Managing risk and performance of electrical assets just got easier!

With the launch of a new hand-held instrument, a big step forward has been taken to understand and interpret the measurement of Partial Discharge (PD), a major cause of failure in High Voltage (HV) Electrical Assets. Partial Discharge occurs in and around the insulation material on HV equipment such as cables and switchgear. The discharge is caused by gaps, voids, contamination and defects in the insulation and this is where small “arcs” take place. Once this process starts, it only increases and can lead flashover and failures, so being able to detect partial discharge as early as possible has major safety, financial and security of supply benefits.  

Unlike measuring Volts and Amps, PD measurements can be difficult due to the sensitivity of the measurement and environmental conditions out in the field. The UltraTEV Plus² has been designed based on feedback from electrical engineers around the world and the result is a major break-through for the use of hand-held PD instruments:

Interpretation: The UltraTEV Plus² tells the operator if the measurements are real PD or if it’s noise or interference: it sounds simple but it takes lots of experience to have the confidence to make these decisions.

Data Capture and Management: The UltraTEV Plus² can capture measurements and transfer them via Wi-Fi, meaning inspection staff can record data and move on to the next job. All the information is then available for PD and Asset Management experts to analyse the results; making comparisons, looking for trends and integrating the information into corporate Asset Management systems.

Functionality: PD measurement on cables is now possible with the UltraTEV Plus² , also new analytical tools allow greater ability to interpret more complex results.

The UltraTEV Plus² is the latest generation of PD instruments developed by EA Technology, a global, independent provider of end to end power engineering solutions with a long heritage of Asset Management, condition assessment and failure investigation.

Brian Matthews, senior asset engineer and member of the Partial Discharge User Group, said:  “After assessing the new instrument we have found the new analytical tools such as the phase resolved plots very helpful in identifying genuine Partial Discharge”.

Anne McIntosh, Director HV 5-9s, EA Technology, says:  “EA Technology has listened to our customers around the world; they asked for better understanding of the results, better ways to record and manage the information and for increased functionality. The UltraTEV Plus² meets these challenges; accurate condition information can be easily measured and better decisions made to improve the reliability and safety of electrical networks”.