particles), and
fine dust [l-31. The withstand voltage of sulphur-

0-7803-5035-9/98/$10.0001998IEEE.

H. Anis
Cairo University
Giza, Egypt

Pwllcla lnlllalsd Ereakdwm

AI W R hrllclo

Figure 1. Degradation in electrical insulation strength

of SF, caused by conducting particles [4]

decreases with the spherical particle radius as the

particle movement is reduced in this case [8].
The effects of fmed conducting particles on AC
breakdown compared to those with particles which are
free to move were examined [9]. Although free particles
initiate breakdown when a particle is at an electrode, a
particle fixed on the electrode yields different AC
breakdown voltage/gas pressure characteristics. The
difference in behavior of fmed and free particles is
associated with the particle location at the instant of
breakdown and some statistical effects.
Particle Detection in GIs
The breakdown of insulation while in service can cause
considerable damage to equipment and to the system to
which it is connected. Failures of this type often may be
related to the occurrence and severity of partial
discharges (PD) inside the insulation. Free metallic
particles and metallic particles attached to insulators
greatly influence the insulation performance of the GIS
and are a major cause of PD. Several methods have
been used in checking for PD activity, the most
commonly used are ultrasonic contact probes and the
electromagnetic coupling devices [10-121.
Metallic Particles as Source of PD
Conducting particles are the most frequently met type of
imperfection in GIS; they enhance the local field stress.
As a result, the intrinsic breakdown field strength of SF,
cannot be fully exploited in practical applications. For
SF, pressures of engineering interest and normal levels
of surface roughness, PD inception and breakdown
voltages are almost identical. However, PD without
breakdown can occur for protrusions above the normal
surface roughness. Classical PD detection schemes are
discussed in [13-151.

movement were detected using different techniques [11,

12, 161. Diagnostic techniques can be used to detect the
presence of pre-discharge phenomena, evaluate the level
of degradation of the SF, gas, localize possible faults or
flashovers, and detect the presence of anomalous
mechanical vibrations [17-21]. Diagnostic methods in
use can be classified as electrical, acoustical, and
optical methods. The main features of these methods are
described below; specific details are reported in [171.
Electrical methods
In order to detect the presence of imperfectionddefects,
different parameters are measured; namely, electric,
magnetic and electromagnetic fields (both inside and
These
outside the GIS), current, and voltage.
parameters are generated by PD which locally generates
small currents with large frequency spectrum that
propagate throughout the GIS. They can be classified in
three groups according to the frequency range of
detection; conventional PD measurement [18, 19, 221,
high frequency (HF) method, and ultra high frequency
(UHF) method [20, 211. Various types of electrical
sensors can be used (coupling devices, field sensors,
antennas, coils, current probes). Fig. 2 shows the
relation between PD and the lengths of free metallic
particles found in a GIs [23]. When metallic particles
attach to insulators, PD are reported to be about 1/10 of
the values in Fig. 2. Considering this phenomenon, the
PD detecting system with a sensitivity level of 10 pC can
detect metallic particles of several millimeters long.

1000

s-

500

2I

200

100

Diagnostic Techniaues for Particle Detection

Metallic particles in GIS cause PD which can be directly

detected by measuring the voltage signal using capacitive
dividers installed in the GIs. They also can be detected
by the measurement of tank potential oscillation,
electromagneticwaves from the tank, discharge light and
decomposed gas. Free metallic particles can also be
detected by measuring tank vibration caused by the
bouncing of particles inside the GIs. Corona pulses
generated during discharges caused by particle

477

t;

50

2o

IO

IO

20

30

PARTICLE LENGTH (mm)

Figure 2. Variation of PD with free particle length [23]

This means that the newly developed PD detecting

systems are able to detect harmful metallic particles
more accurately on site [18]. Gas breakdown in GIS
generates fast surges which propagate throughout the
substation, undergo reflections at discontinuities and
excite the chambers into many different resonances at
frequencies that can be as high as several GHz [20].
The UHF technique used frequency detection well above
1 GHz frequency domain where there is no noise but the
imperfections/defects of the GIS [20, 211. The methd
has successfully detected and located several defects
(moving and fixed particles).

