Mansoura University

Faculty of engineering

Electrical Power and Machines Engineering

department

The Recent Trends in HV

Measurements and their
Technology

Prepared By /

Ahmed Mohamed Eldasoki Hassan

3rd Electrical power and machines engineering department

Section :: 2

Under supervision of / Dr / Ebrahim Badran

Autumn 2022
1. Introduction
Since the early 1980s all concepts and technological developments in the field have
been influenced primarily by the rapid growth of digital technology. The exponential
trend of having more computing power and more capacity in communication links for
less money has ultimately led to the integration of measurement devices into systems, as
well as the use of modern signal-processing technology at the device and system levels.
For example, improved communication capabilities are necessary for many demandside
management services. These services include the automation of the distribution of
meter reading, as well as other services for information exchange between customers
and the utilities. Improved communication capabilities are also necessary for monitoring
and controlling transmission and distribution systems. Optical fibers are promising as
transducers in electrical environments because they are nonconducting, capable of linear
sensing, versatile in the number of parameters they can measure, and sensitive.
Satellites are already being used for timing control in power networks and may increase
in importance as wide-area, high-voltage measurement networks, in particular, emerge.
In parallel with the development of new technologies, the ongoing process of changing
the electric power industry is on the way. This process is driven by the need to increase
efficiency and profits while maintaining the reliability and stability of system operation.
Wide-area measurement and disturbance-recording systems are used to provide
comprehensive real-time data access and the integration necessary to control and
operate fully the wide areas of a power system. Power-quality and condition-monitoring
systems are used to increase reliability. Specific requirements for high-voltage
measurements in the electric power industry are presented in Section 2.
The instrumentation components that are required to accomplish high-voltage
measurements are voltage and current transducers, signal conditioning equipment, and
signal analysis and monitoring equipment. Voltage and current transducers are required
to convert the system voltage and current to acceptable levels for input to the signal
conditioning equipment. Details about measuring transducers are presented in Section 3.
Traditional and modern signal-conditioning and data-transmission techniques are
presented in Section 4.1. Modern digital devices for processing and monitoring high voltage
measurements use highly accurate analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) and, in
many applications, synchronization devices based on global positioning system (GPS)
receivers. Various methods for signal processing are used to transform sampled data
into frequency domain. Measuring techniques and algorithms for primary quantities,
such as voltage, current, power, energy, and frequency, are presented in Section 4.2.
Additionally, in Section 4.3, specialized measuring algorithms and devices used to
analyze power-quality problems are presented. In Section 5 systems for integrated high
voltage measurements are presented. The role of state estimation in modern energy
management systems (EMS) is explained. In addition to classical data-acquisition
systems, utilities are installing disturbance recorders with synchronization capability.
These devices provide additional information to EMS that could speed-up system
restoration after large disturbances and monitor system power quality during normal
operation.

1
 2. Requirements for High-Voltage Measurements
It is recognized that the most important forces that drive changes in the electric power
industry today are deregulation, economic competition, efficiency, reliability, stability,
and power quality. The process of changing the power industry is complicated by the
following emerging problems:

• The emergence of additional suppliers of electric power increases the

complexity of the power system.
• The growth in demand is being met without significant construction of new
transmission systems.
• The economic pressure on the providers of electricity prompts them to use aging
equipment longer.
• The environmental restrictions on rights of way encourage the sending of more
power down existing rights of way; and
• The emergence of wide-area power sharing and power wheeling complicates
control and stability issues.

It is clear that these changes will give rise to a broad spectrum of technical needs and to
related requirements for new high-voltage measurement capability.
High-voltage measurements are used in bulk power transmission systems, for control
and protection, monitoring, and metering. There is a need both for primary instruments
that measure voltage and current, and for secondary instruments that compute other
quantities, such as power, energy, and frequency, from the measurements made by the
primary instruments. High-voltage measurement instruments are used throughout the
electric power system for limited monitoring of power system equipment. However, as
attempts to control the operating parameters of power networks increases, the
installation of many more instruments will probably be needed to monitor system
disturbances.
There is a need for automated transmission and distribution systems to provide adequate
real-time control, as well as a need for real-time assessment of actual power flows and
dynamic capacity. These automated systems employ advance measurement and control
and protection devices, as well as solid-state devices for power-flow control, such as
flexible AC transmission systems or FACTS. In implementing such systems there is a
need for a large number of low-cost digital instruments that can be installed throughout
the transmission system and accompanying communication systems to interconnect the
instruments and coordinate the operation of the controllers, such as FACTS devices.
Special signal-processing and mathematical-modeling software is required for
extracting information from measurements. Communication links will provide high
performance support for the sharing of reference signals for wide-area correlation,
automatic posting of disturbance directories on computer bulletin boards, exchanges of
data records, and interactive assistance in measurement operations and analysis from
remote locations. Additional measurements will also provide more information on the
state of the system so that the proper operation of end-user equipment can be ensured.
Improved diagnostic coverage of the system and individual components could perhaps
have provided advance warning of the problems and would have been useful in determining
the causes of the outages.It is commonly used for underground power supply to the
premise or factory from the distributor substation to customer substation.This earth
terminal is connected by the supply protective conductor (PE) back to the star point
2
(neutral) of the secondary winding of the supply transformer, which is also
connected at that point to an earth electrode.

Two important factors that have an impact on large concerns about power quality
problems today are the sensitivity of microelectronic devices and the emergence of
power electronic devices. Microelectronic devices could malfunction or even be
damaged as a consequence of some power quality problems. The question of who is
responsible for the quality of the power used—the utility or the consumer—is an
important one. Power electronic devices are increasingly used in electrical and
electronic products to achieve high energy efficiencies and excellent control. In normal
use, they switch on and off rapidly to control power flow. The resulting transients and
harmonics can be propagated on power lines to other users and can degrade the
smoothness—or quality—of the sinusoidal waveform. Special high-voltage
measurements can help quantify the harmonics of the fundamental power frequency
voltage and current, voltage dips, spikes, and other transients. The specific reasons for
taking harmonic measurements include confirming the presence of harmonics,
evaluating the severity of the problem relative to acceptable harmonic limits,
establishing compliance with standards and guidelines, harmonic filter design,
providing input data for harmonic software analysis programs, and designing an
analytical model of the problem. The instruments and systems for power quality
measurements can help identify the sources of power quality degradation and to protect
customer equipment. Many power quality monitoring instruments are designed for input
voltages of up to 600 V rms and current inputs up to 5 A rms. Voltage and current
transducers must be selected to provide these signal levels. Two important concerns
must be addressed in selecting transducers: signal levels should use the full scale of the
instrument without distorting or clipping the desired signal, and the frequency response
should be adequate for transient and harmonic distortion monitoring where high frequency
signals are particularly important.
Custom power devices, applied to the distribution system itself, can provide more global
solutions to power quality problems. They are the dynamic voltage restorer, the solid state
breaker, and the distribution system version of the static compensator.
Implementation requires numerous digital instruments to be installed throughout the
systems to monitor power quality and disturbances. Communication systems should be
put in place to interconnect the instruments and to coordinate the operation of the
custom power devices. Custom power devices will rely on rapid and accurate fault
location to respond correctly to disturbances and to maintain high power quality.
Demand-side management programs are becoming increasingly popular with the
utilities to reduce the level of demand and the fluctuation in demand. Their purpose is to
mitigate the need for the construction of new electrical generation and transmission
systems. One type of demand-side management involves the direct real-time
involvement of the utility, either by controlling electrical devices used by the consumer
or by instituting real-time pricing. With real-time pricing the consumers are
continuously informed of the instantaneous cost of electricity, and can adjust their use
patterns accordingly. Implementation of such programs requires a large number of
instruments and controllers installed at consumer sites and linked to the operator of the
system.
Power system reliability is enhanced through the reduction of equipment failures. The
failures can be reduced through predictive maintenance using advanced equipment
monitoring technologies, and in particular, through more accurate on-line condition

3
monitoring. The improved reliability of power system components results in the
prevention of lost revenue by reducing power outages. Additional cost savings for
utilities can be realized by extending the usable lifetime of expensive equipment, such
as power transformers, beyond their design lifetimes, which delays the outlay of capital
for replacing old equipment. Since lightning is a major cause of power system
disturbances, electrical power equipment is subjected to testing with high-voltage
impulses before being placed in service to ensure reliability. In these tests partialdischarge
monitoring provides a measure of insulation integrity. Digital recording
systems are required for both the laboratory and field testing of high-voltage apparatus.
Under some conditions, online, real-time data recording may be advantageous and cost
effective.
There is a definite need for the calibration of primary instruments in service. It is
desirable that new digital instruments be self-calibrating, remotely calibrating, or have
characteristics that change over time in a predictable manner, since the alternative of
calibrating instruments in the field is so costly.