consequently to a potential reduction in GIS size and

cost. Various techniques for the elimination of particles
in GIS/GITL systems have been developed. Bundled
conductors [XI and corrugated enclosure [25] designs
were investigated in order to determine if these provide
a system more tolerant to the presence of particle
contamination. Although such designs showed some
merit compared to the conventional GIS designs, none of
them resulted in sufficient improvement to allow those
systems to operate reliably at higher stresses. Some
attention has been focused on the techniques of
immobilizing particles; these attempts include dielectric
coatings of the sheath or conductor to increase the
particle lift-off voltages [26], and the use of corrosive
gases to corrode the particles with the aim to reduce
them to fine dust [27]. None of these methods is in use
commercially. Another method of preventing the
contaminating particles from moving in the electric field
has been recently explored using an open-cell foam/SF,
gas insulation system [28]. However, the dielectric
strength of the f o d g a s system in the presence of
particles was not significantly better than the particleinitiated breakdown strength of SF, alone.

Acoustical method
The principle of acoustical methods is the detection of
mechanical vibrations on the external enclosure of the
GIS due to shockwaves from PD, impact of free moving
particles, and vibrations of parts of the GIS [19, 221.
Vibrations are measured by means of sensitive acoustic
transducers of various types, positioned on the GIS
enclosure. An acoustic-emission sensor working in the
ultrasonic range (resonance around 50 kHz) is the
optimum sensor type/frequency band choice [191.
Diagnostic information can be obtained from the analysis
and the elaboration of the acoustic signals acquired by
the sensors located at suitable points of the GIs.
Analysis in both time and frequency domains are in use.
The method has been found sensitive to defects;
mechanical vibrations due to loose parts and bad erection
are also detected easily [22].

Particle Tram
One philosophy in the design of GIS/GITL systems is to
provide designated low field areas in the system in the
form of particle traps where the particles can be safely
trapped and contained [4].One method is to control the
particle interaction with the insulators is to position
particle traps at the insulator. Fig. 3 shows an
electrostatic particle trap mounted around a tri-post
insulator in a coaxial electrode system. Test results
showed that the presence of the particle trap around the
insulator significantly reduced the chance of particle
initiated breakdowns associated with the insulator [29].

ODtical Method
This method is based on the detection of the light
emission produced by faults, PD, etc. [17, 221.
Depending on the aim of the diagnostic measurements,
different types of optical sensors can be used, and
different analyses can be made on the acquired optical
signals. Optical methods have been used in GIS only for
eventual detection and location of flashovers during onsite testing and in service.

Sheath

Insulator

Mitigation and Control

For GIS and gas insulated transmission line (GITL)
systems to be reliable and economic, the problem of
particle contamination should be overcome. Hence,
improvements in the reliability of GIS/GITL systems
could be achieved. Moreover, this could lead to higher
stress operation of compressed gas apparatus and

\
Tr
Side View

Cross Sectional View

Figure 3. Particle trap mounted around insulator for

protection [29]

478

The electrostatic particle trap is presently being used for

particle control in some commercially available GIS.
The effectiveness of a particle trap is a function of the
slot width and the number of slots per unit length. Also,
particle motion in the electric field will influence
trapping. Experimental observations of the particle
behavior with traps showed that particles were attracted
to the slot edges in a firefly motion; this behavior was
more likely at higher electric fields [25]. With elevated
traps, the applied voltage level had a significant
influence on the trapping time. Longer particles require
the conditioning voltage to be applied for a much longer
time before they arrive at the trap surface and fall
through the surface slots. Particles that were smaller
than the trap elevation had no problems entering the
opening between the trap and the enclosure.

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Dielectric Coating of Electrodes

Conductors in GIWGITL systems may be coated with a
dielectric material in order to restore some of the
dielectric strength of the compressed gas which is lost
due to surface roughness and contamination by
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strength of the system, due to coating, can be attributed
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discharge is reduced significantly.
Conclusions
Conducting particle contaminants in GIS/GITL systems
play a crucial role which adversely affects the insulation
performance of the system. Efforts are being made to
study different methods of particle detection, control and
elimination for GIS systems to be reliable and economic.
Particle traps are used in some commercially available
GIS/GITL systems. Conductors may be coated with a
dielectric material in order to restore some of the
insulation strength of the compressed gas which is lost
due to surface roughness and contamination by
conducting particles.

479

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