1.1 Instrument Transformers

The inductive instrument transformer transforms the high AC voltage into a standardized low
voltage with very accurate magnitude and phase values. Instrument transformers for voltage
measurements—and also for current measurements—are preferably used in the supply
network, more rarely in the high voltage test field. On the one hand, instrument transformers
are suitable for accurate measurements and, on the other hand, are used for protection
purposes in order to initiate the reliable grid disconnection in the event of a fault in the grid.
Instrument transformers for voltages are used with current transformers for the metering of
electrical energy in the power supply .Instrument transformers for indoor use and voltages
of not more than 100 kV are often designed with cast resin insulation. For higher voltages,
instrument transformers have oil-impregnated paper insulation and are housed in oil-filled
metal tanks equipped with porcelain or composite bushings. Instrument transformers for
direct use in GIS are metal-enclosed and have SF6-impregnated foil insulation.

Instrument transformers have galvanically isolated primary and secondary windings (high-
and low-voltage windings), which are wound around a common iron core and thus
magnetically coupled. The basic working principle is comparable to that of a test transformer
housed in a metal tank. However, the primary winding is excited by the high AC voltage to
be measured with low power consumption. Instrument transformers in the supply network
are operated in the linear range of the magnetization characteristic with voltages between
0.8 and 1.2 times the rated voltage. On the secondary side, the measuring instrument, e.g.
an analog voltmeter indicating the RMS value or an electronic device, is connected. As the
highest operating voltage of an instrument transformer, the RMS value of the phase-to-
phase voltage U is defined. It should be noted that when measuring the phase-to-ground
voltage, the permissible voltage is only U/√3.

4
Types of conventional transformers for high-voltage measurement. a Inductive voltage
transformer, b capacitive voltage transformer

Full size image

Oil-immersed instrument transformers with porcelain insulators are mainly used in

substations for the medium voltage range. In the upper high-voltage range, instrument
transformers are usually filled with SF6 and have composite insulators. The secondary rated
voltages of instrument transformers are standardized, e.g. 100 V or 100/√3 V. These output
voltages are needed to connect the old analog devices, while the newer digital instruments
require voltages of only a few volts. The open circuit voltage ratio u1/u2 is approximately
equal to the winding ratio K = N1/N2 of the primary and secondary windings, resulting in the
following equation:

Deviations from the simple form of Eq are caused by the resistances and inductances of
both windings. In their measurement behavior, instrument transformers are characterized by
the ratio error ε = (Ku2 − u1)/u1 and the phase displacement δ, which is positive when the
secondary voltage u2 leads the primary voltage u1. Both quantities are defined for the
fundamental oscillations of u2 and u1 with mains frequency.

The advantages of inductive instrument transformers are the potential-free secondary

voltage, high accuracy, insensitivity to electromagnetic interference, long-term stability and
low phase displacement between the primary and secondary voltages. The low phase
displacement is the prerequisite for accurate energy measurements with combined voltage
and current transformers. The amplitude and phase errors remain low up to frequencies in
the kHz range. Traceable calibrations of the transformers are performed by comparison
measurement with a very accurately designed instrument transformer and a transformer test
set.

5
1.2 Capacitive Voltage Transformers

With increasing voltage, the effort involved in the construction of instrument transformers
increases disproportionately. For voltages above 220 kV, capacitive voltage
transformers are therefore preferably used for voltages up to more than 1 MV [23, 24].
According to Fig. the AC voltage to be measured is first divided by a capacitive
voltage divider to an output value between 10 and 30 kV and further with an inductive
transformer to the standardized secondary voltage. The high-voltage capacitance C1 is in
the range of 1000 pF to more than 10,000 pF. The inductance L and the resulting
capacitance form a resonant circuit for the mains frequency, whereby the capacitive voltage
divider is only minimally loaded.

Amplitude and phase errors are low during resonance. The resonance circuit thus enables
the non-reactive connection of an analog RMS voltmeter directly to the transformer output.

The capacitive voltage transformer is subject to a number of disturbing influences that do

not occur with the purely inductive transformer. These include, for example, leakage
currents, temperature influence and stray capacitances, so that the capacitive voltage
transformer does not achieve the highest accuracy and long-term stability of an inductive
transformer.

the influence of stray capacitances for different arrangements of the capacitive voltage
divider is investigated theoretically and experimentally. Calculations for a 765 kV capacitive
voltage transformer with a height of 6 m clearly show that the larger the high voltage
capacitance C1, the lower the influence of the stray capacitances on the division ratio.
Depending on the position of the voltage divider, the measurement deviation is ε = 2–3%
for C1 = 1500 pF and ε ≤ 0.5% for C1 ≥ 6000 pF.

Before delivery, the capacitive voltage divider is calibrated in the manufacturer’s laboratory,
with the divider usually placed directly on the floor. In the substation, however, the capacitive
voltage divider is installed in a higher position, resulting in a change in stray capacitance.
With an installation height H = 6 m, the calculation yields ε values which are only slightly
smaller than for H = 0. For example, the difference Δε is less than 0.18% for C1 ≥ 2500 pF,
i.e. the different installation heights are often negligible for large capacitances.

1.3 Electronic Voltage Transformers

Conventional instrument transformers have secondary voltages of the order of 100 V and
are loaded by analog measuring instruments. For some time now, there are strong efforts to
introduce electronic transformers with secondary voltages of a few volts and process the
analog or digital measurement data by software. Various methods are known, have been
investigated and some have already been standardized. Figure shows the principle of
an electronic voltage transformer with an electronic current transformer, which together
represent a combined electronic instrument transformer . In this example, the high AC
voltage is measured with a parallel-mixed RC voltage divider whose output voltage (or

6
secondary voltage)—unlike a conventional voltage divider—is tapped from the RC element
at the divider top and then fed into subassembly S1.

For current measurement in the high-voltage line, a toroidal coil with magnetic core is used.
Its secondary current is converted by a resistor (burden) into a small voltage, which is also
fed into S1. Both voltages are digitized in assembly S1, converted into light pulses and sent
via optical fibers to subassembly S2 on ground potential. In S2, the optical pulses are
reconverted into analog voltages of a few volts, which are proportional to the secondary
voltage or secondary current.

Full size image

A particular problem of the electronic instrument transformer is the verifiability of its

measurement uncertainty, which is a prerequisite for approval in the field of legal metrology.
The decades-proven calibration methods are based on transformer test sets developed to
measure the secondary voltages in the range of 100 V. They are now not suitable for
evaluating the significantly lower output voltages of electronic transformers. Therefore, a
new programmable two-channel AC voltage source with high-resolution D/A converters has
been developed to calibrate electronic transformers (see Fig).

In the first step of the calibration process, the two subassemblies S1 and S2 and a
commercially available transformer test set are each individually calibrated in the required
measurement ranges. The programmable two-channel AC voltage source is also suitable
for determining the different durations of the current and voltage signals through the long

7
optical fibers, resulting in a large phase displacement. Finally, the complete electronic
transformer is then calibrated by comparison with standard current and voltage transformers
and the transformer test set.

Detailed experience on conventional and electronic energy measuring systems installed in

a three-phase 135 kV network with a rated current of 1500 A is reported in fig.

The conventional measuring system consists of capacitive voltage transformers of accuracy

class 0.2, inductive current transformers of accuracy class 0.2S and a three-phase energy
meter of class 2S. In the electronic measuring system, capacitive voltage dividers and
current transformers of the ring-core type with fixed burdens are used. The output voltages
of the voltage dividers are digitized with A/D converters as well as the burden voltages at
high potential. The data are sent to the interface at ground potential via optical fibers and
evaluated with an industrial PC. Optical fibers are also used to power the A/D converters.
Over a one-month trial period, the maximum difference between the conventional and
electronic energy metering systems is found to be 0.11%. Further studies are needed to
determine the long-term stability and temperature behavior of the system with digital output.

All writing and transmission rights reserved to its owner.